News stories by Babatunde Osotimehin

NEW YORK, Aug 10 (IPS) - Barely 17 years old and from the Gajapati district in Odisha, India, Susmita has never gone to school. She rears the few animals her family owns, and this is her primary duty besides attending to household chores.

UNITED NATIONS, May 07 (IPS) - Today more than 200 schoolgirls will wake up to another day in an unthinkable nightmare. Three weeks ago, they were seized in the night by armed men dressed as soldiers who said they were there to protect them.

UNITED NATIONS, Nov 06 (IPS) - Imagine an orphanage where over 300 children born out of rape have been abandoned because of the shame and stigma associated with sexual violence. Imagine a town where, in the last year, 11 infants between the ages of 6 months and 1 year, and 59 small children from 1 to 3 years old, have been raped.

UNITED NATIONS, May 23 (IPS) - Every three years since 2007, a global advocacy organisation called Women Deliver has convened an international conference to talk about issues relating to the health and well-being of girls and women.

UNITED NATIONS, Mar 08 (IPS) - Today is International Women's Day, and the issue of gender-based violence is topic A. Sadly, it has been a newsworthy topic in the global media, as well.