UN Women Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific addresses emerging non-traditional security issues such as climate insecurity, cybersecurity, and technologies. Through the project Women, Peace and Cybersecurity: Promoting Women’s Peace and Security in the Digital World, UN Women is supporting meaningful participation of women in cybersecurity decision-making processes, in the prevention of cyber threats and crimes, and their contribution to cybersecurity governance and digital peacebuilding processes while ensuring that related laws and policies are conflict-sensitive and gender-responsive. UN Women established a civil society network consisting of 19 women civil society representatives and defenders of digital rights across Southeast Asia to support women’s leadership in cyber-related fields by facilitating regional knowledge exchange and leveraging collaboration among champions. Laying the foundation for joint policy advocacy for gender-responsive cybersecurity, the network was supported by UN Women to identify key recommendations for policymakers to consider in ensuring that cyber-related laws, policies and action plans are inclusive, rights-based and responsive to women’s needs. The recommendations were compiled into an advocacy brief which has been at the centre of numerous high-level policy dialogues on this topic. For instance, the recommendations outlined in the advocacy brief were presented at the national-level cybersecurity policy dialogue in Thailand, and their applicability to the Thai policy environment was discussed. These results have leveraged opportunities for women civil society leaders in Southeast Asia to transform national and regional cybersecurity policy- and decision-making while advancing gender equality and women's empowerment through multisectoral strategies, and action plans, where the importance of leveraging women’s leadership in the governance of cyberspace and technological development has been at the core of UN Women’s efforts. Through capacity-enhancing initiatives, the project has equipped women and young women to be more resilient towards online harms and threats while raising awareness of the gendered nature of cyberspace and its implications for the WPS agenda. Through this project, 176 persons (78 per cent women) across Southeast Asia increased their knowledge of gendered cybersecurity concerns, while 298 persons (73 per cent women) h increased their digital literacy skills by the end of 2022. Moreover, significant progress can be seen at the policy level as a result of the project, with the recognition of cybersecurity as a key emerging security issue for ASEAN Member States to consider through the adoption of the ASEAN Regional Plan of Action for Women, Peace and Security, following UN Women’s provision of technical support to the drafting process. This has sparked a national-level interest among States across Southeast Asia to discuss gender and cybersecurity, as well as cybersecurity in the context of women, peace and security.

Web story: Vietnamese Youth Organize Creative Projects to Advocate for a Safe and Equal Cyberspace  

Web story: UN Women Enhances Partner Organizations’ Capacities through a Women, Peace and Cybersecurity Workshop

Advocacy brief – Cybersecurity in the context of the Women, Peace and Security Agenda (English and Thai)

UN Women Project Webpage: Women, Peace and Cybersecurity

This year, after decades of lobbying and advocacy, the women’s movement in Uganda has reason to celebrate – they successfully ushered the passage of amendments to two outdated laws through Parliament.

In March, the passage of the Succession (Amendment) Bill addressed the historical discrimination faced by girls and women due to the law giving preference to the male child in cases of inheritance and land ownership. Without the possibility of income and land upon which to create a safe home, many women and girls were left vulnerable to violence. Read more >

Las mujeres indígenas del Valle del Polochic, tierra ancestral del pueblo Q’eqchi’, están al frente de la defensa de sus tierras y territorios, la salvaguardia de la vida y de la naturaleza, y la construcción y preservación de la paz. La violencia sexual y otras formas de violencia contra las mujeres han sido utilizadas, tanto en situaciones de conflicto como postconflicto, para reprimir sus voces, castigarlas, subyugarlas y causarles vergüenza, a ellas y a sus pueblos, rompiendo sus vínculos con sus familias y comunidades. Leer más >

The state Protocol for Treatment of Sexual Violence Cases in Kosovo was launched on 5 December as part of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence campaign activities in Kosovo*. Under the “Implementing Norms, Changing Minds” Regional Programme on Ending Violence against Women, funded by the European Union, the UN Women Kosovo Office provided support in drafting this important document from its initial stages. Read more >

*For the European Union, this designation is without prejudice to positions on status, and is in line with UNSCR 1244/1999 and the ICJ Opinion on the Kosovo declaration of independence. For UN Women, references to Kosovo shall be understood to be in the context of UN Security Council resolution 1244 (1999).

Asmaa Emam, a 25-year-old divorced woman with two children, is one of the beneficiaries of the National Women’s Citizenship Initiative "Your ID, Your Rights”. Asmaa lives with her mother in the village of Qalamshah, Fayoum Governorate.

The National Women’s Citizenship Initiative "Your ID, Your Rights" is implemented by the National Council for Women and is in part supported by UN Women Egypt through the generous support of the Government of the United Kingdom. The Women’s Citizenship Initiative seeks to enhance women’s access to national ID cards and to raise their awareness about the services available so that they can perform their social, economic, and political role in society. Read more >