Outcome 5: Women’s voice, leadership and agency

With discussions focused on the importance of gender equality for empowering women – not just in politics but in all areas of life – and on developing policies to combat violence against women, UN Women Türkiye held a knowledge-sharing meeting in collaboration with members of the Committee on Equality of Opportunity for Women and Men (EOC) of the Turkish Grand National Assembly (TGNA) from 26–27 November 2022 in Sapanca, western Türkiye. Read more >

A 16 per cent increase in women-held elective seats was one of the successes of Kenya’s 2022 General Election. But for many women aspirants, old practices and norms continued to undermine their campaigns. The contrast between progress and such norms were on full display in Kenya’s coastal region. 

“The next time you speak to me, it will be in the Governor’s office!” were Deputy Governor Fatuma Achani’s parting words to UN Women in 2021, referring to her ambitions to win the Governor seat in the 2022 elections in Kwale County. Her prediction was correct, becoming the first woman ever to do so in the county. Read more >

Aún después de la firma de los Acuerdos de Paz persiste la violencia contra las mujeres en Guatemala. Es más, las diferentes formas de violencia contra las mujeres, particularmente contra las mujeres indígenas, emergen y se intensifican, como demuestran los altos niveles de femicidio, desapariciones, maternidades infantiles forzadas y los ataques cibernéticos. Leer más >

UN Women supports conflict prevention and building peace and resilience with a focus on preventing violent extremism through women’s empowerment. During the five phases of the regional Prevention of Violent Extremism (PVE) programme called "Empowered Women, Peaceful Communities" (April 2017 - March 2022), approximately 5 million individuals have strengthened their understanding of the role women can play to prevent violent extremism and gender dynamics of this threat, particularly in Bangladesh, Indonesia, the Philippines, Thailand, regionally and globally. This was achieved through innovative communication tools as well as capacity development, awareness-raising and knowledge-sharing efforts. More than 6,000 women from over 200 communities in the four countries have strengthened their capacity to generate income as a result of the project’s economic empowerment initiatives. They have become agents of change in their communities and promote peace and social cohesion, thereby preventing radicalization and violent extremism. Since the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic, digital platforms and online spaces are being increasingly used to spread sexist, inaccurate, and dangerous rhetoric about women, inciting hatred and potentially provoking violence – online and offline. Through digital literacy training, 420 young leaders (408 women and 12 men, including indigenous peoples, transgender individuals, the urban poor and rural communities) in Bangladesh, the Philippines, and Thailand have strengthened their capacity to identify, protect against and report online hate speech, misinformation and disinformation, especially in the context of COVID-19. They also learned how to create and disseminate edutainment videos to promote gender equality and social cohesion through social media. At the regional level, UN Women is dedicated to consolidating the knowledge acquired through UN Women PVE programming to contribute to knowledge-building regionally and nationally. It also contributed to promoting good practice and lessons learned for PVE from a gender perspective through knowledge-sharing events among experts and stakeholders from South and Southeast Asia countries.

Read more:

The PVE programme webpage

“National Colloquium on Learnings from the Women Peace Café Initiative in Bangladesh”

Rising global temperatures are increasing the frequency and intensity of deadly storms like TC Yasa. When disasters strike, the destruction can seem indiscriminate; but constituting most of the planet’s poor and disenfranchised, it is women and girls who face the greatest risks.

Women are not powerless victims of an ever-worsening climate emergency, however, nor are they passive recipients of disaster aid. In the Pacific region, as in other parts of the world, women are spearheading climate adaptation and mitigation strategies — something Sharon Bhagwan-Rolls, a second-generation Pacific Fijian feminist has championed throughout her three-decade journey in the women’s rights movement. Read more >