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“We asked around and found the woman who cuts girls in the village,” , “She strongly warned us to keep it a secret.” Childhood and adolescence can be a time fraught with peer pressure and insecurity. Many go to great lengths to fit in. Although her father firmly opposed FGM, Bereket made a secret pact with 4 friends when they were just 15: to undergo FGM during their school summer break.

FGM has been outlawed in Ethiopia , but many pursue the practice anyway. Changing social norms requires building broader social movements uniting women, girls, men, and boys against FGM. To this end, is engaging faith-based organizations, community institutions, and government stakeholders in the .

Let's agree to make racism history.

This International Day for the People of African Descent, Executive Director reminds us that all the steps towards recognition, justice and development for Black people are needed everywhere.

Nataliia was four months pregnant when the war started in February 2022. Due to the stress of the conflict she gave birth three months early. From forced displacement, severe shortages of reproductive health care and the high risk of sexual violence, the war in Ukraine is having a disproportionate impact on women and girls. For thousands of pregnant women without access to essential services, childbirth is now fraught with added danger: Many hospitals are citing higher numbers of premature babies, health facilities are destroyed and damaged, and staff and supplies are running increasingly low.

Molok is a 30-year-old midwife in Yemen. Since losing her husband to the country’s grinding war, she raises her two sons alone and supports the family by working at a mobile clinic.

For International Youth Day, Executive Director, Dr. Natalia Kanem, calls for a world where everyone at any age has rights, choices and opportunities to fulfill their potential and promise.

Cheymi Gallardo Sánchez became a mother at age 15. In 2019, Cheymi was invited to participate in -supported youth activities in her community, and she soon attended a camp for young leaders from around the country. There she learned about sexual and reproductive rights issues, including the issue of teenage pregnancy, contraceptive methods and abusive relationships. Today, she works with Kabata Konana, a group of indigenous women leaders, to promote sexual and reproductive health and rights and challenge gender stereotypes.

“We tried to flee on the back of a truck, but they caught us. They took me away, raped me and left me in the bush.” Mahlet* was just 17 when she fled her home in November 2021 to escape the conflict raging in Ethiopia’s northern Tigray region. 

Amidst a historic fertility slowdown, the world’s population is expected to reach 8 billion on 15 November 2022, with India projected to become the most populous country in 2023, according to the UN.

Almost one third of women in developing countries had their first baby while they were still in their teens,  shows, with nearly half of those new mothers aged 17 and younger – still children themselves. Gender-based and income inequalities are highlighted as key in fuelling teen pregnancies by increasing child marriage rates, keeping girls out of school, restricting their career aspirations, and limiting health care and information on safe, consensual sex. 

Data show that restricting access to abortion does not prevent people from seeking abortion, it simply makes it more deadly. As  reveals, nearly half of all pregnancies worldwide are unintended, and over 60 per cent of these unintended pregnancies may end in abortion. A staggering 45 per cent of all abortions are unsafe, making this a leading cause of maternal death. Almost all unsafe abortions occur in developing countries, and  fears that more unsafe abortions will occur if access to abortion becomes more restricted.

Sexual violence in conflict settings remains widespread and systematic, a  by the United Nations Secretary-General found, fuelled by “rising inequality, increased militarization, reduced civic space and the illicit flow of small arms and light weapons, among other factors.” Conflict-related sexual violence – which includes assault, rape, forced marriage, trafficking, sexual slavery, forced sterilization, forced abortion other forms of sexual coercion – is used to instill fear, pain, suffering and censorship in its targets.

Hate is action. Hate is words. Hate is hate. Say and join us to .

Attacks on female journalists have reached unprecedented levels. A  noted that women journalists, human rights defenders, activists and leaders are disproportionately attacked, with public forums being used to threaten, harass and stalk, and to promote hate speech targeting them. “It’s chilling and sets a dangerous precedent for human rights violations,” said Reem Abdellatif, an Egyptian-American journalist who has endured abuse because of her profession.  Hate speech has been recognized by the United Nations as a major threat to peace and human rights.

Data is crucial to allocate humanitarian aid. By the first week of March, had provided a so-called “common operational dataset” to humanitarian partners.

Conflict and crisis exact a massive toll on women and girls. shares the stories of five women - how their lives changed since fleeing Ukraine and how their new lives in Moldova unfold.