Stories
“As women leaders, we can change Liberia.”
Wednesday, March 3, 2021
UN Women has been supporting the National Rural Women Structure of Liberia to implement various economic empowerment projects and providing training on business management, adult literacy, vocational skills, climate-smart agriculture among other pieces of training, with funding from the Government of Sweden.
Friday, February 26, 2021
Ms. Asseny Muro, 72, is one of the pioneers of the Beijing Platform for Action (1995) and spent more than half her life championing the rights of women in Tanzania. In 1993, Muro was one of the founders of the Tanzania Gender Networking Programme (TGNP), a leading women’s rights and feminist organization where she is currently the Chairperson of the Board. She is also a Champion of the Generation Equality Campaign by UN Women, and a Steering Committee Member of the Tanzania Chapter of the African Women Leaders’ Network (AWLN). A firm believer that the aspirations of the Beijing Platform for Action are relevant today, Muro calls on young women and girls to demonstrate their capacity and interest to take over the baton from previous generations.
Traditional practitioners embark on alternative economic livelihood programs in Liberia
Thursday, February 25, 2021
Mother to five children and seven grandchildren, Ms. Dahn is one of 300 traditional practitioners who have benefitted from the alternative economic livelihood programme that was launched in December 2019 by UN Women in collaboration with Plan International under the European Union and United Nations Spotlight Initiative. The program is aimed at providing traditional practitioners with new skills and sources of income to replace that earned through FGM in five counties targeted by the Spotlight Initiative. Providing alternative economic activities for traditional practitioners is intended to persuade them to abandon harmful practices, such as FGM, and instead engage in activities that will empower them and build and sustain positive cultural heritage.
Hand over the mic to: Aisha, Kenya
Tuesday, November 24, 2020
Aisha*, 12 years old, is now living in a shelter in the coastal region of Kenya, with 34 other children who have experienced gender-based violence. When schools closed because of the COVID-19 pandemic, these girls fell victims to sexual abuse within their homes.
What Happened After Covid-19 hit: Kenya
Tuesday, November 24, 2020
As a forensic scientist at the Forensic Science division of the government chemist, I am in charge of analyzing evidential materials from crime scenes in the cases of Gender-Based Violence. My role is important as it is this evidence that will link perpetrators or exonerate the wrongfully accused in the dispensation of justice.
What Happened After Covid-19 Hit: Ethiopia
Tuesday, November 24, 2020
Alegnta was an integral part of the efforts of our organization, Setaweet in combating gender-based violence. The project aims to address a gap in providing services to survivors of sexual assault and abuse who approach the center in increasing numbers.
What happened after COVID-19 hit: Malawi
Tuesday, November 24, 2020
In Malawi, thirty-one-year-old Alepher Matemba Banda is a nurse responding to a hotline at Chipatala cha pa foni, a national health helpline. Banda was among 40 helpline nurses and technicians who received training in gender-based violence and health, through a UN Women initiative funded by the UN Multi-Partner Trust Fund Office.
Hand over the mic to: Ali Dabaso, Kenya
Tuesday, November 24, 2020
38-year-old, Ali Dabaso is a resident of Isiolo county in the northern part of Kenya and serves as a male champion. Cases of Female genital mutilation and physical violence are common in this region and heavily tied to cultural norms, traditions and beliefs that have disadvantaged women and girls.
Monday, November 2, 2020
Gladys Koech has been working as an occupational therapist for persons with disabilities in Kenya’s coastal region for more than 10 years. Through the Association of the Physically Disabled of Kenya (APDK), she also works with communities to strengthen their understanding of disabilities and combat widespread stigma.
Tuesday, October 27, 2020
Zlatan Milisic, UN Resident Coordinator in Tanzania is a HeForShe Champion who advocates for educating men and boys on the importance of achieving gender equality and contribute to strengthening partnerships with various actors to confront all barriers standing against women’s participation in leadership across all sectors.
Monday, October 5, 2020
Shamira Mshangama, 26, is the Founder and Executive Director of Mwanamke na Uongozi, Tanzania, a Non-Governmental Organisation based in Dar es Salaam. It empowers and inspires girls and women in both rural and urban areas to participate in leadership and decision-making positions in all spheres of life.
Sunday, September 6, 2020
“ With the onset of COVID-19, my life changed. I sew and sell garments from my veranda at home but gradually customers stopped coming. Radios would air messages urging people to stay home, this was very bad for my business. I went from receiving ten to fifteen requests to make or repair clothes to only two orders a week. This worried me because I have two small children who rely on proceeds from tailoring for food and other basic needs. In early June (2020), my former...
Tuesday, July 28, 2020
Dr. Christine Sadia is a gender and public health expert with over 30 years’ experience advising governments on health and gender issues, such as psychosocial needs of women in the aftermath of the Rwandan genocide and HIV programming during the Indonesia tsunami. UN Women is supporting Dr. Sadia in her current role as a Gender and Public Health Advisor for Kenya’s State Department for Gender Affairs, to advise on the country’s national emergency response for COVID-19.
In The Words Of Zahra Namuli..." My family is at a risk of COVID -19"
Monday, May 25, 2020
People are at home and many of them are glued to their Televisions yearning for information about COVID-19. They cannot easily access such information if there is no journalist to pass it on or to break it down in a simplified manner.
In The Words Of Sylvia Karungi: "...Social distancing has been there for people with disabilities."
Monday, May 4, 2020
I have limited access to information related to COVID-19. Information regarding COVID19 has not been put into braille form. Most information materials on the preventive measures of COVID are printed and published in newspapers. With my condition, I cannot read posters or newspapers. I only listen to radio and television stations for information.
Monday, November 25, 2019
Topister Juma has been fearlessly defending human rights for over 12 years in the coastal region of Kenya. As a field officer for Muslims for Human Rights (MUHURI), Topister specializes in cases of gender-based violence (GBV) and women affected by violent extremism. As she deals with painfully sensitive cases of abuse her own safety is threatened, becoming a target simply for seeking justice.
Thursday, July 11, 2019
Dorcas Amakobe is the Executive Director of “Moving the Goalposts”, a sport for development organization based Kilifi, a coastal town in Kenya. As part of a UN Women programme funded by the Government of Japan on enhancing women’s active participation in prevention of violent extremism in Kenya, the organization ran a project that provided livelihood skills training and helped build financial independence of young women engaged in its sport programme to build their resilience in Kilifi, Mombasa, Kwale and Tana River County in the coastal region, where youth, including young women, are vulnerable to the spread of violent extremism. Using football as a tool for empowering girls and young women, Moving the Goalposts is helping girls and women stand on their own feet and make their mark, both on and off the field.
Empowering women through climate-smart agriculture in the DRC
Monday, November 14, 2016
How are women in the DRC affected differently or disproportionately by climate change? The Democratic Republic of Congo’s economy is based on farming and forestry. Women constitute 52 per cent of the Congolese population and a large proportion of them are involved in agriculture—in some countries, women make up to 80 per cent of all farmers. Climate change has led to consistently higher temperatures, heavier floods and drought, impacting crops. As majority of farmers and small...
In the words of Edith Chukwu: I want to see a world free of violence against women and girls
Wednesday, April 22, 2015
Edith Chukwu, a 29-year-old Girl Guide and peer educator from Nigeria, is among a team of lead trainers in Zambia for a workshop to roll out a unique non-formal education curriculum to prevent violence. She shares her story, in her own words…
In the words of Evelyn Amony: “I was forced to become one of his 27 'wives' ”
Thursday, May 8, 2014
Evelyn Amony was abducted by the Ugandan rebel group known as the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) when she was only 12 years old. For nearly three decades, this rebel group has committed a range of atrocities including the abduction of children, rape, killing, maiming and sexual slavery. Today Evelyn is Chair of the Women’s Advocacy Network, comprised of over 400 formerly abducted and war-affected women, many of whom are speaking out and effectively advocating for gender justice in Uganda. In her own words, she tells her story…