For six years now, children in Syria have been living with the constant fear of being killed and, according to a report released today by Save The Children, the psychological toll has sparked a growing mental health crisis.
Read MoreUnder new leadership, the United Nations is finally taking measures to redress its long recognized failure to promote women’s leadership of the institution. Antonio Guterres, who assumed the role of Secretary-General on January 1st, campaigned as a champion of gender equality and upon taking the oath of office promised to make gender-parity within the 44,000-person Secretariat a priority. Meet some of the women he has appointed to top positions so far.
Read MoreTo the chagrin of many, the UN’s next leader will be not a woman. However, he—Antonio Guterres, former Portuguese prime minister and head of the UN refugee committee—did campaign on a promise of gender parity. And yesterday, moments after taking the oath of office and presenting his agenda to the General Assembly, he reiterated to the press that he will prioritize correcting the gender imbalance among UN staff during his first 100 days in office.
Read MoreFemale, Millennial, and a former child refugee from Afghanistan, Finnish Parliamentarian Nasima Razmyar represents the changing face of Europe. She sat down with me to share her views on gender equality, the Finnish welfare state, and refugees in Europe during the 60th Commission on the Status of Women at the United Nations.
Read MoreThree out the seven officially declared candidates for the next secretary-general are women. And while it is not the first time a woman has been in the running for the job, it is the first time that one, let alone three, has a viable chance of getting it. Here's a closer look at the three female candidates:
Read MoreThe mantra "sustainable energy for all" now reverberates through the halls of most institutions, whether public or private, concerned with reducing global poverty, protecting the environment and empowering women. It's a theme that puts African women at the center of global environmental objectives, especially with respect to their overwhelming lack of access to modern energy sources for cooking and heating.
Read MoreOf the million refugees, mostly from Syria and Afghanistan, who arrived in Europe since the beginning of 2015, over 85 percent entered Europe through Greece. According to the U.N. refugee agency, they continue to arrive at a rate of almost 5,000 per day, but they are slipping from the grasp of the world's fickle attention. Georgia Lale, a 26-year old artist from Greece launched #OrangeVest a performance art project designed to remind us their struggles are far from over.
Read MoreUntil recently, Thair Orfahli, a convivial Syrian just shy of his 27th birthday, had little to worry about save a tough exam or the travails of young love. Today, while waiting out the lengthy asylum process in Germany, he lives in a dormitory for refugees, but exists mainly a liminal space between the nightmare he has survived and the bright future he is determined, but not yet able, to forge.
Read MoreBut how successful will the new U.N. framework be in raising global living standards? Enthusiasts put faith in technological innovations. Skeptics say the global economic system is inherently exploitive and unjust and needs a real overhaul.
Read MoreMaybe if the U.N. blueprint for peace and prosperity for 2030 were sexier, people around the world would take notice and support it. So goes the thinking behind #GlobalGoals, an infotainment campaign to frame the U.N.'s new agenda for economic and social development as something that everyone should be excited and optimistic about.
Read MoreNoorjahan Akbar's stubborn optimism about the future of her native Afghanistan offers a compelling counte-rnarrative to the bleak picture painted by Western media. Despite the gargantuan security challenges, it is possible, she insists, to revive the prosperity, tolerance, commitment to learning and cultural vibrancy that characterized Afghan society throughout much of the country’s illustrious history.
Read MoreReligious leaders and human rights advocates are convening across the street from the White House today, June 4, to call on President Barack Obama to take executive action to ensure access to abortion for women and girls raped in conflict.
Read MoreZainab Hawa Bangura, the United Nations special representative of the secretary-general on sexual violence in conflict, recently completed a 12-day trip to assess the use of rape, sexual slavery and forced marriage as a strategy of war and tactic of terror in the Middle East, particularly by the Islamic State, or Daesh as some prefer to call the terrorist group. Upon her return, she gave a press conference to the U.N. press corps and subsequently answered Women's eNews' questions via email because she was traveling again.
Read MoreThe first Arab woman to serve as president of the U.N. Security Council, Dina Kawar talks to Women's eNews about the U.N.'s role in protecting women in conflict, as well as female Syrian refugees in Jordan.
Read MoreHere's what one Kenyan woman says about being forced to carry through a pregnancy that resulted from a rape during a conflict period. Obama could end such suffering by clarifying that U.S. law actually does allow abortion funding in such circumstances, a health activist says.
Read MoreOn a panel moderated by the Women’s Foreign Policy Group, six former and current female Security Council members spoke about the strengths and talents they bring to the practice of diplomacy and the gender-based discrimination they still sometimes face.
Read MoreMonir Shahroudy Farmanfarmaian, an amiable and quick-witted nonagenarian born in Qazvin, Iran, is best known for her scintillating mirror mosaics. Inspired and guided by geometric principles, they are infused with her own inherent elegance and joie de vivre. The sparkly three- dimensional works draw the viewer in and reflect the movements of visitors while also offering fragmented glimpses of individuals, including oneself. Monir’s technique and designs are steeped in the legacy of Persian craft, Islamic decorative art and geometry, yet she uses them to arrive, perhaps unexpectedly, at Modern abstraction.
Read MoreAs those from around the globe converge on U.N. headquarters and sideline events this week for the Commission on the Status of Women, two people who've worked with the U.N. offer insights on women's rights gains.
Read MorePolicy making currents are washing around girls and women at the U.N. now as a major rights proclamation turns 20 and a set of global development goals prepares to re-launch. Here's taking some stock of it all, including a quick sampling of major milestones since 1995.
Read MoreAs the U.N.'s global development goals face sunset, the two that particularly concern girls and women have marked progress but leave plenty of work ahead. That's especially true when it comes to reducing maternal mortality in India and Nigeria.
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