Zainab Bangura is the Director-General of the United Nations Office at Nairobi and worries for the health and safety of her staff and the populations they serve in the face COVID-19. As UN Special Representative on Sexual Violence in Armed Conflict from 2012-17, Zainab talks of the secondary trauma she felt after taking in the pain of countless accounts of rape inflicted on women and girls as a weapon of war in this 5th episode of Awake at Night.
portrays Maya Tutton, who with her sister, started the Our Streets Now campaign against public sexual harassment, the most common form of violence against women and girls.
In Focus: International Youth Day
In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, young people across the world are demanding a fairer, more inclusive world for women and girls.
Meet six black women, who are leaders and trailblazers in their countries and communities.
鈥淚n the Dinka language, there is a saying: men eat first, then women, then children. But here we, as women, we eat beside the men.鈥 Apande Dut smiles as she says this, sitting with a large group of women under the shade of a mango tree, shelling peanuts while nursing her children. The women are all members of a female-dominant farming group in the town of Rumbek, South Sudan. Up until 2018, both Apande and her fellow community member and friend, Agok, farmed on their own, but their farming knowledge was limited and with such difficult farming conditions, the food grown was never enough. Through sessions led by , the group received agricultural tools, information and trainings on agronomy, as well as business skills that translated into higher production and diversification of their produce.
The -funded Rural Development Programme in the Mountain Zones in Morocco has empowered the women of Azilal by helping scale-up their saffron business and by providing training.
As the coronavirus continues to spread worldwide, in developing countries it鈥檚 rural girls who are proving to be the most vulnerable to abuse during economic collapse and lockdown.
Every day, hundreds of thousands of girls around the world are subjected to practices that harm them physically or psychologically, or both, with the full knowledge and consent of their families, friends and communities. The practices reduce and limit their capacity to participate fully in society and to reach their full potential. 's flagship report examines the effects of three widespread practices: female genital mutilation, child marriage and son preference.
Named after pioneer physicist and Nobel Prize laureate Marie Sk艂odowska-Curie, the Programme aims to inspire and to encourage young women to pursue a career in nuclear sciences and technology and non-proliferation.
The COVID-19 pandemic threatens to roll back gains in women鈥檚 economic opportunities, widening gender gaps that persist despite 30 years of progress. Well-designed policies to foster recovery can mitigate the negative effects of the crisis on women and prevent further setbacks for gender equality. What is good for women is ultimately good for addressing income inequality, economic growth, and resilience, says the .
Roads are an essential means of transporting food and other essential items to vulnerable communities throughout The Gambia. Improving The Gambia鈥檚 network of feeder roads is an important means of enhancing food security and advancing social and economic development across the country. More than 200 local women have been employed in construction works linked to a project that is doing just that 鈥 with the construction team comprising more than 60 per cent women.
calls attention to the needs and vulnerabilities of women and girls amid the global coronavirus pandemic, and the efforts needed to secure their health and human rights.
As COVID-19 takes a staggering toll on people, communities and economies everywhere, not everyone is affected equally. Women, who account for the largest share of front-line health workers, are disproportionately exposed to the coronavirus. As countries are on lockdown and health systems struggle to cope, sexual and reproductive health services are being side-lined and gender-based violence is on the rise. On 11 July, World Population Day, the United Nations aims to raise awareness about the sexual and reproductive health needs and vulnerabilities of women and girls during the pandemic.
Since March 2020, Guatemala has recorded more than 600 COVID-19 deaths and over 11,000 infections. Amidst this crisis, indigenous women have continued to use their voices, knowledge and capacities to assist their communities and adapt their livelihoods. To build back better, their needs and concerns, but also their leadership must be placed at the centre of COVID-19 recovery plans. Boosting indigenous women鈥檚 entrepreneurial abilities can be transformative for them and their communities, and by extension, the entire country.