UN Women Asia-Pacific Regional Director to visit India to spotlight the country’s gender equality priorities

Christine Arab, Regional Director for UN Women Asia and the Pacific, will visit Delhi and Gujarat in India from 8–11 September 2025 to help advance gender equality agenda.

During her mission, the Regional Director will engage with government officials, UN Women India programmes, other UN agencies, civil society, private sector, and media. She will also visit a project site focused on empowering women in science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields, and address a roundtable on women’s economic futures.

The visit comes at a pivotal moment for women’s leadership in India, as the country advances its Beijing+30 priorities and builds on the recent enactment of the historic Women’s Reservation Act, mandating that women hold at least 33 per cent of seats in the Lok Sabha and all State Legislative Assemblies. 

Building on this momentum, India, during its G20 presidency, reaffirmed its commitment to women-led development by creating the Working Group on Women’s Empowerment and the New Delhi Leaders’ Declaration, both of which prioritize women’s economic and social empowerment. India also recently made its highest-ever allocation to gender-responsive budgeting for 2025/26 (8.9 per cent), which represents an increase of more than 37 per cent over the previous year.

Through this visit, UN Women seeks to deepen collaboration with national and private-sector partners, explore new areas of cooperation and support women leaders’ voices. The mission will further strengthen joint programmes with the Government of India and other stakeholders, to ensure that gender equality remains central to national development priorities and catapult efforts to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals.

To learn more about UN Women India’s programmes, visit: india.unwomen.org