Global Womens Rights

VP Harris Gives Remarks on Gender Equality at UN Women’s Summit

On Wednesday, Vice President Kamala Harris led the U.S. virtual delegation and gave remarks at the United Nation’s Generation Equality Forum, nearly a generation after former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton declared that “women’s rights are human rights” on an international stage. Harris, the first woman, first Black and first AAPI person to hold the […]

Global On the Hill Politics

Biden Expected to Announce Linda Thomas-Greenfield as Ambassador to the UN

President-elect Joe Biden is expected to announce Linda Thomas-Greenfield, a longtime Black diplomat, as ambassador to the United Nations in a move to affirm his commitment to a diverse Cabinet. Greenfield has worked as a foreign service officer since the Reagan administration. She served as ambassador to Liberia, and as the Assistant Secretary of State […]

Global Health Womens Rights

U.N. Women Calls Attention to Shadow Pandemic of Domestic Violence, Economic Insecurity

As gender-based violence and job loss become growing concerns amid the COVID-19 pandemic, the executive director of U.N. Women highlights the struggles faced by women during this time. In a statement released earlier this year, U.N. Women reported rising numbers of calls to domestic violence helplines and shelters worldwide during the pandemic. Alongside this, government […]

Global Health Reproductive Rights Womens Rights

Trump Administration Demands UN Remove “Reproductive Health” From Pandemic Response

The Trump administration sent a letter to the United Nations on Monday urging the UN to remove references to reproductive health and abortion in its COVID-19 humanitarian response plan. The letter was sent from John Barsa, acting administrator of the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID). The letter urges the UN to eliminate all mentions […]

Global Violence Against Women

U.N. Report Shows Increase in Sexual Misconduct Claims

A United Nations report released on Friday showed that accusations of sexual exploitation and abuse (SEA) rose significantly in 2019. Secretary-General Antonio Guterres said that, despite progress and policies in place to prevent sexual misconduct, “significant challenges” persist. In 2019, there were 80 allegations of SEA in U.N. peacekeeping and political missions, an uptick from […]

Activism Global Health Violence Against Women Womens Rights

Grassroots Activists Work to Find Solutions to End Female Genital Mutilation

Recent efforts in Gambia show the success of frontline activists fighting to end female genital mutilation (FGM). FGM is a global human rights’ issue that has affected nearly 200 million women and girls worldwide. Although frontline activists receive little to no funding, their efforts have seen promising results in countries from Kenya to Gambia. Kenya […]

Activism Afghanistan Education Global Womens Rights

Aisha Khurram Selected as Afghanistan’s 2019 Youth Representative to the United Nations

Aisha Khurram, a law student at Kabul University, has been selected as Afghanistan’s Youth Representative to the United Nations for 2019, joining a group of other young representatives from across the globe seeking to make their voices heard at the world governing body. Khurram — who was selected from among 80 candidates — is tasked […]

Global

United Nations Report Demonstrates Urgency of Climate Change Policies

Early today, a United Nations (U.N.) report composed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was released in Geneva, Switzerland, detailing the fast approaching effects of climate change and their impact on global food security. The report examined the correlations between various measures such as rising earth temperatures, soil degradation, and carbon dioxide emissions to […]

Reproductive Rights Violence Against Women

UN Passes Anti-War Rape Resolution Despite US Opposition

On Tuesday, the United Nations amended resolution aimed at ending sexual violence in war passed 13-0, with Russia and China abstaining. This was after the United States threatened to use their veto power to demand that all references to sexual and reproductive health be cut out. The Trump administration called for this change because they claim the resolution “implies support for abortion.”

Global

Saudi Women Continue Finding Ways to Flee Violence

Once again the world is hearing reports of two women fleeing their home of Saudi Arabia, shedding light on the status of women in the country. The two sisters, Wafa and Maha al-Subaie, have fled Saudi Arabia to seek asylum in the country of Georgia. Saudi Arabian citizens do not need entry visas for Georgia, […]

Global Politics

UN General Assembly Presidents States Regression in Women’s Political Power

U.N. President of the General Assembly María Fernanda Espinosa addressed the Commission on Tuesday stating there has been a “serious regression” in women’s political power, pointing at the lack of progress for women in leaderships positions globally. In response to these obstacles Gabriela Cuevas Barron, The head of the Inter-Parliamentary Union, proposed increased affirmative action […]

Global Violence Against Women

Four Women Are Killed Everyday in Brazil

Since the beginning of 2019, on average, four women per day have been killed in Brazil and 126 women have been killed so far this year, causing increased pressure on the government to crack down on femicide cases. There have been an additional 64 attempted murders recorded. The high rate of women being killed is […]

Global

Afghan Woman Appointed to Key UN Post

Sima Samar, a top Afghan human rights and women’s rights advocate, was appointed to the United Nations High Level Advisory Board of Mediation. Dr. Samar has been a leading advocate for human rights and women’s rights and has served in high ranking roles since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001. Since then, she […]