News on Gender equality

26 November 2019
News
Child marriage is widely seen as a way to secure care for daughters, who are often viewed as an economic burden. In this way, the practice both arises from and perpetuates gender inequality. © UNFPA Regional Syria Response Hub
“Life became a cage”: Syrian girls shed light on conflict, vulnerability and cycle of abuse
DAMASCUS, Syria – “Growing up, I felt as though my wings were slowly clipped against my will, and life became a cage from which there was no escape,” said Amal*, a Syrian adolescent from Qamishli. “An entire world... Read more
25 November 2019
News
Salwa's* experience shows the vulnerabilities of survivors who do not receive qualified and timely support.. © UNFPA Yemen
Stand against rape and gender-based violence, UNFPA and partners urge
UNITED NATIONS, New York – “While I was in the office, they brought me a survivor,” Dr. Joseph Johnson, a gynaecologist in northwest South Sudan, recently recalled. “They told me she was raped by her own boyfriend.” The... Read more
13 November 2019
News
In 10 years, the world could achieve three transformative results, at a price tag of only $264 billion, according to new research unveiled at the Nairobi Summit on ICPD25. © UNFPA Uganda
This is how much it will cost to realize the world we want
Nairobi, KENYA – It is possible to end preventable maternal deaths, cover all unmet needs for family planning and put a stop to gender-based violence, all within a decade. But it will cost the world a total of $264... Read more
4 November 2019
News
Nuns and monks gathered at Pangrizampa College of Astrology to speak with UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem about their work on sexual and reproductive health and rights. © UNFPA Bhutan/Nilanjana Bose
Nuns and monks break the silence on sexual and reproductive health and rights in Bhutan
Thimphu, BHUTAN – "There was a time when I would be menstruating and didn’t know what to do during those days… Now I do.” These candid reflections came from an unexpected source: a nun sitting cross-legged on the floor... Read more
3 October 2019
News
The school for husbands and future husbands teaches men to empower their wives through behavior change. Here, men practice domestic skills to ease the burden on their wives. © UNFPA/Ollivier Girard
Real men respect women, says school for husbands in Burkina Faso
MAMBOUE, Burkina Faso – Waimbabie Gnoumou is learning to be a better husband, says his wife, Martine. That’s because he is going to a special school that teaches men exactly that. The Husbands and Future Husbands School... Read more
30 September 2019
News
Spotlight Initiative shows early progress on making women and girls feel safe
BUENOS AIRES/TEGUCIGALPA/NEW YORK – Like many teenagers in Argentina’s Jujuy Province, Camila used to lack access to comprehensive sexuality education in school. She saw her peers face risks like adolescent pregnancy... Read more
26 September 2019
News
South Sudan and the Democratic Republic of the Congo have seen particularly widespread sexual and gender-based violence, both during and in the aftermath of conflict. © UNFPA DRC
Leaders call on world to end scourge of gender violence
JUBA/KINSHASA/NEW YORK – Betty* is a survivor. The South Sudanese teenager has risen above a horrific act of violence and reclaimed her life. But her heroic act of recovery should never have been necessary, leaders at... Read more
2 August 2019
News
Trik Dulene (sitting) with friends in the Kologe II displacement camp. She teaches women about family planning. © UNFPA Ethiopia
Displaced women in eastern Ethiopia stand up to pressure, stigma over family planning
UNITED NATIONS, New York/SOMALI REGION, Ethiopia – Trik Dulene knows all about bullying and coercion when it comes to a woman’s reproductive choices.  Although she and her husband agreed to use family planning after... Read more
24 July 2019
News
Women UN leaders meet with female leaders and advocates in Kabul, Afghanistan. Women's voices must be heard, they emphasized. © Fardin Waezi / UNAMA
Women belong at the centre of peace efforts, women UN leaders urge in Afghanistan
Kabul, Afghanistan/UNITED NATIONS, New York – UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem joined a high-level delegation of women UN leaders on an intensive two-day “solidarity mission” to Afghanistan to highlight the... Read more
10 July 2019
News
Twenty-five years ago, 179 governments adopted a visionary Programme of Action that aimed to safeguard the health and rights of women and girls and to promote their empowerment. © UNFPA Morocco
Twenty-five years ago, leaders promised to advance women’s health and rights. Have they delivered?
The ICPD Programme of Action was adopted on 13 September 1994. It set out to change the world for women and girls. Find out how much of this promise has been fulfilled. UNITED NATIONS, New York – Twenty-five years ago,... Read more

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