Happy New Year! We bring you the Newsletter summarizing activities during the last quarter of 2024. As we gear towards continuing our work of empowering women and girls with a renewedspirit for 2025, we reflect on how 2024 has been for GEWE work. At UN Women EthiopiaCountry Office, we concluded the year with a vibrant commemoration of 16 Days of activism.The annual Unite Campaign brought together government entities, sister UN Agencies, CSO,Women Led organizations among others. It was yet another opportunity to collaborate andrenew commitment to work for betterment of the lives of women and girls in Ethiopia.

The national launch for the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based violence in Uganda

This year marks 30 years since the adoption of the landmark global framework to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment worldwide. We delighted to share with you the 4th quarter newsletter of 2024.This edition celebrates another impactful year, highlighting our collective strides in empowering women and girls across Uganda. The past three months have been a time of reflection and action. From commemorating the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence (25 November to 10 December), we have witnessed the power of partnerships in driving transformative change. These moments remind us that every step forward, no matter how small, contributes to a future where every woman and girl can live free from discrimination and violence.

Since independence in 1962, Uganda has faced ongoing conflicts, marked by violence and gender-based violations. The government supports the Women, Peace, and Security (WPS) Agenda, rooted in UNSCR 1325, emphasizing women’s participation in peacebuilding and conflict resolution. Through National Action Plans, Uganda seeks to protect women’s rights, address post-conflict needs, and promote sustainable peace, though challenges persist in rehabilitation and reconstruction efforts.

In 2022, MGCSW and UN Women South Sudan developed the Country Gender Equality Profile, highlighting progress and challenges in gender equality, women’s rights, and governance. The study calls for increased funding, legal reforms, and socio-economic initiatives to address issues like illiteracy, violence, and limited access to services. Collaborative action by the government, UN agencies, and civic groups is essential for promoting gender equality and safeguarding women’s rights. Key recommendations include allocating funding for violence survivors, establishing the Women Enterprise Fund, reviewing the Girl Child Act, and expediting gender-related laws. The government should lift social media bans, provide platforms for women’s voices, and promote women’s inclusion in constitution drafting. Efforts should also focus on disseminating the Maputo Protocol and defining the minimum marriage age to safeguard gender equality and women’s rights.

While progress has been made in gender equality policies and peacebuilding, women face structural barriers. The study recommends strengthening legal frameworks, institutional structures, and socio-economic initiatives, urging collaboration among government, UN agencies, civil society, and partners to advance gender equality and women’s empowerment.

These policy briefs, form part of the Country Gender Equality Profile (CGEP), evaluates gender equality in Kenya, offering evidence-based insights for stakeholders to advance commitments to Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment (GEWE). Guided by the EU Gender Action Plan 2021–2025, they promote inclusive, transformative approaches to inform programmes, policies, and actions, addressing diverse gender needs and advancing Kenya’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) through national and county-level collaboration.

This publication is part of the WEE WCARO Best Practices series. The Digital Inclusion for Women’s Economic Empowerment (D4WEE) project in Liberia demonstrates the transformative power of digital inclusion and strategic partnerships in driving economic empowerment for rural women. Rural women face challenges to participate in the economy, including limited access to markets, financial services, or land. By connecting women to markets, enhancing access to finance, and promoting renewable energy solutions, the project leverages technology to improve women’s financial inclusion.

This publication is part of the WEE WCARO Best Practices series. The ‘‘Climate and Energy Mali” (CEMALI) project trained women in the production of improved cookstoves and sustainable fuels, reforestation activities, forestry management, and improved and efficient carbonization techniques. The project has contributed to climate change mitigation and adaptation, a reduction of women’s unpaid care work, and improved health of household members. This factsheets outlines the project's approach and results.

This study provides an overview of the kinds of administrative data on discrimination and inequality currently being produced in 22 countries across Africa. It also identifies the data and capacity gaps as well as other barriers that prevent this kind of data from being used for statistical purposes. The recommendations of the study are aimed at helping producers and users of administrative data and statistics on discrimination and inequality improve the availability and accessibility of quality data. This can be done by for example improving data governance and statistical coordination, amongst other interventions. Increased accessibility and regular publication of this data will also contribute towards greater uptake and use and ultimately more informed decision making and better monitoring of discrimination and inequality on the continent.

Discover the key insights and milestones of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BPfA) as we approach its 30th anniversary in 2025. This publication explores progress made, persistent challenges, and Kenya’s contributions to gender equality. Highlighting actionable steps for individuals and organizations, it connects the BPfA to the Sustainable Development Goals, emphasizing its continued relevance in driving transformative change for women and girls globally.

In a bid to curb the rising HIV incidence among young women in Zimbabwe, UN Women and NAC have unveiled a critical study highlighting the multifaceted challenges faced by Adolescent Girls and Young Women (AGYW) in Matabeleland South.

More than 11 million people have been displaced amid the conflict in Sudan as of October 2024, with more than half (54 per cent) being women and girls. An estimated 12 million people are currently at risk of gender-based violence, as described in this new Gender Alert by UN Women. 

We are bringing the third quarter newsletter to you, filled with events in our Country office, some impact stories, and new publications. Speaking of events, at the end of this quarter, we were busy planning to host a senior leader from UN women Head Quarters, hence the delay in sharing this newsletter to add this important engagement. We were honored to host Dr. Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, Deputy Executive Director for Normative Support, UN System Coordination and Programme Results. The visit by DED Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda marked a pivotal opportunity to reinforce and strategically align the partnership between UN Women and Ethiopian government and CSOs as well as between UN Women, the African Union Commission (AUC), and UNECA and UN sister agencies.

This strategy is transformational and it aims to seize the momentum of the Africa Agenda 2063 and the Commonwealth Commitments on gender equality to place African women’s priorities in the global development agendas while building on commonalities of the three regions and mutualizing efforts addressing continental challenges related to gender equality and women empowerment.

Gender integration in Disaster Risk Reduction (DRR) policies and frameworks across Malawi, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe remains inadequate despite progress in developing DRR plans and structures.

The Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BDPfA) is a landmark global commitment, adopted by 189 countries in 1995, to advance gender equality, eliminate discrimination, and empower all women and girls.

Thirty years ago, in 1995, 189 countries made a historic commitment to advance gender equality, rights and the empowerment of all women and girls by adopting the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BDPfA).

This report provides recommendations to ensure future elections are conducted in a gender responsive environment. Some of the recommendations include alignment of the Electoral Act to the Constitution, amendment of the Political Parties Finance Act to provide a framework that encourages participation of women through financial support to female candidates, reduction of nomination fees, as well as the need to provide proper sanitation and living conditions of electoral staff among others.

Women have the right to equal and inclusive representation in all decision-making systems on equal terms with men. Despite important progress by States parties, to date, this right is still not respected. This General Recommendation (GR) outlines a roadmap towards women’s right to equal and inclusive representation. It provides comprehensive guidance for States parties on achieving equal and inclusive representation of women in all decision-making systems across all sectors, aiming for a systemic change.