Uncertainty Looms for Kenya Following Tense IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings

Reflecting on this year’s IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings, one word lingers in my mind: uncertainty. The shifting global geopolitical landscape loomed large—none more so than the US administration’s initial threat to withdraw from the Bretton Woods institutions.

A Feminist Future for the UN: Why the Next Secretary-General Must Champion Civil Society

Climate change is threatening to engulf small island states such as Maldives and the Marshall Islands. Gender apartheid is still practiced in theocratic states such as Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia. War crimes and genocide are taking place in the Occupied Palestinian Territories and Sudan.

‘The International Response Should Follow the Principle of ‘Nothing about Us, Without Us’’

CIVICUS speaks with Ukrainian gender rights activist Maryna Rudenko about the gendered impacts of the war in Ukraine and the importance of including women in peacebuilding efforts. Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine has profoundly impacted on women and girls. Many have been displaced and are struggling with poverty and unemployment. Those who’ve stayed endure daily missile attacks, damaged infrastructure, lack of basic services and sexual violence from Russian forces if they live in occupied territories. Women activists, caregivers and journalists are particularly vulnerable. The international community must increase support to ensure justice for victims and women’s inclusion in peace efforts.

Tanzania’s Women Miners Digging for Equality in a Male-Dominated Industry

Under the scorching Tanzanian sun, Neema Mushi wipes sweat from her dust-covered face and swings her pickaxe into the earth. The impact sends dust swirling into the air, coating her tattered clothes. She barely notices. For the past eight years, this has been her life—digging, sifting, sieving, and hoping to strike gold in the male-dominated pits of Geita. It is a grueling task riddled with obstacles.

The Disappeared: Mexico’s Industrial-Scale Human Rights Crisis

They found shoes, hundreds of them, scattered across the dirt floor of an extermination camp in Jalisco state. These abandoned shoes, once belonging to someone’s child, parent or spouse, stand as silent witnesses to Mexico’s deepest national trauma. Alongside charred human remains and makeshift crematoria meant to erase all evidence of humanity, they tell the story of a crisis that has reached industrial-scale proportions.

Afghan Women Defy Taliban Repression With Underground Protests

“Even if our murals don't change much, they will surely leave a mark - at least on the mind of one Taliban member who sees them.” These words from Afghan women activists reflect the bold and creative tactics they continue to use in their resistance against the Taliban's oppressive regime.

Girls’ Education Bridges the Digital Divide

There is a global digital divide, threatening to leave entire generations of women and girls behind. Today, we place them at the centre of our shared massive action as we commemorate International Girls in ICT Day. Today, we reaffirm our commitment to harness the transformative power of education and provide these girls with the training, skills and resources they need to be part of the digital revolution that is shaping our planet. Today, we must recommit to financing their education.

Financing for Whom? The Financing for Development Summit Must Address Social Dimensions

The Fourth International Conference on Financing for Development (FfD4) will bring world leaders together to forge a new international consensus on how to finance a better future for all. Yet, in practice, the first drafts of its outcome reveal a glaring omission: people. Despite rhetoric about inclusivity, the drafts are strikingly weak on social issues, as if financing and macroeconomic policies exist in a vacuum, detached from the lives they impact.

UN Warns of an Imminent Collapse in Haiti

As gang violence in Haiti continues to target civilians and critical infrastructures, humanitarian organizations and the Haitian National Police (HNP) have found it increasingly difficult to manage the growing scale of needs. The United Nations (UN) and its partners fear that Haiti will approach a nationwide collapse due to numerous shortfalls in funding, a widespread lack of essential resources, and rampant insecurity.

African Countries Still Underfunding Health by as Much as 50 Percent

The majority of African countries are yet to commit 15 percent of their GDP to funding the health sector, despite the growing disease burden weighing down the continent and two decades after the coming into force of the Abuja declaration on health sector funding.

Andean Women Farmers in Peru Face Climate Crisis with Green Practices

"Up here in the highlands, there’s a lot of frost, and everything seems bleak. But I’m so happy since I got my greenhouse and started growing vegetables in a healthy way. I feel like we’re overcoming the challenges of the weather," Anacleta Mamani, a Quechua farmer from the community of Poques (about an hour’s drive from Cusco, the former imperial capital of Peru), told IPS.

How to Ensure Election of the First Woman Secretary-General: A Daunting Challenge Before the United Nations

On 21 March 2025, the 69th session of the Commission for the Status of Women, popularly referred to as the CSW69, concluded its two-week-long annual meet which commenced on 10 March.

CGIAR Gender Accelerator: A Tool to Advance Gender Equality Research in Agri-Food Systems

To advance the participation of women, the youth, and minority communities in the agricultural sector, measures must be taken to recognize and break down the barriers that hold them back. Experts in the agricultural sector agree that even as they constitute a significant percentage of the agricultural workforce, women face persistent challenges. The picture that emerges is a lack of due recognition of their presence and their challenges, such as limited access to resources and knowledge.

Rohingya Refugees Are Not Safe in Bangladesh or Myanmar

On April 4, it was confirmed by Myanmar authorities that there were approximately 180,000 Rohingya refugees residing in Bangladesh that are eligible to return. Following numerous cuts in funding as a result of President Donald Trump’s reduction of USAID, as well as the increasingly volatile humanitarian crisis in Myanmar, it is uncertain if repatriation will best serve Rohingya refugee communities.

‘With Science, We Can Feed the World of 9.7 Billion by 2050′

Animal scientist Lindiwe Majele Sibanda became what her grandmother earnestly prayed for when she was growing up on a farm in southern Zimbabwe.

CGIAR Gender Impact Platform Needs a ‘Bold Approach’ in Agriculture Research

Women farmers face structural issues that prevent them from realizing their full potential, from societal perceptions that dictate their limitations to poor land. However, CGIAR's Gender Impact Platform Director, Nicoline de Haan, argues that leaning into a "victim" narrative does not serve them, especially when women are demonstrably more involved in agriculture.

Taliban View Even Women’s Cosmetics as a Threat to Their Rule

Women in Afghanistan have borne the brunt of the Taliban’s extremist Islamist rule. Four years on, there appears to be no end in sight.

Digital Democracy at a Crossroads. Key Takeaways from RigthsCon2025

In an increasingly digital world, democratic practices are evolving to encompass new forms of participation. Digital democracy – the use of technology to enhance civic action, movement building and access to information – has become a crucial force in shaping local and global political landscapes.

CGIAR Science Week Seeks Solutions for a Food-Secure, Climate Resilient Future

CGIAR and the Kenyan Agricultural and Livestock Research Organization (KALRO) are bringing together the world’s leading scientists and decision-makers in agriculture, climate, and health for the first CGIAR Science Week. This gathering will be a key moment to advance research and innovation, inspire action, and establish critical partnerships that can secure investment in sustainable food systems for people and the planet.

Challenging the Taliban’s Violations of Afghan Women’s Rights

The Taliban’s egregious violations of women's rights in Afghanistan, especially banning women from education and even from speaking in public, are beyond the pale. Imposing economic sanctions alone, however, has not changed in any significant way the Taliban’s treatment of women.

Trapped by Tradition: The Widows of Ukerewe and the Ritual They Cannot Escape

The night after her husband was laid to rest, 24-year-old Vivian Magesa sat in the dimly lit brick-walled house, surrounded by women from her late husband’s family. She had spent the past few days in mourning, wrapped in a white shroud, her head shaved as custom dictated. But as the hushed voices of her in-laws filled the room, Magesa realized her grief was far from over.