UN – United Nations

By Dr. Josephine Kulea, Founder and Executive Director, Samburu Girls Foundation The Samburu is a Maa-speaking nomadic pastoralist community of Northern Kenya. The community, known for its bright-colored dress and intricate beads, boasts of rich culture, but still has some dark, deep-rooted, retrogressive cultural practices, which mostly oppress women and girls. According to the Kenyan Demographic and Health Survey (KDHS) in 2014, 86% of Samburu girls have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM/C). Although conclusive research […]

By Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, UN Under-Secretary-General and Executive Director of UN Women Every four minutes, three young women become infected with HIV (UNAIDS Right to Health report, 2017). They are clearly not enjoying their right to health, nor will they, until we are able to reverse the inequalities and discrimination that fuel HIV spread. Those whose health and future are currently least prioritized must become our focus, if we are to achieve the changes we seek.

By Lyric Thompson, Director of Policy and Advocacy, International Center for Research on Women When I witnessed the first #MeToo postings on my social media accounts, I have to admit it: I was irritated. Irritated at the prospect of another #Hashtag campaign that wouldn’t actually change the status quo. Outraged on behalf of survivors who would be expected to dredge up painful testimonies of discrimination or outright violence, with no assurance of quantifiable change, no

Every day, a grim statistic haunts the lives of women and girls around the world: More than one in three women will be physically or sexually abused in her lifetime, usually at the hands of an intimate partner. This statistic is intertwined with another: One in four women of reproductive age who wish to avoid pregnancy have an unmet need for modern contraception. Changing these statistics is key to improving the lives of women and

Over the past five years, Family Planning 2020 (FP2020) has pioneered a country-led, globally-backed development partnership that will help us reach millions of women and girls with the services and information they need to control if, when, and how often they have children. FP2020: The Way Ahead – the fifth of FP2020’s annual progress reports since its inception – is the story of our partnership, a partnership that is growing, vibrant, and unique. FP2020 is a country-led movement to

By 23, Amanda Banura of Uganda has overcome more than many people do in a lifetime. At a young age, Amanda was raped by her father’s friend. “The first time, I didn’t know [what was happening],” she said. “This guy came and found me sleeping. He just took off my bedsheet and started touching me.…Then he told me, ‘If you talk, I’m going to beat you up. And if you tell your father, I’ll kill

By Anita Shankar, Associate Scientist, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health; Naira Kalra, PhD Candidate, Johns Hopkins University, Bloomberg School of Public Health; Maryse Labriet, Director, Eneris Environment Energy Consultants; and Luis Garcia, Program Manager, Plan International Spain Violence, armed conflict, and natural disasters have displaced more than 65 million individuals worldwide from their homes. For the individuals living in post-conflict settings, even the most basic aspects of daily living, like cooking, can

By Jude Thaddues Njikem, Executive Director, Community Centre for Integrated Development and Director, Center for Sustainable Development at Saint Monica University The movement for the empowerment and autonomy of women in Cameroon, and the improvement of their political, social, economic, and health status, has walked a long distance, but is still far from reaching its intended destination. Cameroon has made key strides toward gender equality and women’s empowerment through major international commitments, including the Convention

“All human beings are born free and equal in dignity and rights,” reads Article 1 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights. December 10, Human Rights Day, kicks off a year-long campaign to mark the 70th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights in 2018. Here are six facts you may not know about this groundbreaking declaration 1. The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is a milestone document in history; the United Nations notes that