Prior to Russia’s 2022 full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Evghenia enjoyed a comfortable and secure life in the southern city of Mykolaiv. She shared her days with friends and her mother, while finding fulfilment in her work as an art teacher.
After her city faced relentless bombings, it became too dangerous for Evghenia to stay in her home. Together with her mother, Evghenia fled west, joining 113,000 other Ukrainian refugees in Moldova, the majority of whom are women and girls.
Upon arriving in Moldova, Evghenia was unsure of how to navigate the next steps in her life until she found the SheLeads Project, a training programme that offered 10-day courses in business and entrepreneurial skills. The courses, along with her work volunteering to teach arts and crafts classes to children at a refugee centre, inspired her to start her own art business in Moldova.
“During the course, I was taught how to start my business project in Moldova, how to make the necessary calculations, and draw up documents”, she said. “I learned about the opportunity to win a grant and decided to try to make my dream come true. I did it!”
After attending the courses, Evghenia said, “I gained the skills and courage to open my own art centre, and to share my passion for art with children in my new home.”
She works as a professional art teacher while launching Art Time Studio, a space where children can learn art skills and express themselves, which has also received support through a small grant from the SheLeads Project. While attending courses, Evghenia also received tailored psychological and mental health counselling conducted by the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society.
“My work is a hobby that I have been doing for many years. It is a place of comfort where I share my knowledge, skills, energy, joy and fulfilment”, she said. Of her work with refugee children in Moldova, she added, “The appearance of a smile on the face of a sad child gives me a dose of inspiration and fulfilment.”
SheLeads operates in six regions of Moldova and is implemented by UN Women through the Association for Business Formation and Development in partnership with the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society, Casmed, and Everyone Contributes for Change, with financial support provided by the Government of Japan.
Evghenia is among 121 women who participated in the SheLeads Project from October to December 2023. Of those attendees, 88 women received mental health support services as part of the project, and 41 businesses have been launched as a result of the training.
Marina Sergheiciuc described how she created classroom resources, including personalized books to teach her kindergarten students in Ukraine. When she was forced to flee from the war, she also found the SheLeads Project in Moldova and was able to get back on her feet.
Through the program, Marina said, she was “able to acquire the necessary equipment to further develop my games and place them in groups on social media.”
“I am very grateful for the opportunity to put my ideas into practice”, she added.
Olesea Kolomiets, who ran a chocolate factory in Odesa, Ukraine, had a similar, if quite unique, story.
“In March 2022, I arrived in the Republic of Moldova and within 15 days, I had already reopened my business here, but I still couldn't fully find my place”, Olesea said. Through the SheLeads programme, she was able to take advantage of business opportunities in Moldova.
“I have acquired equipment to organize master classes and chocolate tastings for children and adults, both amateurs and professionals”, Olesea said. She became a member of the Sommeliers Association for Chocolate in Moldova and became the countr
With support from the Government of Japan, UN Women, alongside other partners, recently officially handed over the Kalobeyei Handicraft Centre to Don Bosco, marking a significant milestone in empowering refugee women. The Centre, equipped with sewing machines, raw materials, classrooms with computers, and a child-friendly building, will continue to enable women to design, craft, and sell their products, providing them with financial independence.
Through the Women’s Leadership, Empowerment, Access, and Protection in Crisis Response (LEAP) project, a Handicraft Centre was established in 2022 at the Kalobeyei Integrated Settlement in Turkana County. Finalized and fully equipped between 2023 and 2024, the center empowers 365 refugee and host community women with the skills needed to achieve economic stability. In recognition of the challenges women face in balancing work and caregiving, the centre has childcare facilities to cater for their children while they work, ensuring a supportive environment for women.
"We have worked closely with Peace Winds Japan and Don Bosco to give these women a space to learn new skills, create products, and gain financial autonomy. The Centre is children-friendly, ensuring women can focus on their work while their children are safe and engaged," said Anna Mutavati during the handover ceremony on 22nd August 2024.
The handover solidifies Don Bosco’s commitment to manage the Centre, continuing the work UN Women began. As they take over, Father Mathew highlighted the Centre’s potential to drive economic empowerment for women in the region, setting an example of resilience and collaboration.
This initiative aligns with UN Women’s broader goal of creating livelihood opportunities for vulnerable women, particularly survivors of gender-based violence, and fostering sustainable development in humanitarian settings.
Sarah Sikapenda, chairperson of the Kalobeyei Handicraft Cooperative, expressed her gratitude: "Thanks to the skills learned from UN Women, we have built a cooperative, saved money, and even started a merry-go-round system, allowing women to start small businesses and support their families.
On the frontlines: Women-led organizations lead Lebanon’s crisis response, despite significant challenges
Historically, WLOs have played a critical role in humanitarian response in Lebanon. Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, these organizations were at the forefront, providing services to ensure women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights and to assist survivors of gender-based violence. Moreover, WLOs have been active responders to address the needs of displaced Syrians as a result of the conflict in Syria, delivering protection services in camps and setting up spaces for women-focused activities and services. Despite their critical role, WLOs often face significant resource and recognition gaps. These organizations deserve greater support, visibility and amplified voices, both nationally and internationally.
In October 2024, UN Women conducted a rapid assessment to increase understanding of the involvement of WLOs in Lebanon’s humanitarian response in the context of the current conflict and identify their role and challenges. Through an online survey from 16– 28 October with 50 WLOs, 47 reported being involved in the humanitarian response, highlighting their critical yet under-resourced contributions.
Women’s rights organizations and WLOs in Lebanon play a distinct role in humanitarian efforts, setting them apart through their focus on both immediate needs and long-term community support, as well as their commitment to serve the most affected and marginalized groups:
- Delivering critical, life-saving assistance: This includes providing protection-related services (70 per cent); essential relief items, like blankets (45 per cent); food assistance (40 per cent); and emergency education (40 per cent).
- Reaching the most vulnerable groups: This includes assisting refugees (60 per cent), migrant domestic workers (36 per cent), young women (64 per cent), older women (45 per cent), and people with disabilities (40 per cent).
- Shelter support: These organizations also lead in providing shelter through collective accommodations (85 per cent) and rented or hosted accommodations (62 per cent).
Despite their critical role, WLOs face significant challenges:
- Humanitarian funding is not reaching women’s rights and women-led organizations. According to the survey, only 8 per cent of the funding for humanitarian response goes to WLOs. Insufficient funding limits the capacity of WLOs to deliver emergency relief and life-saving assistance. Currently, 47 per cent of surveyed WLOs serve fewer than 1,000 people.
- Participation in humanitarian coordination structures is often restricted to specific sectors and working groups, such as gender-based violence and protection, thus limiting the footprint and capability of certain WLOs to be part of comprehensive decision-making and response, thereby risking their marginalization.
- Staff safety and security impact 88 per cent of WLOs, significantly limiting their ability to reach affected populations safely.
UN Women calls attention to the need for the full participation of WLOs in the planning, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of all humanitarian services to ensure that response efforts during and after the conflict uphold core humanitarian principles and standards and address the needs of the most vulnerable women and girls within the crisis-affected population.
For additional information including on recommendations, please refer to the full report.
Japan and UN Women Promote Attention at the Borders of Honduras to the Situation of Women in Human Mobility
Japan and UN Women Promote Attention at the Borders of Honduras to the Situation of Women in Human Mobility
apan, UN Women, Agua Pura para el Mundo (Pure Water for the World), and the Fundación Alivio para el Sugrimiento (Relief of Suffering Foundation) have inaugurated the Journeys (Trayectos) programme in Honduras. The programme aims to guarantee the rights of women in mobility during their transit through Central America. Funded by the Government of Japan and implemented in Costa Rica, Honduras, and Panama, Journeys seeks to close critical gaps in women's leadership and ensure their equitable access to protection amidst unprecedented human displacement in the region.
During the launch event in El Paraíso, the organizations presented their action plan and a diagnosis of human mobility in Honduras and the region. The flow of migrants in the Central American corridor has tripled between 2022 and 2023, making it one of the most dynamic and complex routes globally. In the first two months of 2024, 49,357 refugees and migrants entered Honduras, an increase of 146% compared to February 2023. Further south, Panamanian authorities recorded more than 501,297 crossings through the Darién by the end of November 2023.
The growing presence of women, girls, and LGBTIQ+ people in transit highlights the need for gender-sensitive approaches that offer help and protection throughout their journeys and strengthen their leadership capacities to participate in decision-making that affects their lives.
Learn more about this event here.
Journeys Joins the South-East Border Response Group in Honduras and Provides Training to Immigration Authorities
UN Women presented the Journeys programme to the 35 organizations that form the South-East Border Response Group, a coordination space for the Humanitarian Network addressing the human mobility crisis on the southern border of Honduras.
They also participated in a training session on prevention, risk mitigation, and attention to cases of gender-based violence, as well as the protection of women, children, and adolescents in temporary accommodations. This session, aimed at field staff of the Permanent Contingency Commission (COPECO), employed a training methodology for trainers, hoping to reach over 200 COPECO specialists nationwide. UN Women focuses on strengthening capacities specifically in the management and planning of temporary accommodation and shelters with a gender perspective.
In addition, UN Women held a capacity-building workshop on Gender-Based Violence, Masculinities, and Emergencies in Honduras, aimed at communicators from various State Secretariats. Through this process, more than 140 communicators improved their capabilities in addressing media and government communication strategies on the subject.
UN Women Collects Information for Gender Alerts at Borders
rom June 3 to 30, UN Women, along with allied organizations of the Journeys programme, will travel the borders of Panama and Costa Rica to strengthen their work and identify coordination needs with authorities, gathering gender-based evidence for the preparation of reports and analyses in human mobility situations.
During a visit by the Journeys team to the borders of Panama and the southern border of Costa Rica, UN Women emphasized the integration of a gender perspective to address the needs of women and girls in human mobility situations.
This visit, part of the preparation of a Gender Alert on the Darién route to Costa Rica, included meetings to improve coordination with organizations working for women's rights in both countries, such as the Ministry of Health, the Ombudsman’s Office, and the National Border Service of Panama, as well as organizations like the National Coordinator of Indigenous Women of Panama (CONAMUIP), HIAS, UNHCR, and IOM.
This first phase of strategic meetings between UN Women and partners working at the borders is part of a planning process to develop Gender Alerts that provide information to decision-making authorities, the United Nations system, and civil society organizations that offer services and care to people in human mobility in these countries.
4 Recommendations for Journalistic Coverage with a Human Rights and Gender Equality Perspective for Refugees, Displaced People, and Migrants
In the framework of International Refugee Day, UN Women, through Journeys and the "Headlines without Bias" campaign, launched four essential recommendations to improve media coverage of refugees, displaced people, and migrants.
Through the publication "4 Recommendations for Journalistic Coverage with a Human Rights and Gender Equality Perspective for Refugees, Displaced People, and Migrants," the Journeys initiative is committed to media representation with humanity and dignity, moving beyond stereotypes. "Headlines without Bias" is a campaign by UN Women to highlight the gender biases that violate women's rights in the media. Through this initiative, UN Women works with journalists in Latin America to ensure fair and equal representation of individuals in various media. The collaboration with Journeys sets a precedent to emphasize balanced representation of refugees, displaced persons, and migrants.
Access the full article here.
There are 614 million women and girls living in conflict affected areas today. From Palestine to Ukraine, Haiti, Sudan, and Afghanistan, their numbers are going up, as geopolitical conflicts, climate change, health and food crises intensify.
When crisis hits, women and girls experience increased risk of gender-based violence and loss of property and income. In fragile contexts, women and girls are nearly 8 times more likely to live in poverty than men, and in every region of the world, they are more food insecure. Yet, the financial and aid infrastructures continue to fail women, with devastating consequences. Less than one per cent of official development assistance (ODA) is going directly to women’s rights organizations. Making reliable, flexible, and multi-year funding accessible to local women’s organizations is urgent.
From the rubble in war-torn countries to the battlefields of climate change and economic crisis, women’s organizations provide critical services, hope, and a lifeline to their communities. In the words of five inspiring women, learn why investing in women is the way forward to a healthy planet, peaceful communities, and just economies.
Building back the women’s movement in Afghanistan
“I will continue to stand strong, as a woman, supporting other Afghan women,” says Mehrgan*. The 37-year-old former teacher and school principal from Kunduz Province assesses women’s needs for developing entrepreneurial projects as part of a non-profit women-led organization. Its activities were significantly curtailed by the Taliban’s 2022 ban on women’s work.
“We train women on handicrafts as a means to start a home business; we work on agricultural development, with projects to help illiterate women or those who cannot work; and we do what we can so that women can access some form of education.”
“Before 2022, our organization was so active. We taught women, hundreds of women benefited from our work. We also created a network of local women’s NGOs and organized monthly meetings where we shared our experiences.”
When the Taliban banned women’s work in [non-governmental] organizations in 2022, the organization lost its funding and from 24 full-time staff, they went down to eight. With UN Women’s support in late 2023, they have restarted some projects.
“I go to remote areas and collect [women’s] stories, take note of their needs, listen to their problems, and this gives them hope. I try my best and that also gives me hope.”
With training from UN Women on strategic planning and project management, Mehrgan’s organization has improved its organizational plan, budgets and policies.
“I just trained another local women’s organization in Kunduz about this,” said Mehrgan, showing how a small investment in women’s organizations can strengthen so many more.
UN Women is supporting 86 women’s organizations under its ‘Rebuilding the women’s movement in Afghanistan’ programme, with contributions from the governments of Switzerland, Sweden, Norway, Belgium, Spain, and Austria.
* Names, locations, and details have been changed to protect the identity of the protagonist. She is not displayed in the accompanying photo.
Women’s organizations provide a lifeline to women in Gaza
More than 2 million Palestinians in Gaza face inhumane living conditions today. Gaza has become a protection crisis for women, with close to one million women and girls displaced and two mothers killed every hour, since the beginning of the crisis.
Yet, women-led and women’s rights organizations continue to operate, providing a lifeline to the communities where they work. UN Women’s analysis shows that 83 per cent of women’s organizations surveyed in the Gaza Strip are at least partially operational, mainly focusing on the emergency response. However, just 0.09 per cent of funding to the 2023 Flash Appeal has directly gone to national or local women’s rights organizations.
“Our main office is in Gaza City, which has been [damaged] by Israeli military bombardment. Due to safety concerns, we cannot assess the full extent of the damage,” said Amal Syam, General Manager of Women’s Affairs Center (WAC).
Before the Israeli military bombardment of Gaza started in October 2023, the Center employed 100 staff and assisted more than 170,000 people every year.
“To support the people of Rafah, where around 1.5 million are seeking safety, we opened a new office at the center of Rafah,” Syam shared. We have provided humanitarian assistance to women, including psychological support, legal counselling, and distributed cash assistance, hygiene and dignity kits.”
The Center aids the most vulnerable, shares stories of women’s experiences, and is documenting the war's impact and women's urgent needs.
Hundreds of women visit the Rafah office daily, seeking assistance to meet their basic needs, such as food, water, mattresses, and sanitary products. However, Syam said the assistance they can offer is just a fraction of what is needed.
Syam lives in a classroom at a non-governmental organization, which shelters displaced persons. Like many others, she has been displaced multiple times and experienced personal loss, yet she continues to work every day. When she returns to the shelter, there is usually not enough fuel to cook food. Lately, she has been burning books for fuel.
“Supporting grassroots women’s organizations in Palestine is critical,” said Syam. “Without adequate support and funding, these organizations may struggle to continue providing essential services.” The implications of such funding shortfall are dire in an already unprecedented crisis. It could cut off access to vital resources and without their advocacy efforts, the voices of many women in Gaza would go unheard.
Syam also stressed on the need for an immediate humanitarian ceasefire in Gaza and the provision of humanitarian aid, adding, “it is imperative to strengthen the role of civil society institutions, especially women’s organizations that have been working since the onset of the war, and to enhance partnership and coordination with international and UN agencies to make sure that gender issues are fully addressed in all humanitarian interventions.”
Women lifting other women amidst Myanmar’s economic crisis
Thiri Aung knows what it is like to grow up in an unstable economy.
“I was about 11 years old, and I remember my mum was carrying two cookie boxes filled with 45 Kyat bills and 90 Kyat bills. She was crying because the money we had, that the family had, we could no longer use,” she recalls. Myanmar had suddenly pulled two currency notes from circulation.
Three years after the military takeover on 1 February 2021, Myanmar is experiencing economic, political, and humanitarian crises affecting every aspect of life in the country. The economy has shrunk around 10 per cent since 2019, the poverty rate is at levels not seen for 15 years. Families are in deep financial distress and women are among the hardest hit.
Thiri Aung, a Yangon-based entrepreneur and founder of the women’s business support network, Women Transforming Myanmar (WTM), has partnered with UN Women to create sustainable livelihoods. She has designed the Transformative Feminist Leadership programme, which boosts women’s business skills and confidence.
Since the programme launched in September 2023, more than 520 women have already accessed support in-person and through the recently launched UNDP Myanmar e-learning portal.
“Our aim is to empower women entrepreneurs and women leaders of micro, small and medium-sized enterprises to lead social change and create more equitable, inclusive businesses,” said Thiri Aung.
For many of the women, it is the first time they have received leadership training or learned about gender equality. “Many women have opened up and talked about how their voices were unheard in their village and community just because they are women,” she added. “They feel safe sharing these experiences and they support each other.”
This goes to the heart of what inspired Aung to create WTM. “I wanted to help women not only start their businesses but sustain them in the long run, so that they could then create job opportunities for other women,” she said.
Women’s organizations on the frontlines of the war in Ukraine
For decades, Halyna Skipálska has worked toward an ambitious goal: to make Ukraine a better country, “where every woman is aware of her rights and can pursue her goals; a Ukraine where women live healthy and happy lives.”
Skipálska is the Executive Director of the Ukrainian Foundation for Public Health (UFPH), a national women-led organization supported by the United Nations Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund (WPHF). The organization helps women, including pregnant women, single mothers and female-headed families, access quality social and healthcare services.
Since February 2022, when Russia launched its full-scale invasion of Ukraine, Skipálska and her colleagues became first responders, providing essential supplies, health services and psychosocial support to internally displaced people across Ukraine.
“In a matter of days, we transitioned from being a development organization to conducting humanitarian work on the front lines,” said Skipálska in a recent interview with WPHF.
Two years since the war broke out, millions of people remain internally displaced in Ukraine and 80 per cent of the nearly 6 million refugees and asylum seekers are women and children.
As reports of conflict-related sexual violence and serious violations of women’s rights poured in, Skipálska’s organization partnered with WPHF and UN Women Ukraine to create a virtual platform, the SafeWomen Hub to raise awareness and provide mental health support services to displaced women and girls, survivors of sexual and gender-based violence, and victims of human trafficking. The Hub also supported local women’s organizations to adapt to the evolving crisis and enhance their capacity to identify and serve survivors of violence.
Over the last two years, over 13,000 women and girls have received assistance through the platform, which operates through social media (mainly Facebook, Instagram and Telegram) and can be easily accessed with a smartphone or a tablet. There are eight mobile crisis teams offering support to internally displaced families and children, providing emergency response services, psychological counselling, legal advice, and more. They also help distribute humanitarian kits and essential items to displaced persons.
“If the war in Ukraine has proven anything, it is that civil society organizations are quicker, more flexible, better equipped, and more efficient than other national and international actors at closing gaps and addressing urgent needs, particularly in the first months of the war,” said Skipálska.
She is a strong advocate for recognizing and funding local women’s organizations to scale up the impact of humanitarian action on the ground: “By supporting grassroots organizations, we empower local communities and contribute to a more just and equitable society.”
*Note: Parts of this interview has been excerpted from an article published by the United Nations Women’s Peace and Humanitarian Fund
Making sure migrant women’s voices are heard in Colombia
More than 7 million people have left Venezuela since 2014, as a result of the political, socio-economical and humanitarian crisis. A vast majority of them are hosted by neighbouring countries, including Colombia, where almost 3 million Venezuelans are looking for opportunities.
Their journeys were difficult – many left Venezuela without their families and belongings, including documentation that would allow them to cross borders safely. Venezuelan women and girls faced heightened risk of sexual violence and human trafficking. When they reached a host country, they often experienced xenophobia and discrimination.
“Immigrating has been the most difficult thing for me. Not everyone can adapt to another place,” said Mayerling Cordero, who arrived in Colombia five years ago.
“The way men addressed me, because I was a woman and Venezuelan, was very hurtful.”
In 2020, Cordero joined community dialogues supported by UN Women. There she learned to recognize and support migrant and refugee women experiencing violence. She started organizing meetings in the living room of her house, offering them a safe space to come together and express themselves. She shared with them what she had learned about gender-based violence, immigration rules and procedures, and how to access health and education services.
Within two more years, Cordero started a local organization, ‘Machis Entrelazadas’, to promote women’s safety, mental health and self-care.
Through the ‘Beyond the flags, we are women’ programme, UN Women and the United States Office of Population, Refugees and Migration (PRM) has supported the work of 24 community-based organizations, such as 'Machis Entrelazadas’, on the Colombian Caribbean coast and on the southern border in the department of Nariño.
For Mayerling Cordero and other migrant women-led organizations, this support is critical: “It is very important that the leadership and participation of women's groups continue to be strengthened, because it allows them to have a clearer voice to communicate the problems of migrant women before State institutions.”
Note: Parts of this interview have been repurposed from an article published by UN Women LAC. Learn more here.
A UN Women guide with insights from Myanmar.
In May 2024, Myanmar marked the bleak milestone of more than 3 million civilians internally displaced,[1] with active fighting in more areas of the country than ever before.
Around one third of the population – 18.6 million people – are estimated to be in humanitarian need, of which 9.7 million are women and girls.[2] And seventy-five per cent of the population now live either under or perilously close to the poverty line.[3]
Amid these dire circumstances – and despite severe restrictions on access, dwindling funds, and dangerous operating environments – Myanmar women-led and women’s rights organizations continue to use their unique knowledge and networks to enable lifesaving support to remote, vulnerable and marginalized people.
The participation and leadership of women is critical to the humanitarian response in Myanmar – as it is in crisis-affected countries around the world. Here, using examples from Myanmar, we explain why it is so important to respond to gender-specific needs during and after crises, and to empower women to lead and participate in humanitarian action.
First, what is humanitarian action?
Humanitarian action refers to efforts to help communities that are in need due to armed conflict, natural disasters, or other crises. The aim is to save lives, alleviate suffering, and maintain human dignity during and after such crises.
Depending on the context and the needs of those affected, different humanitarian actors can be involved in the response including civil society organizations, community-based organizations, gender experts, crisis-affected communities, national and local authorities, international and national non-government organisations (NGOs), the Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, the United Nations, and donors – each with different roles and mandates.
Why do we need to think about gender when responding to crises?
Crises and disasters impact people differently depending on their gender, and vulnerabilities are often exacerbated by other factors including age, disability, sexual orientation, ethnicity, or religion.
For example:
- social norms might make it difficult for women to seek safety during a disaster, such as if they are restricted from travelling alone or staying in shelters with non-related men;
- young men may be the most likely among the population to face forced recruitment into the military or armed groups; and
- girls may be taken out of school to reduce expenses and help with extra care work, or forced into early marriage in the hope that they will be provided for.
Understanding the gender-specific needs, capacities, and priorities of everyone affected by a disaster or crisis helps humanitarians design appropriate and effective responses, target those most in need, and avoid inadvertently reinforcing, perpetuating, or increasing inequalities.
In Myanmar
Since October last year, fighting in Myanmar’s Rakhine State has intensified. By conducting gendered needs assessments in the state, Myanmar women’s organisations have identified gender-specific impacts, including:
- a lack of access to essential services for responding, preventing, and documenting violence against women due to displacements, security risks, and damage to infrastructure; and
- increased gender-based crimes, including trafficking, early and forced marriages, sexual harassment and violence, exploitation and forced sex work, as women and girls bear the brunt of negative coping strategies during the crisis.
How do crises and disasters impact women and girls?
Gender inequalities already exist before a crisis happens. So when disasters hit, the impact of these inequalities are made even worse, leading women and girls to be disproportionately affected.
Women face increased risk of gender-based violence and insecurity; restricted mobility and access to communication; additional care, domestic and livelihood responsibilities; and barriers to essential services like healthcare and education.
In Myanmar
“Many women in internal displacement camps are trying to solve the food problems of the whole family and struggling to do more unpaid care work, which is not highly valued.
“Men occupy the management roles in the camp committees and make the decisions about response strategies, so the practical needs of women are not reflected or prioritized in the response activities.”
– A female staff member of a local women’s organisation explains some of the ways women are disproportionately impacted by the crisis in Myanmar.
Why is it important for women and women’s organizations to lead and participate in humanitarian action?
Despite the disproportionate impact of crises on women and their children, they are often excluded from decision-making processes in humanitarian action, disaster risk reduction and resilience efforts.
Yet, when women and women’s organizations are included in these processes, the responses are more likely to address the needs of all community members, ensure inclusivity and lead to more sustainable peace and recovery efforts because:
- their involvement ensures the specific needs and priorities of women and girls are understood and addressed;
- women play key roles in the household and in rebuilding communities and supporting family well-being; and
- their participation promotes gender transformative actions and challenges harmful norms and practices that perpetuate discrimination and violence.
In Myanmar
“We supported women in the village to lead and participate in the recovery and reconstruction activities after Cyclone Mocha, and to build their capacity including in management skills. Because of their leadership, the response activities were more efficient, and the specific protection needs and concerns of women and girls in the village were identified and responded to.”
– A female staff member of a Myanmar women’s organisation.
What policies or international frameworks guide gender-responsive humanitarian action?
The Inter Agency Standing Committee is the longest-standing and highest-level forum for coordinating humanitarian assistance. The IASC Policy on Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women and Girls in Humanitarian Action, which was updated by UN Women in 2024, provides a framework that humanitarian actors should follow to integrate gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls into all preparedness and response activities.
Other relevant policies and international frameworks include:
- UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security recognizes the disproportionate impact of conflict on women and girls and calls for their participation in peace processes, protection from sexual and gender-based violence, and integration of gender perspectives in all peace and security efforts. Learn more in our Myanmar explainer on Resolution 1325.
- Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) sets a broad international standard for gender equality and women's rights, which informs gender-responsive policies in all areas, including humanitarian contexts.
- Sustainable Development Goals 5 (gender equality) and 10 (reduced inequalities) guide global efforts to address gender disparities and promote the rights and empowerment of women and girls in all sectors, including during crises.
Learn more about gender-responsive humanitarian action:
- Enrol in UN Women’s free Virtual Gender in Humanitarian Action training course.
- Read the IASC Gender Handbook for Humanitarian Action for practical guidance on mainstreaming gender equality and women’s empowerment throughout the humanitarian programme cycle. You can find additional resources on their IASC Gender in Humanitarian Action Reference Group website.
- If you have any questions or would like more information about UN Women Myanmar’s partnerships with women-led civil society organisations and our humanitarian work in Myanmar, contact us at: myanmar@unwomen.org.
________________________________
[1] Statement by the Resident and Humanitarian Coordinator a.i. for Myanmar, 3 May 2024. More than 3 million people forced to flee their homes in Myanmar. Available online.
[2] Myanmar Humanitarian Needs and Response Plan 2024, UN OCHA, December 2023. Available online.
[3] Poverty and the Household Economy of Myanmar: A Disappearing Middle Class, UNDP, April 2024. Available online.
‘Women peacekeepers are stronger than you think’ – Interview with Lieutenant Colonel Rubana Nowshin Mithila
As the United Nations prepares to mark the International Day of the UN Peacekeepers (29 May), paying tribute to the dedication and sacrifice made by peacekeepers around the world, UN Women spoke to Lieutenant Colonel Rubana Nowshin Mithila about her experience as a woman in peacekeeping.
Uniformed women – police and military – represent less than 10 per cent of the over 64,000 UN Peacekeeping personnel deployed today. UN Women, in collaboration with the Department of Peace Operations runs a training programme to prepare women military officers for peacekeeping operations. Lieutenant Colonel Mithila, who has served in the United Nations Operation in Côte d'Ivoire (UNOCI) and the United Nations Mission in South Sudan (UNMISS), completed the training in 2023.
Role of women in military and UN Peacekeeping
“I am part of the first generation of female military officers in Bangladesh,” says Lt. Colonel Rubana. She was preparing for her undergraduate studies in 2001, when she heard that the Bangladeshi army was accepting applications from female candidates for the military officer role. Lt. Colonel Rubana did not hesitate – she admired the army and was hungry for adventure and equal opportunities. Out of 13,000 applicants that year, she was among the 52 candidates selected for the training.
Lt. Colonel Rubana has served with UN Peacekeeping in Cote d’Ivoire and South Sudan. For her, women’s meaningful representation in peacekeeping is critical – “There is balance in everything in nature. Peacekeeping missions too need balanced representation. When women plan things, they see even the minor details, the small things. The men typically look at the big picture. When you combine both, you get the most workable plan.”
“The women peacekeepers are also more attuned to the special needs of the women and girls in the communities. The local women open up to them,” she added.
Challenges and stereotypes faced by women in peacekeeping
Lt. Colonel Rubana had a supportive family who encouraged her to pursue a military career. However, after joining the military and UN Peacekeeping, she faced and witnessed some recurring challenges.
Getting leadership positions were not easy for female military officers, it was a slow process of breaking stereotypes and notions that men were naturally suited for leadership. “I had to prove that I could contribute to the decision-making processes and operations as well as a man,” shared Lt. Colonel Rubana. “I had to prove it more than a man had to.”
A common myth that she wants to bust is that women are less strong or capable than men: “Women peacekeepers are stronger than you think – mentally and physically. When they go for combat, they are fiercer than men.”
“There is also a misconception that when [women in military] work with men, they lose their feminine qualities. It’s not like that. Rather, you support each other, you grow more. The military becomes more sensitive and sympathetic to special situations like peacekeeping.”
Lt. Colonel Rubana also reflected on the challenge of gender-sensitive accommodations and how the lack of such facilities can become a barrier to deploying more women peacekeepers. Something as simple as creating enough privacy and having washrooms for women closer to their living quarters and away from men’s washrooms can make a big difference.
However, when peacekeepers need to deploy to remote locations, she recalled her superiors hesitating to take more women because they felt that would increase their logistical burden. “A battalion may also hesitate to engage the women peacekeepers in patrols because they think they need to be protected. That’s not true – we can take care of ourselves,” she stressed.
Supporting and incentivizing national police and armed forces to increase meaningful participation of women in peacekeeping is an important step towards meeting the UN targets on gender parity among uniformed personnel. Since 2019, the Elsie Initiative Fund, hosted by UN Women, has awarded over USD 17 million in grants to 20 projects to help countries recruit and deploy more women peacekeepers, construct gender-sensitive facilities, and improve deployment conditions.
Impact of women peacekeepers on local communities
“Local women open up more to women peacekeepers,” said Lt. Colonel Rubana. Her statement is backed by numerous reports showing that gender-responsive peacekeeping units build trust with the communities they serve and improve the effectiveness of peace operations.
Sometimes, women peacekeepers can get information that men cannot access. Lt. Colonel Rubana shared a story from the recent Women’s Military Peace Operations Course she attended.
“There was a Mongolian peacekeeper who told us the story of water pumps,” shared Lt. Colonel Rubana. “They built a water pump in a community so that the women didn’t have to travel too far to get water. But the pump was repeatedly destroyed or stop working within one month of construction. They rebuilt it many times, and finally, the Mongolian peacekeeper talked to the local women and discovered that the women did not want the water pump in that location. Going to fetch water to the original location was the only time that the women had, away from the men in their families. They considered it a respite and did not want to change their routine.”
If not for women peacekeepers, they would have never known why the location of the water pump didn’t work for the women in the community.
The three-week training programme by UN Women and the Training Service of the Department of Peace Operations provides in-depth and practical knowledge to better prepare women military officers for peacekeeping operations. For Lt. Colonel Rubana, the unique experiences and knowledge shared by women peacekeepers with one another was invaluable.
Women peacekeepers are also powerful role models to women and girls in the communities they serve. “When women and girls in the community see us, women peacekeepers, they feel inspired to rise for peace,” added Lt Colonel Rubana.
Message for the International Day of UN Peacekeepers
Lt. Colonel Rubana Nowshin Mithila has a message for women and girls aspiring to join peacekeeping: “Peace is for everyone; everyone, irrespective of gender, has to work for peace to make this world free of war and conflict.”