Economic Development

AfCFTA: Upcoming Protocol on Women and Youth in Trade a chance to empower women

Policies must ensure benefits of economic growth are equitably distributed, with a particular focus on gender inclusivity.
Gender

Sudan: UN condemns spike in violence against women and girls

Top UN officials call for an immediate end to the use of sexual violence as a tactic of war, want perpetrators held accountable
Capt. Cecilia Erzuah
Gender

Award wining Ghanaian peacekeeper urges girls to choose career in military

Capt. Cecilia Erzuah was recognized for her outstanding efforts in promoting gender equality within UN peacekeeping operations
Captain Cecilia Erzuah
Gender

Ghanaian peacekeeper wins UN Military Gender Advocate 2022

Captain Cecilia Erzuah, 32, served in Abyei since March 2022 as the Commander of the Ghana Engagement Platoon
UN News
Dr. Njuki
Climate Change

For a food-secure world, invest in women and girls

World Food Day is 16 October: Why the case for empowering women, girls, and youth is urgent
Zainab Hawa Bangura, Director-General, UNON
Gender

Empowered women can unlock Africa’s development dividends

— Zainab Hawa Bangura, Director-General, United Nations Office at Nairobi
Roseline Stephen Agwai, from Nigeria, serving in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC)
Women in Peacekeeping

“Female peacekeepers inspire women and girls”

— Major Roseline Stephen Agwai, from Nigeria, serving in the DRC
Attendees at an FAO sub-regional training workshop on gender and livestock in Harare, Zimbabwe.
Gender

Economic empowerment of women good for all

Countries make progress lifting endemic obstacles
Tolu Komolafe, co-founder of the Ladies in Tech organization based in Lagos, Nigeria. Photo: Andela / Mohini Ufeli
Gender

Women-led tech startups on the rise in Africa

Daunting obstacles remain in the tech industry
School children in Cape Town, South Africa, attend a theatre show that educates them about rape. Photo: Panos/George Philipas
Gender

Confronting sexual violence in schools

Countries and activists adopt tough measures to tackle the growing crisis
Launch of the African Women Leaders Network in New York. Photo: UN Photos
Gender

More women in politics

Still a man’s business despite notable successes
More budgetary resources for basic education can benefit all children, not just girls.  Photo : ©United Nations / B. Wolff
Also

'Gender budgets' seek more equity

Improved spending priorities can benefit all Africans
Women leaders and representatives of Kenya’s electoral body, the police and the UN sit at the Women’s Situation Room in Nairobi, Kenya that used diplomacy to help reduce  electoral violence during Kenya’s last general elections. Photo: Joseph Mathenge
Gender

Women’s Situation Room: Africa’s unique approach to reducing electoral violence

How an innovative real-time intervention in Kenya used women’s strengths to protect voters and help keep the peace before and after voting day
Swearing-in of Members of Parliament and other government officials in Kigali, Rwanda. Photo: Paul Kagame
Gender

A celebratory rise in women’s political participation

Number of women legislators inches upward in Africa
Actors in a skit depicting violence against women. The vice  is on the increase in Zimbabwe and other countries in Africa.Photo: Joseph Mathenge
Gender

Humiliation: The latest form of gender violence

Groups ask men and boys to shun the practice
Young women study in a science laboratory at Mogadishu University, Somalia. Photo: Panos/Sven Torfinn
Gender

Millions of girls remain out of school

The gender gap has narrowed, but progress is starting to stall
Students from the Midwifery School of El Fasher, North Darfur, commemorate International Women’s Day. Photo: UN Photo/Albert González Farran
Cover Story

Gender equality still within reach

Some progress made, but challenges remain
Also

Influencing policy is ‘not a numbers game’

More women in Africa enter public office, but still wield little power
Economic empowerment

Tapping women’s entrepreneurship in Ghana

Access to credit, technology vital for breaking into manufacturing
Economic empowerment

Women struggle to secure land rights

Hard fight for access and decision-making power
Economic empowerment

Does financing benefit African women?

New initiatives to track the gender impact of development funds
Improving health

Gender violence hampers AIDS fight

Activists in Zambia counter a deadly link
Improving health

Investing in the health of Africa’s mothers

Lacking care, too many women do not survive childbirth
Combating violence

Security reform key to protecting women

Training, recruitment and prosecutions can reduce violence
Combating violence

Taking on violence against women in Africa

International norms and local activism start to alter laws, attitudes
Political Empowerment

North African women on the barricades

Activists press for freedom, dignity and rights
Political Empowerment

Three women laureates

Wangari Maathai, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, Leymah Gbowee
Political Empowerment

African women are ready to lead

But social beliefs and attitudes hinder their quest
Equality

NEPAD embraces women’s rights

After slow start, continental initiative advances gender equity
Equality

Battling for equality on all fronts

Some progress since Beijing, but hurdles persist
Equality

African women’s long walk to freedom

Some gains, but an uphill climb still looms
Equality

‘Renewed energy for women’s empowerment’

Interview with head of UN Women in Southern Africa
Cover Story

African women: asserting their rights

Introduction to the Special Edition on Women
Improving health

In Africa, AIDS often has a woman’s face

Knowledge, power and resources needed to combat the scourge
Africa at 50

African women’s long walk to equality

Some gains, but an uphill climb still looms
Also

Security reform key to protecting women

Training, recruitment and prosecutions can reduce violence
Also

Does financing benefit African women?

New initiatives to track the gender impact of development funds
Also

Banking on African women

Loan guarantees and private partners improve access
Also

Women in North Africa secure more rights

Despite hurdles, notable legal, political and social progress
Also

Enlisting men for women’s equality

South African initiatives against sexual violence, gender i
Cover Story

Women struggle to secure land rights

Hard fight for access and decision-making power
Also

Gender violence hampers AIDS fight

Activists in Zambia fight a ‘deadly link’
Also

Taking on violence against women in Africa

International norms, local activism start to alter laws, attitudes
Also

Congolese women confront legacy of rape

War and sexual violence leave survivors in desperate need
NEPAD in action

Woman storekeeper boosts Malawi farming

NEPAD seeks to bring fertilizer nearer to villagers
Cover Story

African women are ready to lead

But social beliefs and attitudes hinder their quest
Also

Rwandan women: AIDS therapy beyond drugs

Food and hope are also essential to survival
Also

Liberian woman breaks the ‘glass ceiling’

Ambitious agenda for President Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf
Also

African women battle for equality

Some progress 10 years after Beijing, but major challenges remain
Podcast