Women held 27.5 per cent of parliamentary seats worldwide as the year began –a 0.3 per cent increase from 2025, marking the slowest growth in nearly a decade, according to a new report from the UN-backed Inter-Parliamentary Union (IPU).  The report titled Women in parliament 2025 released ahead of International Women’s Day on 8 March, also found that […]

As an increase in conflicts leads to a significant spike in gender-based violence, women across the world face a “justice gap” with discriminatory laws reported in most countries, according to a report from gender equality agency UN Women, released on Wednesday March, 4th 2026.  “As the world navigates democratic backsliding, rising conflicts, economic pressures and […]

In 2015, all 54 African countries committed to raising education spending to at least 4 to 6 percent of GDP and/or 15 to 20 percent of total public expenditure, in line with international pledges tied to the Sustainable Development Goals. Most, however, have fallen short of that target, even as education emerges as one of […]

Women entrepreneurs must be recognized as the architects of economic change and not the beneficiaries. That was the central message of the Manama Declaration, issued at the close of the World Entrepreneurs and Investment Forum (WEIF) held this week in Bahrain. The declaration places women at the heart of economic transformation, underscoring that empowering them within business and […]

Although women are more likely than young men to pursue higher education, they make up only 35 per cent of science graduates.  Across the world, a significant gender gap persists at all levels of science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) disciplines due to lack of research funding, gender stereotypes, and discriminatory workplace practices.  UN Secretary-General António Guterres said the gap is particularly pronounced in […]

Olivia Albert, 19, was subjected to female genital (FGM) mutilation when she was 14. She told the UN sexual and reproductive health agency (UNFPA) that she hid her pain because everyone around her said it was normal. “Deep down, I knew what I had experienced was not something any girl should go through,” she emphasised.  FGM was […]

Female genital mutilation violates five fundamental human rights: the right to be free from gender discrimination, the right to life and physical integrity, the right to health, the right to be free from torture and cruel inhuman or degrading treatment, and the rights of the child. The associated detrimental physical, psychological, and economic impacts of female genital mutilation can […]

The world has moved beyond a water crisis and into a state of global water bankruptcy, says a new flagship report released on Tuesday by UN researchers. For decades, scientists, policymakers and the media warned of a “global water crisis,” implying temporary shock – followed by recovery.  What is now emerging in many regions, however, […]