A special overview of Afghanistan

 Received From UN Women  on Friday 29th August 2025 at 2:30 PM Regarding Women in Afghanistan 

 Four years after the Taliban occupation

Afghans overwhelmingly support girls' education 

A new UN Women report finds that 92 percent of Afghans support secondary education for girls

Kabul: 29 August 2025: (Media Link32//UN Women//Women Screen Desk)::

Afghanistan, which used to bully girls in the name of education, is now changing. Now the respect that looks at girls' education with a loving eye is also rapidly developing. The change is surprising and also the knock of the light of new hopes. This is a matter of pride and happiness not only for Afghanistan but for the whole world.

Despite the ongoing ban on secondary education for girls, Afghans of all genders and socio-economic backgrounds almost universally support girls' right to learn, according to a new UN Women Gender Alert.

The alert looks at the current situation of women and girls in ten key areas, including education and employment, security and mobility, and highlights the impact of a crystallised system of restrictions four years after the Taliban took over.

In a nationwide door-to-door survey of more than 2,000 Afghans, 92 per cent said it was 'important' for girls to continue their schooling, and support for this was strong across rural and urban communities.

In the rural population, 87 per cent of men and 95 per cent of women supported girls' schooling, while in urban areas the figure was 95 per cent for both men and women.

"Girls are almost always the first to say no– they are desperate to learn and simply want the chance to get an education," said Susan Ferguson, UN Women's Special Representative in Afghanistan.

“Families also say they want their daughters to dream this dream. They know that literacy and education can change the trajectory of a girl’s life in a country where half the population lives in poverty.”

In a separate UN Women telesurvey conducted in July and August 2025 in areas where the Taliban’s ban on women working in NGOs reportedly remains in place, 97 percent of women surveyed reported that the ban had a negative impact on their daily lives.

More than half of NGOs in Afghanistan now report that it has impacted their ability to deliver essential services to women and girls.

Other key findings in UN Women’s Afghanistan Gender Alert are:

Despite systemic and persistent restrictions on their lives, 40 percent of Afghan women still envision a future where change and equality are possible – even if nearly every avenue for public participation has been closed.

In a telesurvey conducted in July and August 2025, nearly three-quarters of women across all regions of the country rated their mental health as 'bad' or 'very bad'.

Three-quarters of women reported that they had no influence on decisions in their communities; according to consultations conducted by UN Women, UNAMA and the International Organization for Migration (IOM) in April 2025, half said they had no influence on their extended family and one-quarter on their household;

In consultations conducted by UN Women, UNAMA and IOM in June 2025, 14 percent of women reported that they leave the house only once a week, while the figure for men is 2 percent, and only 41 percent of women leave the house at least once a day, while the figure for men is 88 percent.

It seems new days are beginning to appear in the world. A new sun has started to rise. The light of education has started entering the dark houses with closed doors. 

This light has also started reaching the dark and jungled minds filled with ignorance. It is now certain that despite many bad news of war and hatred, good days are about to come all over the world.

Ability to run the house.....

....The scene of women power is changing rapidly

India: Better employment hopes for 16 lakh women in Tamil Nadu

16 lakh women are expected to benefit under the World Bank Tamil Nadu Women Employment and Security (WESAFE) programme.

Country and World: 3 July 2025: (Media Link32//Source courtesy of United Nations)::

Under the World Bank Tamil Nadu Women Employment and Security (WESAFE) program, 16 lakh women are expected to get benefits.

Whether it is home or country or world, it is women who make it beautiful and worth living. It is their understanding and courage that makes a successful life. Women have silently written the history of success. The United Nations often brings their true stories to the fore. One more story has come to light. This story is from Tamil Nadu. There, better and new hopes of employment have emerged for 16 lakh women, which will brighten the future of countless families.

Though the situation is changing all over the world. Men used to dominate the household. Because of this, it was natural for ego to come in their minds. Due to this, it was understood that women do not have the capability to run a household that men have. But this situation is changing rapidly in the last few decades. Women have proved that they are no less than anyone else. As far as India is concerned, this change is being seen rapidly in our country as well. The central and state governments are also active in this direction. 16 lakh women are expected to benefit under the Tamil Nadu Women Employment and Security (WESAFE) program.

With the active support of the World Bank, 16 lakh women are now fully expected to get direct benefits under the Tamil Nadu Women Employment and Security (WESAFE) program. It seems as if success is standing at their doorstep.

In the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, about 16 lakh women now have strong hopes of getting quality employment. This seems possible thanks to an initiative of the World Bank. The Washington-based Board of Executive Directors of the World Bank has approved a new program aimed at increasing women's labor participation in Tamil Nadu.

The name of this initiative is Tamil Nadu Women Employment and Safety (WESAFE) which is very popular now.

In Tamil Nadu, which is rapidly moving towards urbanization, new opportunities are also emerging in sectors like electronics and automobile.

Tamil Nadu has the highest rate of female labor participation in the country and the state has been a pioneer in setting standards for the safety of working women.

Still, the female participation rate remains 32 percentage points lower than that of men. Also, most women are employed in the agricultural sector or in low-paid informal work.

The Tamil Nadu government has set a target of becoming a trillion dollar economy by the year 2030. To achieve this, it is very important to increase the female labor participation.

Keeping this in mind, under the WESAFE program, 6 lakh women will be provided skill training and career support, and 18 thousand women entrepreneurs will be provided incubation support to start a business.

Women Empowerment

The World Bank has previously supported the Tamil Nadu government in setting up several safe hostels.

This new initiative will expand these facilities to include crèches, elderly care, safe transportation options, and support centers to facilitate reporting of harassment and abuse against women.

"Through skills development, financial access, and access to support services such as crèches, safe hostels, and transportation, the program will empower women to participate in the workforce and contribute to Tamil Nadu's goal of becoming a trillion-dollar economy," said August Tano Kueme, World Bank India Country Manager.

The program will strengthen Tamil Nadu's capacity, technical partnerships, and institutional structures.

Muderis Abdulahi Mohammed and Pradyumna Bhattacharya, who are leading the programme, said, “The programme will also encourage partnerships with industry associations, leading institutions and private organisations to improve the quality and availability of housing and transport for women employees, students and women entrepreneurs.”

In addition, a state-level platform with private equity participation will help women gain access to financial products such as credit guarantee funds and micro-grants and raise awareness among them.

The $150 million loan from the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) for the programme has a tenure of 25 years, including a 5-year grace period.

India has been recognized as an emerging AI power

 UN Women Post on 6th May 2025:HDI 2025:

India is strong in the field of human development, but challenges also remain

UNDP India Women in India are being encouraged to play a leading role on sustainable development issues, especially those related to gender equality. (File photo)

6th May 2025 // Economic development

Despite the challenges, development continues in India. The picture given at the beginning of this post shows that there is happiness of economic achievements on the faces of these working women. There is also a glow of struggles. There is also a smile of standing on their own feet. It is a great thing that India has been recognized as an emerging AI power in the Human Development Report 2025. This is a matter of pride for all of us Indians. India is the only lower-middle income country to be ranked in the top 10 in the global AI index. Unfortunately, such positive achievements are not generally discussed in the media as much as they should be. Now all this information has been given in the information received from the United Nations.

A glimpse of the Human Development Report is also in this graph

The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) Human Development Report for the year 2025 indicates a decline in the global pace of human development this year. This decline is particularly evident in South Asia, but India has emerged as an exception in this region - where continuous progress has been seen in human development indicators. India has not only recorded significant improvements in the areas of health, education and income, but has also paved the way for inclusive and sustainable development through artificial intelligence (AI).

According to the Human Development Report titled “A Matter of Choice: People and Possibilities in the Age of AI”, India's Human Development Index (HDI) has increased from 0.676 in 2022 to 0.685 in 2023.

With this, India has moved up from 133rd place to 130th place out of 193 countries in a year.

At the same time, India is moving closer to the threshold of high human development (HDI ≥ 0.700) while maintaining its place in the medium human development category.

India's HDI value has increased by 53% since 1990 - faster than the global and South Asian averages.

According to UNDP India representative Angela Lusigi, this progress reflects lasting improvements in average years of education, life expectancy, and national income per capita.

Role of AI

India has been identified as an emerging AI power in the Human Development Report 2025. This is a matter of great pride in our times. Progress in this field is also a guarantee of success and prosperity in the times to come.

India is the only low-middle income country to be ranked in the top 10 in the global AI index. When the history of the coming future will be written, it will be remembered with great pride. This is a milestone in a way.

According to this report, the infrastructure related to AI in India is strong, and there is continuous investment in the field of skill development. The strengthening of AI related infrastructure in India shows a glimpse of a golden future. This is a clear indication that the pace of India's development is going to be faster now.

In this connection, another figure has come to the fore that while the number of AI researchers was almost negligible in the year 2019, now 20% of Indian people, AI researchers are working in the country itself. There is every possibility of their number increasing soon.

If we go into a little detail, AI is being used in various sectors in India - such as agriculture, healthcare and public distribution system. For example:

*AI is being used to provide insurance and loan related advice to farmers in their regional languages.

*A plan is being made to set up a national AI facility for researchers and new companies and industries.

*AI based inclusive skill development programs supported by UNDP are being run in states like Tamil Nadu and Telangana.

Continuous improvement in health, education and income

Life expectancy in India was 58.6 years in 1990, which has now increased to 72 years in 2023 - the highest level since the inception of the HDI index.

There has also been improvement in the field of education. Now the average period of children staying in school in India has reached 13 years, whereas in 1990 it was only 8.2 years.

Steps like the Right to Education Act, Samagra Shiksha Abhiyan and the new National Education Policy 2020 have played a significant role in this. However, there is still a need for improvement in the quality and outcomes of education.

On the economic front, India's per capita gross national income is projected to increase from $2167.22 in 1990 to $9046.76 in 2023 - an increase of more than four times.

This growth is attributed to broad economic reforms as well as social schemes such as MNREGA, Jan Dhan Yojana and digital inclusion.

This development has also had an impact on the lives of poor people. In particular, between 2015-16 and 2019-21, 135 million people have come out of multidimensional poverty, which is considered a major achievement.

The challenge of inequalities

However, according to the report, India has lost 30.7% in HDI due to indicators related to inequalities -one of the largest losses in the region.

While there has been some improvement in inequality in health and education, income and gender inequality remain widespread.

Women's participation and political representation, especially in the labour force, are still low. However, recent measures such as the constitutional amendment reserving one-third of legislative seats for women offer hope for social and political change.

Global perspective and situation in South Asia

The report expresses concern about the slow pace of global human development. It is at the slowest pace since 1990.

If progress had been maintained before 2020, the world would have been on track to achieve high human development by 2030. But this goal is now at risk of being delayed by several decades.

The report also shows that inequalities between rich and poor countries are becoming increasingly deep.

Gender gap is still very very critical

Monday 16th September 2024 at 9:14 AM

A recent UN report is sounding the alarm for global action

New York: 16th September 2024: (Media Link//The Women Screen Desk)::

A recent UN report is sounding the alarm for immediate global action to address critical gender gaps. Despite progress in gender equality and women's empowerment, with women now holding one in four parliamentary seats and fewer women living in extreme poverty, the report reveals that none of the indicators for Sustainable Development Goal 5 - achieving gender equality-are being met.

At the current pace, achieving gender parity in parliaments won't happen until 2063, and it will take an astonishing 137 years to lift all women and girls out of poverty. One in four girls are still married as children, highlighting the immense work that remains to be done.

The report emphasizes the staggering cost of gender inequality, with countries losing over $10 trillion annually due to inadequate education and an additional $500 billion in the next five years if the digital gender gap persists. 

Key Recommendations:

- Increase Investments: Boost funding to support women's empowerment and education

- End Discrimination: Enact and enforce laws to protect women's rights and prevent violence

- Legal Reforms: Implement domestic violence legislation to reduce intimate partner violence

World leaders are urged to take decisive action at the upcoming Summit of the Future on September 22-23 and the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in 2025 to address these critical issues.

As Sima Bahous, UN Women Executive Director, emphasized, "Progress is achievable, but it's not fast enough. We need to keep pushing forward for gender equality" 

This Time In Focus The Afghan Women and Girls

Females Strive for Their Rights Under 3 Years of Taliban Rule

Afghanistan: 12 August 2024: (Un Women//The Women Screen Desk)::

Since the Taliban took control of Afghanistan in August 2021, the rights and freedoms of women and girls have been under severe assault. The Taliban regime has implemented over 70 decrees and directives aimed specifically at curtailing the autonomy and daily lives of Afghan women. These restrictions span critical areas such as education, employment, reproductive rights, maternal health care, mental health services, and more.

Afghan women continue to exhibit extraordinary resilience and courage despite these overwhelming challenges. Their determination to fight for equality and dignity is evident in their daily lives—from the seemingly simple act of leaving their homes to the more complex efforts of running businesses, organizing communities, and advocating for their rights. Rather than being suppressed, their resolve appears to be strengthening.

UN Women remains a steadfast ally on the ground in Afghanistan, standing beside Afghan women and girls every day. Our strategy focuses on empowering women through various initiatives, including scaling up support for women’s organizations, backing women humanitarian workers who provide life-saving services, and investing in women-led businesses. This critical work is made possible through the invaluable contributions of our Afghan women staff, who are at the heart of our mission.

As the struggle continues, Afghan women’s unwavering spirit serves as a powerful reminder of the importance of global solidarity and support.                                                       Photo: UN Women/Sayed Habib Bidell

Gaza: At least 557,000 women in Gaza are in crisis

These Women are facing severe food insecurity 

A family is seen sitting around a bowl of beans in their tent in Rafah, in the
south of the Gaza Strip. (Photo: UNICEF/Abed Zagout)

Gaza: 27th June 2024: (UN Women News//The women Screen Desk):: 

A high risk of famine persists across the Gaza Strip as long as the ongoing conflict continues and humanitarian access remains restricted, according to a new report by the Integrated Food Security Phase Classification (IPC). Food insecurity affects women in Gaza in multiple ways. UN Women estimates that at least 557,000 women in Gaza are facing severe food insecurity, and find themselves facing old and new gender-based vulnerabilities.

The situation is particularly concerning for mothers and adult women, who often prioritize feeding others over themselves and report greater difficulty accessing food compared to men, leading many to skip meals or reduce their intake to ensure their children are fed. Amid the conflict, women’s care burden is increased, their access to services is limited, their health and food security are compromised, and they face higher risks of being subjected to all types of gender-based violence. 

Here are five key facts explaining how food insecurity affects women in Gaza, based on a recent UN Women survey of people across the Gaza Strip1: Care burden: Women struggle to protect their children's physical and mental well-being while bearing increased caregiving and domestic responsibilities, particularly in tents and overcrowded households. Seventy-seven percent of male and female survey respondents reported that caring for children, including feeding and physical care, is primarily a mother's responsibility. 

Physical health and weight loss: 

Food insecurity and malnutrition are widespread in Gaza. Seven out of 10 women interviewed by UN Women reported weight loss in the last 30 days, and more than half experience frequent dizziness. Food assistance: Over 80 per cent of female respondents rely on food assistance as their primary source of food, yet 87.3 per cent believe that food assistance is not distributed fairly based on family size. Previous evidence collected by UN Women suggests that mothers often eat last and least, skipping meals to feed their children. Additionally, 83.5 per cent stated that the assistance did not meet their household needs. Complications in pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum: Pregnant and lactating women face heightened health risks due to insufficient medical care and nutrition. Seventy-six per cent of pregnant women reported anemia, and 99 per cent face challenges accessing necessary nutritional products and supplements, endangering maternal and infant health. 

Among households with breastfeeding mothers, 55 per cent reported health conditions impeding their ability to breastfeed, and 99 per cent faced challenges securing enough breastmilk, compromising infant survival, growth, and development. 

Kitchen access and unsafe cooking methods:

Only one-third of respondents reported having access to a kitchen where they can cook meals. Additionally, 69 per cent rely on unsafe cooking methods, such as using wood and other waste materials, which increases health risks. Women, who traditionally handle meal preparation, are exposed to hazardous smoke and pollutants, leading to respiratory and other health issues. “When we were living in Gaza City, because of the war, suddenly we did not have food anymore,” said one 16-year-old girl interviewed as part of UN Women’s survey.

“There were no vegetables in the market and no food at all. We had to eat the worst things.” “For example, white flour was not available; we had to mix wheat flour with animal fodder,” she said. “Since it was the first time for us to eat animal fodder, our stomachs were in pain. Everyone suffered from stomach pain. We had days where there was no food at all, we felt tired and exhausted. 

Also, there were no hospitals, and some days we could not leave the house because of the bombing. ”Recommended actions Allow for humanitarian access: Ensure unimpeded access to all populations across the Gaza Strip. Provide lifesaving humanitarian assistance: Address the extremely high severity and magnitude of acute food insecurity and alarming WASH and health conditions through the restoration of health, nutrition, and WASH services, and the provision of safe, nutritious, and sufficient humanitarian food assistance to all the people in need. 

All aid supplies, including medicines, fuel, and other necessities, should be allowed to enter and move throughout the Gaza Strip. Provide malnutrition prevention services and treatment: Deliver acute malnutrition treatment services, while maintaining and protecting stabilization centres and outpatient treatment. Promote and support breastfeeding, and provide ready to use infant formula for non-breastfed infants. Provide complementary foods and micronutrient supplements for young children, pregnant and breastfeeding women, the chronically ill, and the elderly. 

Restore production and market systems: Restore the functioning of market infrastructure and bakeries, combined with cash-based interventions where feasible. Rehabilitate food production systems as soon as possible, including horticulture, livestock, and fishing. Commercial good delivery should continue, however not at the expense of humanitarian assistance. 

1. UN Women survey of 295 men and 305 women across the Gaza Strip, April 2024

Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia

 Thursday16th May 2024 at 8:11 PM

UN Women issued a statement on this International Day

"No one left behind: equality, freedom and justice for all"

Courtesy> International Trade Union Confederation

The theme of this year’s International Day against Homophobia, Biphobia and Transphobia, ‘Leave No One Behind Equality, Freedom, and Justice for All’, underscores the urgent need to address the persistent discrimination, violence, and marginalization faced by lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, intersex, and queer (LGBTIQ+) persons worldwide.

Almost a decade after the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development made ‘Leave No One Behind’ a defining principle of our collective actions for positive change, we see welcome progress. As of late 2023, more than 100 countries had taken proactive measures to safeguard the rights of LGBTIQ+ persons. Legal reforms in 35 UN Member States have ushered in full marriage equality for same-sex couples. In 43 UN Member States, discrimination is prohibited on the grounds of sexual orientation, gender identity or sex characteristics.

However, ongoing persecution against LGBTIQ+ people continues at alarming levels in many countries. Anti-homosexuality trends continue to be seen in many countries, as well as explicit criminalization of same-sex relations. There has also been a wave of legislative efforts to restrict the rights of transgender people, and the ascent of ‘anti-propaganda’ laws. Only 37 Member States formally grant asylum to persons who have experienced discrimination based on sexual orientation, gender identity, gender expression or sex characteristics. Moreover, in crises, marginalized groups including LGBTIQ+ groups tend to experience the worst impacts of those crises and yet are routinely denied much-needed tailored assistance.  

2024 is the biggest electoral year in history–posing a unique opportunity to demand accountability from decision makers and power holders, to dismantle oppressive systems, to promote legislative reforms and inclusive policies that protect rights, to promote and protect the inclusion, participation, and leadership of LGBTIQ+ persons in the democratic process as the only path to achieve equality, freedom, and justice for all.

As we commemorate this day, UN Women urges all stakeholders to foster intersectional alliances and act in solidarity with other critical movements to help drive our common goal of realizing equality, justice, and freedom for all.

Concerning the title of the day, UN Women underscores the implicit centrality of persons with diverse sex characteristics.

Call for bold funds to end violence against women

Thursday: 23rd November 2023 at 1:34 AM

An Urgent Call by UN Women

New report showing prevention is severely underfunded  

In 2022, countries around the world spent USD 204 billion in overseas development assistance—of that sizable sum, only one-fifth of one per cent was spent on preventing gender-based violence (GBV).  

New York: 23rd November 2023: (UN Women Media//The Women Screen Desk):: 

Ahead of the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women on 25 November, a report “What Counts? The state of funding for the prevention of gender-based violence against women and girls” by UN Women partners the Equality Institute and the Accelerator for GBV Prevention, working together under the Collective Commitment of the Generation Equality Action Coalition on GBV reveals a concerning reality: gender-based violence, an issue of alarming proportions, garners only 0.2% of global aid and development funding.   

The report comes as the world kicks off the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, from 25 November to 10 December, under the global theme set by the UN Secretary-General’s UNiTE campaign, “UNITE! Invest to prevent violence against women and girls”.  

As the world marks the halfway point to the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the urgency to end violence against women and girls has never been greater.  UN Women’s Gender Snapshot 2023 report reveals that 245 million women and girls continue to face physical and/or sexual violence from their intimate partners each year. A staggering 86 per cent of women and girls live in countries without robust legal protections against violence, or in countries where data are not available. 

Additionally, the impacts of economic crises, conflicts, and climate change have heightened the vulnerability of women and girls to violence.   

“It is time to get serious and fund what we know works to stop violence against women and girls.   Invest in reforming and implementing laws and multisectoral policies.  Provide services to survivors.  Scale up evidence-based prevention interventions. With the will and contributions of all stakeholders and sectors, we can unlock financing, track budget allocations, and increase gender-responsive budgeting. We have the solutions and resources to end violence against women and girls in our lifetimes.  It is our choice,” said UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous at the official commemoration event for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in New York. 

A strong and autonomous feminist movement is also a crucial part of the solution. Women’s rights organizations play a pivotal role in preventing violence, advocating for policy change, and holding governments accountable. However, as per the Action Coalition on GBV’s Accountability Report, they remain severely underfunded, and significant efforts are needed to increase financial support for women’s rights organizations working in this space.  

Also, launched today, a new research brief with estimates on gender-related killings of women and girls, produced jointly by UNODC and UN Women, shows that globally, nearly 89,000 women and girls were killed intentionally in 2022, the highest yearly number recorded in the past two decades, indicating that the number of female homicides is not decreasing. Most killings of women and girls are gender motivated. In 2022, 55 per cent of the intentional killings of women (around 48,800) were committed by intimate partners or other family members. This means that, on average, more than 133 women or girls were killed every day by someone in their own family. 

16 Days of Activism  Around The World  

Through the 16 Days of Activism campaign, UN Women will be calling for increased long-term, sustainable investments from states, private sector, foundations, and other donors to women’s rights organizations working to end violence against women and girls in all their diversity. 

On November 22nd, the official commemoration event for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women in New York will feature an opening address by the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations and remarks by UN Women’s Executive Director, and will bring together voices of Member States, women’s civil society organizations, United Nations agencies, and Leaders and Commitment Makers of the Generation Equality Action Coalition on Gender-Based Violence. In line with this year’s theme, the event will highlight best practices of investment to prevent violence against women, gaps and challenges and the way forward.   

UN Women will be also leading a global social media campaign to speak up against gender-based violence using #NoExcuse and #16Days. 

From a film festival in Rwanda, to a dialogue for young women in Sri Lanka, and film screenings in Egypt and Morocco, dozens of events organized during the 16 Days of Activism will aim to rally action to ensure a violence-free future for women and girls, symbolized by the colour orange. 

As in previous years, iconic buildings around the world are expected to be lit in orange during the 16 Days of Activism, including the Grand Place City Hall Hôtel de Ville in Brussels, Belgium, the UN House in Dakar, Senegal, the Tbilisi TV tower in Tbilisi, Georgia, and other landmark buildings across Sweden, Pakistan and other countries. 

Women Groups working for women in Afghanistan

27 December 2022

Statement by UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous is a milestone

UN Women stands in full solidarity with the women and girls of Afghanistan

Statement: The decree barring women in Afghanistan from working in non-governmental organizations is yet another stark violation of women’s rights

Statement by UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous on the Taliban prohibition of women working with national and international non-governmental organizations.

Updated

Once again, the de facto authorities of Afghanistan have found new ways to harm the women and girls of Afghanistan. As the world remains outraged by recent decisions to ban women and girls from higher education, the decree issued on the 24th December barring women from working in national and international NGOs is yet another stark violation of women’s rights and humanitarian principles. We strongly condemn this without reservation. 

This is relentless misogyny, a virulent attack on women, their contribution, their freedom and their voice.  It is yet another repudiation of every norm and standard of women’s human rights and respect for human dignity.  

In barring women from contributing to the efforts of aid organizations, the Taliban has in effect suspended aid for half the population of Afghanistan, aid that they depended on and without which they will not survive. 11.6 million women and girls are no longer receiving vital assistance. Women-headed households, which make up almost a quarter of households in Afghanistan, have nowhere left to turn and no livelihood support. Many national and international NGOs are unable to operate without their female staff. All services for women are impacted including their access to water, sanitation, hygiene, protection, food, shelter and livelihoods. The consequences of this are further increasing the vulnerability of women and girls already at risk, as services for survivors of violence or to prevent sexual exploitation and abuse are shut down. Thousands of children and families who depended on the income that women delivering humanitarian assistance brought in, are now even more destitute.

There can be no greater catastrophe in the face of humanitarian crisis than to remove the contribution of half the population in navigating Afghanistan’s daunting challenges.

UN Women stands in full solidarity with the women and girls of Afghanistan. I stress again our complete condemnation of the continued erasure and oppression of Afghanistan’s women and girls from public life and our outrage at this latest act of cruelty.

The de facto authorities must know that their actions are undertaken under the full light and scrutiny of the international community and always will be. UN Women has stayed and delivered in Afghanistan, and we will remain. Together with our partners we will make every effort to ensure that women and girls reclaim their space in contributing to the future of Afghanistan, and that their rights are restored, protected and upheld.

Many more women organisation actively working in afghanistan for the welfare of women.women for Afghan Women (WAW) is also one of them. WAW couldn’t be more proud of our partnership with @aseelapp! 

Photos Courtesy: Women for Afghan Women

Our latest dore and more families are left without basic necessities. Our food packages are able to sustain one family for moreistribution in Kabul of 91 food packages impacted over 740 beneficiaries. With worsening economic conditions in Afghanistan, m than one month. With this kind of team work, together we can impact many lives across Afghanistan. 

Our food packages are able to sustain one family for more than one month. With this kind of team work, together we can impact many lives across Afghanistan. It is the moral duty of all women orgamisations to work for all opperessed and depressed women in the all corners of thw world. Are You ready?

COVID-19 pandemic is not just a health issue

Date: Friday, March 20, 2020

 It is a profound shock to our societies and economies 

Statement by Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, 

She is UN Under-Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director

One thing is clear about the COVID-19 pandemic, as stock markets tumble, schools and universities close, people stockpile supplies and home becomes a different and crowded space: this is not just a health issue. It is a profound shock to our societies and economies, exposing the deficiencies of public and private arrangements that currently function only if women play multiple and underpaid roles.

We applaud the efforts of governments who are taking extraordinary measures to stop the spread of infections. And the strong leadership, from grassroots to head of state, providing well targeted response, from Chancellor Merkel and Prime Minister Solberg addressing national anxieties, to Prime Minister Ardern highlighting welfare in her economic measures.

With children out of school, mothers at home may still work, but many have also become teachers and caregivers, with consequences for those previously employed in those roles. For the 8.5 million women migrant domestic workers, often on insecure contracts, income loss also affects their dependents back at home. Professional women like South Korean mother-of-two Sung So-young are reporting the dilemma of needing to return to the office but are having to forgo that to enable their higher-earning partners’ continued work. As schools close in more countries, the number of mothers facing this across the world rises and the consequences accumulate.

By the middle of March there were 207,855 confirmed cases in 166 countries, areas or territories. Without data that is disaggregated by sex, however, these numbers give us only part of the story of the impact on women and men. We need far more sex-disaggregated data to tell us how the situation is evolving, including on differing rates of infection, differential economic impacts, differential care burden, and incidence of domestic violence and sexual abuse. 

Even without this, experience from previous major epidemics points us to specific strengths and vulnerabilities that we can look out for and be proactive to safeguard. Where governments or businesses put income protection in place, this can ease these dilemmas, sustain incomes and avoid driving households into poverty. This response must also include those in the informal economy, where most women who work outside home make their livelihood. Such social protection is best directed specifically to women.

The 2014-16 Ebola outbreak in the West African countries of Guinea, Liberia, and Sierra Leone, and the 2015-2016 Zika epidemic in Latin America provide essential, gendered public health and socioeconomic lessons. Women in those outbreaks were exposed to both health and economic risks, as they are again now, in ways intrinsically connected with their roles in the community and responsibilities as caregivers within the home and family.

For example, both Ebola and Zika infections are potentially catastrophic for pregnant women. Yet during both previous outbreaks, access to family planning services were very limited, and pregnant and lactating women were excluded from vaccination against the viruses. This underlines the importance of sustained maternal health services to avoid a resurgence of birth-related deaths, and equal access for women to the development and use of all medical products including vaccines once produced.

In Liberia, 85 per cent of daily market traders are women. Their livelihoods and economic security suffered as Ebola-related travel restrictions limited trade and affected perishable goods. Back then, together with the Central Bank of Liberia, we were able to help thousands of women cross-border traders to save and expand their businesses through cash transfers via mobile technology. This highlights the importance of looking ahead to women’s roles in recovery measures, and to the innovative use of technology to problem-solve.

This is a moment for governments to recognize both the enormity of the contribution women make and the precarity of so many. This includes a focus on sectors where women are over-represented and underpaid, such as daily wage earners, small business owners, those working in cleaning, caring, cashiering and catering sectors and in the informal economy.

Globally, women make up 70 per cent of frontline workers in the health and social sector, like nurses, midwives, cleaners and laundry workers. We need mitigation strategies that specifically target both the health and economic impacts of the COVID-19 outbreak on women and that support and build women’s resilience, as we saw in Liberia and elsewhere. And to make those responses as well designed as possible, women should be fully engaged in their creation, be priority recipients of aid, and partners in building the longer-term solutions.

We are learning more every day from the arc of the pandemic in China. We have been working closely there with country leadership as part of the UN collective response. Joint campaigns have reached 1 billion people, with communications that raise awareness through public health information, combat stigma and discrimination, reflect women’s specific needs, promote women’s leadership and contributions and develop recovery plans that link equality, health and the economy.

I am proud that our UN Women team has been there every step of the way, making sure of access to gender responsive information and collaborating with sister agencies like UNFPA which has been mobilizing support for pregnant women and safe conditions for childbirth. We are also working with women’s organizations all over the world, for example with the Rohingya refugees in Cox’s Bazar (Bangladesh) where women, especially in highly segregated environments, can lack critical information. Here, women have organized themselves into a network that educates women and girls about keeping safe and avoiding infections.

All of us engaged in this effort, whether public or private sector, need to take a coordinated, people-centred approach to rapidly building health system capacity in both developed and developing countries, making a conscious effort to put women front and centre. For example, creating better access to appropriate personal protective equipment for home-based caregivers, and removing obstacles to their work, by promoting flexible working arrangements, and ensuring supplies of menstrual hygiene products. These needs are even more important for areas under lockdown or quarantine. So too are considerations of gender-based violence that are exacerbated by these conditions, but may not receive the attention they need, in the drive to respond to the pandemic.

Violence against women is already an epidemic in all societies, without exception. Every day, on average, 137 women are killed by a member of their own family. We also know that levels of domestic violence and sexual exploitation spike when households are placed under the increased strains that come from security, health and money worries, and cramped and confined living conditions. We see this frequently among displaced populations in crowded refugee camps; and reported domestic violence has tripled recently in some countries practising social distancing.

Cyberviolence too has become a routine feature of the internet, and as movement restrictions increase online gaming and use of chat rooms, this is an area for vigilance to protect girls. Girls too can step up their own resistance work in this area, and lead with social media solutions. In China the hashtag #AntiDomesticViolenceDuringEpidemic has taken off, helping to expose violence as a risk during lockdown and linked to online resources.

COVID-19 provides us with an opportunity for radical, positive action to redress long-standing inequalities in multiple areas of women’s lives. There is scope for not just endurance, but recovery and growth. I ask governments and all other service providers including the private sector to take this opportunity to plan their response to COVID-19 as they have never done before, and fully take a gender perspective into account, proactively building gender expertise into response teams and embedding gender dimensions within response plans. For example, include surge funding for women’s shelters so they can provide for women who need to escape violent relationships, and aim economic support and bail outs specifically at retail sectors, hospitality and small businesses where women are predominantly employed on precarious contracts, if any, and are most vulnerable to forced cost-saving.

All of this needs funding; organizations responding to COVID-19 need budgeted resources for gender and social inclusion and I urge donors to include this in their support, viewing this as a constant, strongly positive element to include in development budgets and enhancing rather than cutting support to gender equality measures. Organizations serving women need assistance to bolster their response and to prepare for the recovery. This needs resources that many organizations lack. We appeal to funders to enhance their support for women rather than take an austerity approach. A global, coordinated response of the magnitude that followed the financial crisis is needed, constructed with a gender lens, and fully inclusive.

This is a time of reckoning for our national and personal values and a recognition of the strength of solidarity for public services and society as a whole. This is an opportunity to build back better, stronger, resilient and equal societies. It is a time for bold prioritization. Taking the right steps now with an eye to a restored future could bring both relief and hope to the women of the world.

(Courtesy: UN Women)

Anita Bhatia on Women and COVID-19:

Thursday: 26th March 2020

 Five things governments can do now 

--By UN Women Deputy Executive Director Anita Bhatia

Governments the world over are struggling to contain the COVID-19 pandemic. While some voices have flagged the impacts on women, gender concerns are not yet shaping the decisions that mainly male leaders are making. At the same time, many of the impacts of COVID-19 are hitting women hardest. Here’s why:

First, while the economic and social impacts on all are severe, they are more so for women. Many of the industries in the formal economy directly affected by quarantines and lockdowns—travel, tourism, restaurants, food production—have very high female labour force participation. Women also constitute a large percentage of the informal economy in informal markets and agriculture around the world. In both developed and developing economies, many informal sector jobs—domestic workers, caregivers—are mostly done by women who typically lack health insurance and have no social safety net to fall back on. 

At the same time, women typically shoulder a greater burden of care. On average women did three times as much unpaid care work as men at home even before COVID-19. Now, formal sector female employees with children are balancing one or more of the following: work (if they still have it), childcare, homeschooling, elder care, and housework. Female-headed households are particularly vulnerable.

Second, the crisis is having an impact on women’s health and safety. Apart from the direct impacts of the disease, women may find it hard to access much needed maternal health services given that all services are being directed to essential medical needs. Availability of contraception and services for other needs may become disrupted. Women’s personal safety is also at risk. The very conditions that are needed to battle the disease—isolation, social distancing, restrictions on freedom of movement—are, perversely, the very conditions that feed into the hands of abusers who now find state-sanctioned circumstances tailor-made for unleashing abuse. 

Third, because the majority of frontline health workers—especially nurses—are women, their risk of infection is higher. (By some estimates 67 per cent global health force is women). So, while attention must be paid to ensuring safe conditions for ALL caregivers, special attention is needed for female nurses and carers—not only in access to personal protective equipment like masks but also for other needs such as menstrual hygiene products—that may be easily and inadvertently overlooked, but are essential to ensuring they are able to function well. 

Finally, it is striking how many of the key decision-makers in the process of designing and executing the pandemic response are men. When any one of us switches on the television anywhere in the world we see a sea of men. This is not surprising given that women still do not enjoy the same degree of participation in major decision-making bodies—governments, parliaments, cabinets or corporations—as men do. Only 25 per cent of parliamentarians worldwide are women, and less than 10 per cent of Heads of State or Government are women. While we have a few shining examples of women Heads of State or Government, women are conspicuous by their absence in decision-making fora in this pandemic. 

Here are five actions governments can take now to address these issues: 

First, ensure that the needs of female nurses and doctors are integrated into every aspect of the response effort. At a minimum, this means ensuring that menstrual hygiene products such as sanitary pads and tampons are available for female caregivers and frontline responders as part of personal protective equipment. This will ensure that they do not face unnecessary discomforts in already challenging situations. But most importantly, talk to the caregivers and listen to their needs and respond. They deserve all the support we can provide right now, particularly support in terms of much-needed critical medical equipment. 

Second, ensure that hotlines and services for all victims of domestic abuse are considered “essential services“ and are kept open and law enforcement is sensitized to the need to be responsive to calls from victims. Follow the example of Quebec and Ontario, which have included shelters for women survivors in the list of essential services. This will ensure that the pandemic does not inadvertently lead to more trauma, injury and deaths during the quarantine period, given the high proportion of violent deaths of women perpetrated by intimate partners. 

Third, bailout and stimulus packages must include social protection measures that reflect an understanding of women’s special circumstances and recognition of the care economy. This means ensuring health insurance benefits for those most in need and paid and/or sick leave for those unable to come to work because they are taking care of children or elders at home. 

For informal sector employees, who constitute the vast majority of the female labour force in developing economies, special efforts should be made to deliver compensatory payments. Identifying those informal sector workers will be a challenge and will need to take account of a country's particular circumstances, but it is worth the effort to ensure more equity in outcomes.

Fourth, leaders must find a way to include women in response and recovery decision-making. Whether at the local, municipal or national level, bringing the voices of women into decision-making will lead to better outcomes; we know from many settings that diversity of views will enrich a final decision. Alongside this, policy-makers should leverage the capacities of women’s organizations. Reaching out to enlist women’s groups will help ensure a more robust community response as their considerable networks can be leveraged to disseminate and amplify social distancing messaging. The Ebola response benefited from the involvement of women’s groups, why not this? 

Finally, policy makers must pay attention to what is happening in peoples’’ homes and support an equal sharing of the burden of care between women and men. There is a great opportunity to “unstereotype” the gender roles that play out in households in many parts of the world. One concrete action for governments, particularly for male leaders, is to join our campaign, HeForShe and stay tuned for more information about “HeforShe@home”, whereby we enlist men and boys to ensure that they are doing their fair share at home and alleviating some of the care burdens that fall disproportionately on women.

These actions and more are urgent. Building in the needs of women offers an opportunity for us to “build back better”.

What better tribute to our shared humanity than to implement policy actions that build a more equal world (UN Women)

Thursday: 26th March 2020

Support for Women’s Empowerment Principles

Tuesday: 18th August 2020
 Leading companies in Vietnam sign the CEO Statement of 

Business leaders in Vietnam join the "Equality Means Business" Forum in Hanoi where they signed on to the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) Photo: UN Women Vietnam

Hanoi: (Vietnam):: 18th August 2020: (UN Women//The Women Screen)::

Business leaders in Viet Nam join the "Equality Means Business" Forum in Ha Noi where they signed on to the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) Photo: UN Women Viet Nam

Ha Noi, Viet Nam–Twenty-one business leaders in Viet Nam joining a forum hosted by UN Women have signed the CEO Statement of Support for the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs) as they charted the next steps to achieve gender equality in the workplace, marketplace and community.

The companies endorsed the Statement in the presence of the “Equality Means Business” forum organizers – UN Women, the EU Delegation in Viet Nam and the Viet Nam Women Entrepreneur Council (VWEC) under the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI). They agreed to continue encouraging more businesses in the country to sign on.

Established by UN Women and United Nations Global Compact, the WEPs promote business practices that empower female workers. Signatories commit to take seven steps including giving women senior corporate posts and treating all workers fairly. UN Women also works to promote women in the private sector through its WeEmpowerAsia programme, which is funded by the European Union. The programme involves Viet Nam and six other Asian countries.

During the forum, the company representatives exchanged ideas on enhancing enterprise competitiveness, promotion of women’s participation in supply chains, and strategies for investing in women’s business leadership and talent. They also underlined the need for strong corporate leadership to scale ambitions into actions.

Elisa Fernandez Saenz, UN Women Viet Nam Country Representative, opened the gathering noting how empowering women strengthens the bottom line of businesses: “There is a direct correlation between investing in women’s employment and GDP per capita: countries with greater gender equality have faster-growing and more competitive economies. Likewise, businesses with greater gender equality display higher returns, higher levels of productivity and competitiveness, with better labour force and work environments.”

Nguyen Thi Tuyet Minh, Chairwoman of the Viet Nam Women Entrepreneur Council (VWEC), shared at the forum: “Expansion of employment opportunities, dedication and promotion for women and men in community, at the workplace and in supply chain will exploit potentiality, strength of all. This is the perfect supplement and foundation to achieve the prosperity and sustainability of each country and company.”    

Tom Corrie, First Counsellor and Deputy Head of Cooperation Section at the European Union Delegation to Viet Nam said: “Viet Nam ranks the 3rd among ASEAN countries, in terms of gender gap score and in terms of economic participation and opportunities. Obviously, further efforts need to be placed on women economic empowerment. And I am glad to see European companies signing CEO’ commitment to Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), promoted by the WeEmpowerAsia programme, for which the EU is pleased to contribute.”

At present, there are 3,358 WEPs signatories worldwide, of which 67 are in Viet Nam including the 21 new signatories that had signed at the event.

The event, held ahead of World Entrepreneurs Day on August 21, saw the participation of Vietnamese as well as European businesses based in the country that highlighted the need to strengthen trade and cooperation links between European and Vietnamese markets as both sides continue advancing women’s economic rights and opportunities. (UN women)

---------------------

UN Women AsiaPacific

@unwomenasia

·

Aug 18

Leading companies in #VietNam today signed the 

@WEPrinciples

 as they chart the next steps to empowering more women! READ MORE: https://bit.ly/2Q5e7Vm