CSW70: Women’s Equality under Siege

On 19 March, the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) did something unprecedented in its eight-decade history: it held a vote. The Trump administration, having spent two weeks attempting to defer, amend and ultimately block the session’s main outcome document, known as the agreed conclusions, cast the only vote against its adoption. That dissenting vote said a lot, as it came from the world’s most powerful government, backed by financial leverage, bilateral reach and a network of anti-rights states and organisations that are making inroads at many levels.

Gender Equality: A Global Priority or a Global Consensus?

The 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) (March 9-19), held at the United Nations headquarters, brought together governments, decision makers, civil society, and international organizations to address a central issue: access to justice for women and girls.

Young Afghan Taekwondo Women Coach Chose Resistance over Surrender to Taliban

When Khadija Ahmadzada was arrested in Herat province of Afghanistan in January this year, it sparked widespread domestic and international protests. Women’s rights activists and social media users raised their voices with slogans such as “Sport is not a crime,” “Education is a right for women,” and “Don’t erase women,” often using the hashtag #BeHerVoice.

At CSW70, Advocates Warn Conflict Is Deepening Barriers to Justice for Women and Girls

The 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW70) has brought together global leaders, gender equity advocates, and youth representatives at the United Nations (UN) Headquarters to advance efforts to strengthen mechanisms for justice, equality, and representation for women and girls worldwide. With challenges particularly pronounced in conflict zones, this year’s priority theme —“ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls — focuses on repealing discriminatory laws and addressing persistent structural barriers that prevent women and girls from being fully heard, represented, and treated equally.

Nigeria: Lessons from the Aba Women’s Riots for Today’s Women’s Movements

The Aba Women’s Riots of 1929 remain one of the most powerful demonstrations of Nigerian women’s collective resistance. Thousands of market women, farmers, traders, and mothers mobilized across districts in the then Eastern Nigeria to challenge colonial taxation and the extension of warrant chiefs’ authority over their lives. They organized without formal structures and without institutional support.

Only 1 in 7 Countries is Led by a Woman– as Global Political Power Remains Dominated by Men

Across the world, women remain vastly under-represented in political leadership, with the most powerful decisions still overwhelmingly made by men. In 2026, only 28 countries are led by a woman Head of State or Government, while 101 countries have never had a woman leader, according to the latest data released by Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU) and UN Women.

Public Flogging in Afghanistan Strips Women of Dignity

In the bone-chilling Afghanistan winter, a woman was dragged into a public square early this year and publicly lashed for a crime she may or not have committed. According to the ruling handed by the Taliban Supreme Court, the woman and the male culprit who was jointly accused of extra-marital affair received 30 lashes each and a one-year suspended prison sentence. The sentence was carried out in the presence of several local officials and residents in a province whose name is left out to protect the victim.

Gender Discrimination: It’s Time to Flip the Narrative

We have heard it all: • When a woman raises her voice, she’s too emotional. • When she stands her ground, she’s too difficult. • When she leads, she’s too ambitious. • If she wears dark suits they whisper ‘why does she always look like a man’ • But oh my gosh! if she shows up in a colorful dresses and high heels….

International Women’s Day 2026: Justice for Women and Girls Needs Action and Political Will

On International Women’s Day (March 8), global leaders and advocates gather around the rallying cry to strengthen justice systems for all women and girls in a time of increasing pushbacks on gender equality.

International Women’s Day 2026: A Resistance Stronger than the Backlash

Consider what International Women’s Day looked like a few years ago, and what it looks like now: the same date, the same global moment of reflection, but a vastly changed global landscape. Gender rights are facing the most coordinated and wide-ranging attack in decades. Anti-rights forces are dismantling protections secured after generations of struggle, destroying infrastructure built to address gender-based violence and realise reproductive rights and rewriting legal frameworks to roll back rights, with a specific focus on excluding transgender people. This is the result of a deliberate, carefully crafted, handsomely funded and globally coordinated strategy.

International Women’s Day 2026: This Year’s International Women’s Day Calls for Electing a Woman as the next Secretary-General

As we observe International Women’s Day (IWD) this year, the global community does so in a time of continuing turbulence, conflicts and uncertainty about the future of our planet.

International Women’s Day 2026 The Gender Architecture of Betrayal: Stop Elite Impunity

International Women’s Day 2026 (IWD 2026), which was commemorated March 8, under the theme, "Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls", calls for action to dismantle all barriers to equal justice: discriminatory laws, weak legal protections, and harmful practices and social norms that erode the rights of women and girls. It demands an end to systemic violence and misogyny, including calls for justice for Epstein survivors.

International Women’s Day 2026 No Country in the World has Reached Full Legal Equality for Women and Girls

On 8 March 2026, International Women’s Day, UN Women issues a global alert: justice systems meant to uphold rights and the rule of law are failing women and girls everywhere. Women globally hold just 64 per cent of the legal rights of men, exposing them to discrimination, violence, and exclusion at every stage of their lives.

International Women’s Day, 2026

 
Women and girls have never been closer to equality. And never closer to losing it.

International Women’s Day & 70th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women

International Women’s Day 2026 comes at a defining moment: Women and girls have never been closer to equality, and never closer to losing it. Legal protection against domestic violence has expanded in many countries. Yet, the rights of women and girls are being rolled back in plain sight, and across the world, women still do not enjoy the same legal rights as men.

Players Score Dignity in India’s First Transgender Football League

Pyari Hessa, 26, balances long shifts as a loco traffic controller at a steel company in Jamshedpur with evening football practice on the same turf where professionals train.

A Pathway to Gender Equality in ASEAN

The COVID-19 pandemic reminded everyone how important care work is to daily life. When schools closed and hospitals filled up, often it was women and girls who stepped up at home. Their contributions made a big difference, yet these responsibilities often go unseen and unrewarded.

Online Abuse is Real Violence — and Africa’s Women and Girls are Paying the Price

New estimates show that violence against women and girls remains one of the most pervasive human rights violations in the world – and that one of its fastest-growing frontiers is the digital space.

The World’s Right-Handed and Left-Handed Torturers

Jeanne Kirkpatrick, a former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations, once made a highly debatable distinction between "friendly" right-wing "authoritarian" regimes (which were mostly U.S. and Western allies) and "unfriendly" left-wing "totalitarian" dictatorships (which the U.S. abhorred).

Namibia Leads the Way: Honouring 25 years of Women, Peace and Security

Last November, the streets of Windhoek came alive with the sound of drums and brass as a marching band led a procession of women from Namibia’s Defence and security forces.