News headlines for “Women’s Rights”, page 7
Empower Her, Empower Us: A Call to Empower UN Women Now
- Inter Press Service

NEW YORK, September 29 (IPS) - In her opening statement, Annalena Baerbock (Germany), President of the 80th UN General Assembly, only the fifth female to hold this position over 80 years, stated, “Our future as an institution will also be shaped by the selection of the next Secretary-General. And here we must pause and reflect. In nearly eighty years, this Organization has never chosen a woman for that role. One might wonder how out of four billion potential candidates, there could not be found a single one. … Like 80 years ago, we are standing at a crossroads.”
African Voices at UNGA80: Building Sustainable and Self-Reliant Systems Through Innovation
- Inter Press Service

UNITED NATIONS, September 26 (IPS) - On September 24, African-led organizations convened a high-level side event during the 80th session of the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA80). The event – African-led Innovation: Shaping Sustainable Futures With or Without Aid – was organized in partnership with eHealth Africa, Population Services International (PSI), Population Council, and Reach Digital Health. The dialogue amplified voices from African-led organizations and highlighted the importance of homegrown innovations for sustainability—regardless of the availability of foreign aid—amid shrinking donor funding and widening global inequalities.
‘The extraordinary power of ordinary people’: World leaders spotlight youth as agents of progress
- UN News

Young people are at the heart of the world’s most urgent challenges, and on Friday, their role in shaping solutions took centre stage at the UN General Assembly. World leaders spoke of the remarkable promise held by today’s generation, even as they acknowledged the persistent barriers millions of children and youth face in accessing education, healthcare and political voice.
Ending Child Marriage Needs a Culture of Accountability, Respect for the Rule of Law
- Inter Press Service

UNITED NATIONS, September 26 (IPS) - Global leaders came together at the sidelines of this year’s UN General Assembly to commit to ending child marriage, calling on all world leaders to make concerted efforts to ensure accountability and enforce the laws that prohibit it.
Record Number of Women Living Within Striking Distance of Military Conflicts
- Inter Press Service

OSLO, Norway, September 25 (IPS) - The battlefield is no longer distant; for millions of women, it’s next door. An estimated 676 million women – nearly 17 percent of the global female population – lived within 50 kilometres of a deadly conflict last year, according to a new report from the Peace Research Institute Oslo (PRIO). That is the highest figure recorded since the end of the Cold War.
Afghan Women Die Needlessly After Natural Disasters
- Inter Press Service

KABUL, September 24 (IPS) - In normal times, women in Afghanistan face dire living conditions relative to their counterparts in other parts of the world, given the iron grip of Taliban repression. However, the powerful 6.0-magnitude earthquake that struck the eastern Afghan provinces of Kunar, Nangarhar, and Laghman at the end of August was out of the ordinary.
How Stigma Undermines Contraceptive Use Among Women in Sierra Leone
- Inter Press Service

FREETOWN, September 22 (IPS) - Eunice Dumbuya, a young activist in Freetown, Sierra Leone, still remembers being called promiscuous after getting a contraceptive implant a few years ago. She knew the risks of an unplanned pregnancy in her conservative country, so she made a choice.
High-level week opens with celebration of women’s empowerment
- UN News

Only the fifth woman to preside over the UN General Assembly in its 80-year history has praised the courage of those “who fought for every phrase, every word in the Beijing Declaration,” marking the 30th Anniversary of the pivotal international conference on women’s empowerment.
30 Years advancing gender equality: Achievements, setbacks, and the road ahead
- UN News

In the three decades since the groundbreaking Beijing Declaration on women’s rights was adopted by the nations of the world, great progress has been made but women and girls still face unacceptable levels of violence and discrimination. At this year’s General Assembly, UN delegates will reflect on the achievements made and raise awareness about the huge amount of work that still needs to be done.
To Sanctify Bigotry: The Case of Charlie Kirk
- Inter Press Service

STOCKHOLM, Sweden, September 19 (IPS) - On September 11, Charlie Weimers, a Swedish Member of the European Parliament and active within the European Conservatives and Reformists Group, rose up during a Parliamentary session and asked for a minute of silence to honour the memory of Charlie Kirk, who the day before had been shot and killed during a political meeting at the Utah Valley University in the U.S.
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