The Paris 2024 Olympic Games, set to take place from July 26 to August 11 in Paris, France, are the first to reach gender parity, with equal numbers of men and women athletes. As the Republic of Türkiye marks its 100th year in the Olympic Games, Team Türkiye will compete in Paris 2024 with 102 athletes. Among these athletes, 54 are women and 48 are men, making this the second Olympic Games since London 2012 where the number of women athletes surpasses that of men. This remarkable milestone is a testament to the collective achievements of all women athletes who have been breaking records, shattering stereotypes, and inspiring future generations for years.

In Türkiye, and worldwide, gender equality in sports has significantly improved in recent years. Women's representation in the International Olympic Committee (IOC) has doubled to 41%, and 88% of sports viewers in a seven-country survey view professional women athletes as role models. However, gender inequality persists, with girls dropping out of sports at twice the rate of boys by age 14 and women athletes facing disparities in opportunities, sponsorships, media visibility, and conditions.

Since 2012, the IOC and UN Women have partnered to promote gender equality in sports. This collaboration aims to empower women and girls through sports and develop policies addressing their needs. To further this effort in Türkiye, UN Women Türkiye Deputy Country Director Zeliha Ünaldı and Turkish Olympic Committee (TOC) President Professor Uğur Erdener met in Ankara on July 17 to discuss new initiatives.

“Sports play a crucial role in breaking down gender barriers and empowering women and girls. The equal participation at the Paris 2024 Olympics results from the long-standing struggle of women athletes. Empowering women through sports will impact all areas of life. To enhance these effects, we need collaboration, safeguarding laws, more investment in women’s sports, and increased visibility of women athletes. The Paris 2024 Olympic Games will not only be an international sports event for Türkiye but also a major step for gender equality,” says Zeliha Ünaldı, Deputy Country Director of UN Women Türkiye.

TOC’s Team Türkiye for the Paris 2024 Olympic Games is composed of more women athletes than men, including a higher number of women in traditionally male-dominated sports such as wrestling, taekwondo, and boxing. In wrestling, the team comprises 5 women athletes, 2 men athletes in freestyle, and 4 men athletes in Greco-Roman. There are 5 women and 3 men in boxing and, 3 women and 2 men in taekwondo in the Team Türkiye.

“The Paris 2024 Olympics will showcase global athletic talent and mark a turning point for gender equality in sports. It is a great honour for us to participate in these Games with a team that includes more women athletes. Their achievements in recent years have been inspiring both nationally and internationally, strengthening the fight for gender equality. I firmly believe our successes at Paris 2024 will illuminate the path for future women athletes and leaders,” says Professor Uğur Erdener, President of TOC.

The Paris 2024 Olympics will bring together over 10,500 athletes who will compete in 32 sports, aiming to win 329 medals. The National Volleyball Team of Türkiye, who are champion of the Nations League and European Championship and is now ranked number one in the world, will be among the Team Türkiye. Eda Erdem, captain of the National Volleyball Team, states that the Paris 2024 Olympics are a key opportunity to motivate more girls to engage in sports.

This year, the theme for the International Girls in ICT Day focuses on leadership, highlighting the need for strong female role models in STEM careers. Meet Natacha Sangwa from Rwanda about learning to code and defying gender stereotypes.

When Natacha Sangwa wanted to learn computer coding, people in her life asked, ‘Do you really think you'll be able to handle it?’ Coding needs time and focus, which they believed girls lacked. After all, men hold most of the tech jobs.

“I was motivated to prove them wrong by learning how to code and pursuing a career in tech,” said Sangwa, who participated in the first coding camp organized under the African Girls Can Code Initiative (AGCCI) last year in Rwanda.

The programme is spearheaded by UN Women, the International Telecommunication Union, and the African Union in 11 countries, including Rwanda. During the two-week camp, participating girls learned more about coding, robotics, and gender equality.

“While participating in the African Girls Can Code programme, I became aware of the significant gender gap that exists in the tech industry,” said Sangwa, who is most interested in robotics and cybersecurity. “I gained valuable knowledge on how to prevent online attacks and protect my online presence.”

Equipped with these skills, Sangwa wants to help others learn how to protect themselves online. “This experience has opened my eyes to the importance of bridging the gender gap in tech and has inspired me to continue working towards creating a more inclusive and diverse tech industry,” she added.

Sangwa is currently working on developing an app that connects local farmers directly with their clients and helps them reach a wider market.

“It is crucial to challenge stereotypes and show girls that they can pursue careers in tech.”

This #GirlsInICT Day, listen to Natacha Sangwa describe her transformative experience attending the @AGCCIAfrica_1 bootcamp.

🔗 Learn more: https://t.co/kE6p2qPf9N pic.twitter.com/5H47xNG5Mz

Stereotypes holding girls back from the field of ICT

There is a “a lack of female role models (in ICT),” said Sangwa, “and stereotypes that suggest coding is too difficult for girls.”

“Some people believe that girls cannot be both creative and feminine, while also pursuing a career in coding. It is often assumed that coders are isolated individuals who spend all their time in dark rooms writing code and not talking to anyone else.”

Sangwa and other participants of the programme stand ready to challenge these myths and inspire more girls to learn technology and pursue careers in ICT.

Increasing access to technology and the representation of girls and women in ICT

“I believe that providing young girls with female role models in tech and motivating them is essential to increase representation of women in the field,” said Sangwa. “It is crucial to challenge stereotypes and show girls that they can pursue careers in tech.”

Sangwa feels that platforms like the African Girls Can Code initiative and Siemens EmpowerHer programme can inspire and encourage more girls to join ICT careers.

“After attending the African Girls Can Code Initiative camp, I started with girls in my family and helped them get over their fears and become interested in tech. Now that I have completed the Siemens EmpowerHer programme, I am excited to become a peer mentor and share my journey with other girls.”

“By providing mentorship and support, we can help more girls pursue careers in tech and create a more inclusive industry for everyone.”

The gender equality bias in technology and AI

Sangwa really enjoys computer coding and believes in designing inclusive technologies that meet the needs of all individuals, and for doing that, she needs all gender perspectives: “To create technologies that work for both genders, we need to prioritize gender diversity. Since men currently dominate the tech industry, many technologies tend to reflect their interests.”

She is also interested in Artificial Intelligence (AI) technology and concerned about the gender bias in AI. “I have noticed that it is mostly developed by men and trained on datasets that are primarily based on men. This results in AI systems that sometimes fail to relate to women. For instance, when women use some AI systems to diagnose illnesses, they often receive inaccurate answers because the AI is not aware of symptoms that may present differently in women.”

A last word on the International Girls in ICT Day

“We are the future of technology, and we can achieve a lot. Do not let anyone tell you that you cannot succeed in technology because of your gender,” said Sangwa.

“Together we can break down barriers and challenge the stereotypes. We can create a world with equal opportunities and where technology is accessible to all. Let's keep learning and pushing the boundaries of what is possible.”

Ma Shwe* said she “was just a young girl” when an act of sexual violence perpetrated by a man from her village crushed her self-confidence and left her feeling terrified.

Ma Shwe was raised in a small farming village in rural Myanmar with around 200 households. After the attack, she felt judged by her community, shamed and outcast. “I was afraid to live in my environment, and so I left my home and village,” she said.

She only felt safe enough to return when she found out the perpetrator had also left the village, and enough time had passed that it seemed clear he would not return. By then, Ma Shwe had a child and she wanted to live with her family again and raise her child in the village she grew up in. On returning though, she continued to feel judged by those around her, and as she dealt with the ongoing physical and mental health impacts of the violence, it was a daily struggle to feel safe and comfortable.

“I used to feel shy and afraid of people,” she said, “but there was a training in my village on gender-based violence and I attended. After the training I felt that I can accept being alive.”

Ma Shwe accessed a range of services, including counselling sessions, with the support of a local women-led organization – one of many that UN Women works with across Myanmar to reach and support women and girls who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing gender-based violence (GBV). She also attended training courses and awareness raising sessions that were delivered through a digital learning platform, which made it accessible for a wide range of people from the community, including men and boys. The sessions aimed to break down harmful social norms and attitudes that perpetuate violence and discrimination against women and girls.

“After the training, I saw that the views of the people around me had changed a lot,” she said. “This change is important. It gives people like me who have suffered from violence the strength to keep spirits high. It makes people feel equal and understand everyone has rights, so they learn to value each other.”
— Ma Shwe, a small farming village in rural Myanmar

“After the training, I saw that the views of the people around me had changed a lot. This change is important. It makes people feel equal and understand everyone has rights, so they learn to value each other,” Ma Shwe said.

As fighting in Myanmar continues to escalate and the economic, political, and humanitarian crisis worsens, families are in financial distress and coping capacities are stretched to the limit. Women, girls, people with disabilities and internally displaced people are among those most marginalized. The crisis is perpetuating gender disparities in employment and increasing vulnerability to trafficking and gender-based violence, including sexual exploitation and harassment, and intimate partner violence, which Myanmar women have said is the most common form of gender-based violence in their communities. Women’s organizations in Myanmar play a vital role in preventing and responding to gender-based violence by providing services at the community level, bolstering women’s empowerment, and reaching those at risk of being left behind.

A representative from the women-led organization supporting Ma Shwe said when she first started accessing the GBV services, “She cried openly because of the comments from some people around her and every day was a time of worry and sadness for her.”

“However, she attended the awareness sessions and accepted that it was not her fault. In addition, she was able to regain her self-confidence and acceptance of her own existence as she received timely counseling sessions,” the representative said.

UN Women works with other UN agencies, including UNFPA, and local partner organizations to provide GBV prevention and response services across Myanmar, including helping men and women in communities better understand GBV and harmful social norms; and supporting women and girls who have experienced or are at risk of experiencing sexual violence with cash assistance and access to the health, psychosocial and legal services they need. A new joint programme supported by the Government of France, will provide additional support for UN Women and UNFPA to deliver GBV services in in communities affected by the ongoing conflict.

While Ma Shwe continues to struggle with the impact of the violence that was perpetrated against her, she now feels more comfortable in her community. She said she has hope for the future and even dreams of one day opening her own business.

“I feel like I've got my own life back, and I'm not afraid of people anymore.”

[*] The name has been changed to protect the identity of the individual.
[1] Myanmar Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan 2024, UN OCHA, December 2023. Available online.
[2] Findings from focus group discussions conducted for 2023 Multi Sectoral Needs Analysis

Remarks delivered by UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous at the HeForShe Summit 2024, 10th Anniversary Gala Dinner, Guastavino’s, New York City, 24 September 2024.

[As delivered.]

Welcome to our glittering celebration of the tenth anniversary of HeForShe!

As you know, this is a very exclusive event. Our gala has been called the hottest ticket in town for this General Assembly. It is indeed, and we agree that you all have earned that ticket. So, you are most welcome.

You have demonstrated through your actions and words that when men and women, when boys and girls stand together for gender equality, progress is unstoppable, equality achievable. And you are making it happen.

My thanks to you all, and not just those of you who are here enjoying this wonderful evening together, but to everyone around the world who has been part of our movement. It is you who have made our shared journey possible. Whatever you do and wherever you sit, whether in government, business, or non-governmental organizations, and no less in your individual lives, you have mobilized men and boys for gender equality.

Over the past 10 years, we have achieved great things. More than two million men and people of all genders have participated since we began our work, reaching close to 40 million, including women and girls in the most crisis-hit parts of the world. Two thirds of our HeForShe Champions have boosted female representation in their organizations.

We have seen new legislation to guarantee equal pay, reduce child marriage, businesses closer to parity on corporate boards and in leadership positions, shrunken pay gaps, and the list is long and admirable. We have championed gender equality on the playing field, reaching millions of sports fans. We have inspired young people globally to challenge social norms, to demand equality, to indeed be the change they want to see.

UN Women applauds your efforts and achievements. And yes, we ask for more. Progress is happening but far too slowly. It has provoked a tangible and sometimes visceral pushback, not least among young men. Some 60 per cent of them told us in a recent survey that women’s equality discriminates against them. That is something we must change, and HeForShe will be part of that change.

Our latest Gender Snapshot report shows that despite progress, including quotas, women still hold only about a quarter of leadership positions in the public and the private sectors. More than half of countries restrict the jobs women can perform. Half lack human rights–based laws on rape. And every year, intimate partner violence affects 1 in 8 women and girls.
 

Next year, the thirtieth anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action will drive calls to accelerate action for gender equality. I know HeForShe will remain at the heart of that cause. I call on all men and boys who have not yet done so to join this movement, and on those who have done so to step up further.

This is what this moment demands: to use the power you have as men to challenge discrimination; to give us space and give it up without hesitation; to make your community, business, or household a place of equality and justice; to do what you can because the fact that you can means that you must.

We are here tonight to inspire each other. And I know that we will be inspired both here and going forward. I know that we have many HeForShes here tonight, but I also know that we have many SheForShes as well, and we need both of us to continue to move towards gender equality and women’s and girls’ empowerment.
So, here is to another ten years of progress and achievement together. Happy tenth anniversary!

Manama, Bahrain - "Why? You're a girl. Why would you subject yourself to such physicality?" These questions have followed Nadeen Yateem throughout her journey to become Bahrain's first female Muay Thai fighter. Growing up, sports were always a big part of Nadeen’s life, but martial arts did not have a strong presence in her culture. That changed when she discovered Muay Thai in high school.

Fascinated by the intense discipline and athleticism of the sport, Nadeen dove headfirst into training. What began as a hobby and fitness routine during university evolved into a burning passion, Nadeen was surrounded by inspirational fighters committed to perfecting their talent. She soon stepped into the ring herself, determined to excel in competitions on the regional and global stage.

The road has not been easy. Nadeen has faced skepticism and criticism from a society that frowns upon women entering aggressive, male-dominated activities. "In a world where family, society, and even strangers have questioned my choices,” she recounts many urging her to “embrace her feminity.”

Nadeen insists that being a fighter does not diminish that femininity in any way. On the contrary, Muay Thai has been an empowering form of expression. "What drew me into this sport is its detachment from emotion. It is not personal. It is a disciplined art form," she declares. Today, as the first Bahraini woman to reach a professional status in Muay Thai, Nadeen hopes to inspire other girls to fearlessly pursue their passions, no matter how unconventional. Her achievement is a deeply personal one rooted in improving herself, not outdoing others. "It’s not about competing, it’s more about leveling up my skills and becoming better," Nadeen says.

Through her athletic achievements and national recognition, Nadeen has created vital representation for ambitious young women and girls who may have previously felt excluded. "Statements like 'male-dominated' and other exclusive labels should not be a barrier for women to take the opportunity towards growth and self-development," she adds.

As Nadeen emphasizes,“Advocating for women does not have to take grand gestures.” Simple acts, she believes, like encouraging other women to pursue their passions or mentoring the next generation of women fighters can have meaningful impact. She has also raised her voice in global forums such as TEDxManamaWomen to directly address gender inequality in regional sports.

In her career, Nadeen has inevitably faced multiple challenges - from men refusing to train with her based on the assumption that women are inherently "weak," to colleagues taking it easy on her as a result of the same misguided stereotypes about female fragility.

But with the support of a coach who rejects traditional stereotypes and her own determination to prove the capabilities of women time and again, Nadeen continues to smash barriers and serve as an inspirational force for women athletes across the Arab world. Her example vividly demonstrates that being a top athlete has no gender.

Nadeen Yateem’s journey is one of perseverance in the face of adversity, fueled by a solid commitment to excellence. She paves the way for Bahraini women to enter spaces that were not made for them, but which they can boldly claim as their own. Hers is a journey of kicking down limits, one round at a time.