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To mitigate the risk of gender-based violence while trading, Rwandese women have found welcome relief from the construction of a one-stop border post initiative by and partners.

Lt. Esinam Baah takes us through her trials and triumps as a woman peacekeeper with 51�Թ� in Lebanon. She is one of 173 women deploying to UNIFIL as part of Ghana's military contingent. 

Fatmata Binta Jalloh is a gender and youth expert working with Sierra Leone's Ministry of Agriculture and Food Security. She helps rural women by providing them with access to technical training, inputs, and other opportunities to help them maximize their agricultural activities. Fatmata, along with Foday Kamara, the director of a local NGO that supports youth and women's empowerment, took part in a project implemented jointly by the and the NGO Solidaridad. The programme aimed to equip both women and men with the knowledge and skills necessary to succeed in the agricultural sector, while also strengthening the position of rural women and enabling them to participate in decision-making processes.

Mariam is among the more than 100,000 people, who have fled into Armenia following the escalation of hostilities between Armenia and Azerbaijan. About one third of the refugees are reportedly under 18, and approximately half are women and girls, who face a  heightened risk of .

In a time when girls' and women's rights are under threat, girls face severe impacts. Urgent attention and resources are needed in areas such as maternal healthcare, adolescent parenting support, digital skills, comprehensive sexuality education, and violence prevention. Responding to girls’ calls for change, the global community must move beyond reaffirming commitments and invest boldly in the action needed to make that change. On this International Day of the Girl Child (11 October), let us amplify girls’ voices, and recommit to working together to build a world where every girl can thrive.

One important lesson from the pandemic is that countries can design policies that support gender equality; it is a matter of choice. Even in the midst of an unprecedented global crisis, we witnessed governments – from high-income to low-income countries – introducing measures focused on addressing women’s economic security and recovery. Building capacities to respond to the specific needs and priorities of women and girls in crisis has long been a priority for . UNDP, with support from the Government of Denmark, is supporting an all women construction initiative helping to rebuild war-damaged homes in Ukraine. The idea arose after the women found themselves being overlooked when volunteering in local construction groups. 

is the 51�Թ� sexual and reproductive health agency. Their is to deliver a world where every pregnancy is wanted, every childbirth is safe and every young person's potential is fulfilled. The agency promotes gender equality and empowers women, girls and young people to take control of their bodies and their futures in more than 150 countries.

The world is more connected than ever, thanks to our always-evolving technology. But with such advancements come opportunities for harm, with predators finding new ways to perpetuate gender-based violence, using technology for harassment, cyberstalking, doxing, sextortion. brings us the stories of three world-changing women who are working to combat digital violence – creating new laws, technologies and support systems – and to end gender inequality, which creates an imbalance of power and a vulnerability to violence, both in the real and virtual worlds.

Everyone stands to gain from ensuring freedom for women. Social norms that impair women’s rights are also detrimental to society more broadly, dampening the expansion of human development, reports.

UN Women is partnering with FIFA on two calls to action: the first to “Unite for Gender Equality” and the second to “Unite for Ending Violence against Women, critical for a peaceful and sustainable world.

According to a launched by and , no country has achieved full gender parity and fewer than 1 percent of women and girls live in a country with high women’s empowerment and a small gender gap. Analysis of 114 countries has found that women’s power and freedom to make choices and seize opportunities remain largely restricted. Globally, women achieve, on average, 72 percent of what men achieve across key human development dimensions, as measured by the Global Gender Parity Index (GGPI), reflecting a 28 percent of gender gap.

June 24, the International Day of Women in Diplomacy, recognizes women's contribution to peace, development and human rights.

Even though there is a timid improvement, the aviation sector faces a clear gender gap, especially in technical areas and leadership positions. Women holding positions as pilots, air traffic controllers, and maintenance technicians , according to the . The  (5-7 July, Madrid) is intended to call all stakeholders to work together to dismantle the barriers women and girls face and explore the enablers and solutions to achieving gender equality in aviation.

“It's not just food and assistance, you need to give these children a life, a life of full opportunities..."

When thousands fled the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021, Dr. Ramiz Alakbarov, fearing the loss of millions of lives, stayed on. Every day since, the former UN resident and humanitarian coordinator in the country has fought to ease the acute suffering of its people. “I believe we are the last, best hope that humanity has. And we have to stand for it. For [many] we represent this larger world of justice, the moral compass. We must keep that.”

More than 9 in 10 Afghans now live in poverty, with 24.4 million reliant on humanitarian aid. Meanwhile, mounting restrictions on freedoms have excluded millions of women from work and study. In this episode, Dr. Alakbarov reflects on three painful years of Taliban rule, on the desperate need for long-term prospects, and on finding hope amid the darkness.

Photo credit: ©UN Afghanistan

Valdecir Nascimento tells , she wants black women of today to have the power and possibility to decide.