Q&A: UN Women envisions a more gender-equal post-pandemic society
An interview was conducted by Amy Lieberman with UN Women deputy executive director Anita Bhatia for Devex. The interview touches on how UN Women has developed its response to the pandemic. Read it here.
COVID-19 and ending violence against women and girls
UN Women has published a brief that highlights the emerging evidence of the impact of the recent global pandemic of COVID-19 on violence against women and girls. According to the UN Women webpage, the brief makes recommendations to be considered by all sectors of society, from governments to international organizations and to civil society organizations, […]
Why women’s rights must be central to the UN Security Council’s response to COVID-19
An article written by the NGO Working Group on WPS explain’s why the UN Security Council must put an emphasis on women’s rights in their response to COVID-19. Key points are: Less than 1% of evidence on outbreaks such as Ebola or the Zika virus analyzed any of their gender dimensions; yet, available analysis demonstrates […]
“They should be climbing the ladder”
A conversation with Bintou Keita, U.N. Assistant Secretary-General for Africa, and Africa Defense Forum about the benefits and challenges of bringing more women into peacekeeping. Originally from Guinea, Bintou Keita joined the United Nations in 1989 and is now assistant secretary-general for Africa. She has served in various roles, including deputy special representative for the […]
African Development Bank Group approves Gender Equality Trust Fund and Risk-Sharing Mechanism
On April 3, 2020, the Board of Directors of the African Development Bank Group (www.AfDB.org) have approved a new Gender Equality Trust Fund (GETF) aimed at pushing forward gender equality and women’s empowerment across the continent. Funded by donors, the GETF will support the delivery and scale-up of the Bank’s Affirmative Finance Action for Women […]
Afghanistan’s women are the key to a lasting peace
An article written by Sohrab Azad calls for more participation of Afghanistan women in the peace process. Key points are: To guarantee a peace process that will materialize and come to fruition, women need to be substantively involved at every level from pre-negotiation to talks, instead of serving as a symbolic checkbox that needs to […]
Five questions on gender equality in foreign policy: Dr. Toni Haastrup
The Council on Foreign Relations’ Women and Foreign Policy program has started an interview series on Gender Equality in Foreign Policy, reflecting on initiatives to promote gender equality in the defense, development, and diplomatic sectors. On April 2, 2020, a the series included a conversation with Dr. Toni Haastrup on gender equality in foreign policy. […]
Lessons from African feminists mobilizing against COVID-19
An article written by Meredith Forsyth for Columbia University’s Earth Institute puts forth three lessons on how to mobilize against Covid-19 that were shared during a webinar hosted by the university’s the Women, Peace and Security program. The webinar was with the program’s Peace and Social Change Fellowship participants, who are leaders of grassroots women’s […]
Monthly Action Points (MAP) for the Security Council: April 2020
The NGO Working Group on Women, Peace and Security has released their monthly action points (MAP) for the month of April 2020. This months MAPs focused on Covid-19, Syria and Yemen. The key points are listed below. Covid-19 Ensure women, peace and security remains a cross-cutting priority in its discussions and decision-making on all country-specific […]
UN chief calls for domestic violence ‘ceasefire’ amid ‘horrifying global surge’
An article by UN News explains that UN Secretary-General António Guterres has called for measures to address a “horrifying global surge in domestic violence” directed towards women and girls, linked to lockdowns imposed by governments responding to the COVID-19 pandemic. This call also comes after a call for a global ceasefire of all conflicts going […]