News headlines for “Human Rights Issues”, page 131
WOMEN'S DAY LIVE UPDATES: ‘I fought for my freedom’ - Jaha Dukureh
- UN News

International Women’s Day, observed on 8 March, is about challenges, backlashes against gender equality and cause for celebrations around the world. Join us as we cover events, changemakers and celebrities at UN Headquarters and beyond today. UN News app users can follow here.
International Women’s Day, 2025 - The Quest for a Female UN Secretary-General: Assessing the Probability
- Inter Press Service

NEW YORK, Mar 06 (IPS) - The United Nations has chosen “For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.” as the theme for International Women’s Day on March 8, 2025. This theme emphasizes the importance of equal rights, power, and opportunities for all women and girls, urging action to create a feminist future where no one is left behind.
One in four countries report backlash against women’s rights in 2024
- UN News

The basic rights of women and girls are facing unprecedented growing threats worldwide, from higher levels of discrimination to weaker legal protections -and less funding for programmes and institutions which support and protect women.
Choose compassion, reject cruelty to end HIV, says top UN rights official
- UN News

Global efforts to tackle the HIV/AIDS epidemic continue to remain insufficient, with deadly consequences, the UN Human Rights Council heard on Thursday.
Öcalan's Letter: Between Dismay and the Kurds' Need to Believe
- Inter Press Service

ROME, Mar 05 (IPS) - "The PKK (Kurdistan Workers' Party) should dissolve. I make this call and take historical responsibility," read the letter from Abdullah Öcalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdish guerrilla, on Thursday, 27 February.
Our Silence on Female Genital Mutilation in Sierra Leone Will Not Protect Us
- Inter Press Service

FREETOWN, Sierra Leone, Mar 05 (IPS) - Over 200 million women and girls around the world have undergone female genital mutilation (FGM). This is the partial or total removal of the external female genitalia for non-medical reasons.
Stitching Hope: Two Afghan Women Rebuild Their Lives with Needle and Thread
- Inter Press Service

Mar 05 (IPS) - Zainab and Mursal, two young Afghan women, had their education cut short by the Taliban. But instead of surrendering to despair, they picked up a needle and thread—transforming their skills into a thriving sewing business that now provides income and inspiration to other Afghan women.
International Women’s Day, 2025 - In Zanzibar, Women Turn the Tide with Sponge Farming
- Inter Press Service

JAMBIANI, Zanzibar, Mar 05 (IPS) - In the early morning, as the tide pulls away, Zulfa Abdallah ties her scarf tightly around her head. She adjusts her goggles, places a snorkel across her forehead, and wades into the chest-deep waters off Jambiani village in Zanzibar. The Indian Ocean is her livelihood now, its waves offering a lifeline to women like her who confront challenges of poverty and climate change.
International Women’s Day, 2025 - It’s time for a Feminist Woman Secretary General at the UN
- Inter Press Service

NEW YORK, Mar 05 (IPS) - In 2025, the United Nations will celebrate 80 years of shaping global policies, fostering peace, and driving international development. Yet, in those eight decades, not a single woman has held the position of Secretary-General.
Syrians’ hopes for a better future depend on justice for the disappeared, Human Rights Council hears
- UN News

The people of Syria’s painful search for a peaceful future took centre stage at the UN on Wednesday as one leading representative of the families of the country’s forcibly disappeared spoke of the continuing pain of not knowing their fate.

