It will soon be a year since WHO declared COVID-19 to be a pandemic. By now, every corner of the world has felt the devastating impact of the pandemic, and women and girls in science are on the front lines of response. They are healthcare workers and innovators. They are researching vaccines and pioneering treatments. They are leading us toward a safer world, and inspiring the next generation of girls to be forces of good in science and tech. This 11 February, were celebrating International Day of Women and Girls in Science by highlighting just some of the women and girls around the world who have made tremendous contributions during the ongoing crisis.
Women and Gender Equality
The outbreak of the pandemic has demonstrated the critical role of women researchers in different stages of the fight against COVID-19. At the same time, the pandemic also had a significant negative impact on women scientists, which need to be addressed by new policies, initiatives and mechanisms to support women and girls in science. Against this backdrop, this years celebration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science will address the theme . On 11 February, to celebrate the Days 6th year.
February is a busy month for retailers marketing the promise of happily ever after to girls around the world. But for tens of millions of girls, this is just a fairy tale. Their girlhoods are ending,not with storybook romance but with harmful rites of passage such as child marriage and female genital mutilation practices believed to be increasing as the COVID-19 pandemic forces girls out of school and drags their families into poverty. calls on leaders, community members and parents to take decisive action against female genital mutilation and early marriage.
The COVID-19 pandemic has negatively and disproportionately affected girls and women, resulting in a shadow pandemic that has hampered prevention efforts on harmful practices, including . The has adapted interventions that ensure the integration of female genital mutilation in humanitarian and post-crisis response. In the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (6 February), we reimagine a world that enables girls and women to have voice, choice, and control over their own lives.
If you believe that women deserve equal rights, then you are already part of Generation Equality. The Generation Equality Forum is a civil societycentered, global gathering for gender equality, convened by UN Women and co-hosted by the governments of Mexico and France.
Learn more about the different factors that relate to gender inequalities embedded in land rights by exploring 's .
"" is a global competition to mark the 25th anniversary of the . The submission deadline is 21 March 2021.
s biggest stories of 2020 all stemmed from one story: COVID-19. Here are the highlights of how the pandemic affected women and girls, but also how people worldwide met the challenge.
Imen, like so many Tunisian youth, she struggled to find a paying job. In 2019 she submitted a proposal for a camel-rearing business to the the Support Fund for Project Holders and it was accepted. Camel raising is traditionally an exclusively male occupation. In fact, on the day her proposal was accepted, Imen became the first woman camel farmer not just in Tunisia, but all of North Africa. So how did a young woman with no relevant experience succeed? Put simply, she was determined and tenacious.
Some 2 million people and 20 million livestock inhabit the semi-arid plains of East Darfur. A rising population and more frequent climatic variability, combined with ineffective governance and policies have put a severe strain on natural resources, such as water and land. These challenges have been exacerbated by a major armed conflict in Darfur that began in 2003. In a number of communities across East Darfur, things are slowly starting to change, with women playing a greater role in various decision-making processes.
Journalist and author Isha Sesay from Sierra Leone has joined as its newest to help raise awareness of gender-based violence and support efforts in ending it.
For the of Activism against Gender-Based Violence (25 Nov 10 Dec),
Best of the 16 Days of Activism
collaborated with documentary photographer and visual artist Etinosa Yvonne on a multimedia storytelling project "Unheard Voices From Nigeria" for the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence. The Abuja-based Etinosa interviewed, photographed, and filmed 16 women in internally displaced persons (IDP) camps in northeastern Nigeria, a region afflicted by insurgent groups that have forced millions to flee their homes. For too long, the stories of these womenchild marriage, domestic abuse, abduction and rapehave gone untold. Breaking the silence starts now. Each day through 10 December, one woman's story will be released.
The International Day for the Elimination of Violence Against Women (25 November) marks the launch of 16 days of activism against gender-based violence, to conclude on the International Human Rights Day (10 December). This year, under the title , the focuses on amplifying the call for global action to bridge funding gaps, ensuring essential services for survivors of violence during the COVID-19 crisis, and strengthening prevention and collection of data that can improve life-saving services for women and girls.