We celebrate Shakti Samuha from Nepal 2013 Ramon Magsaysay Awardees. (Left to right) Laxmi Puri and Sunita Danuwar representing Shakti Samuha (Nepal), Gov. Habiba Sarabi (Afghanistan), Lahpai Seng Raw (Myanmar), Adnan Pandu Praja and Abraham Samad representing Komisi Pemberantasan Korupsi (Indonesia), and Dr. Ernesto Domingo (Philippines). Three individuals and two organizations who share the virtue of selflessness in working for their people’s welfare will receive the 2013 … [Read more...]
UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie Recounts 5-year-Old Girl’s Ordeal
SECURITY COUNCIL ADOPTS TEXT URGING TARGETED SANCTIONS AGAINST PERPETRATORS OF SEXUAL VIOLENCE DURING ARMED CONFLICT Rape Largely ‘Cost-free’, Says Special Representative As UNHCR Special Envoy Angelina Jolie Recounts 5-year-Old Girl’s Ordeal The Security Council today urged the United Nations sanctions committees to apply targeted sanctions against parties committing sexual violence during armed conflict. Ahead of a debate on the subject that attracted more than 60 speakers, the … [Read more...]
UN Women celebrates trailblazing Mount Everest Women!
A powerful symbol of rising equality and women’s empowerment Women from around the world are scaling their way to the top but barriers remain. The Courage of Ten Nepalese Women to climb Mt. Everest supported by UNDP, WFP, UN family. Last week a 27-year-old graphic artist named Raha Moharrak made headlines as the first Saudi woman to reach the summit of Mount Everest. On the same day she reached the summit, the first woman from Pakistan, Samina Baig, did the same. The next day, … [Read more...]
Bishnu Maya Pariyar – WOMAN of ACTION™
A Celebration of Women™ is elated to Celebrate the Life of this brave woman, one born into extreme poverty, and treated as an outcast in her own society. Housing a strong spirit, this powerhouse forged her way through education, walking four hours per day to attend and complete her secondary education, being the first girl in her community to achieve such success. She further achieved more education in the USA, and returned home to work with her local women through an organization … [Read more...]
Women unlock chains of development in rural Nepal
SURKHET, Nepal – Amidst the hustle and bustle of passing vehicles, dust and honking horns on the Surkhet-Jumla road, about 350 km west of Kathmandu, the patches of green vegetables within a few minutes’ walk are a soothing treat to the eyes. Bimala Adhikari, shown with her children, heads a rural women's cooperative in Nepal.©Rocky Prajapati/IFAD The proud owners of the vegetable plots are women, most of them affiliated with the Nari Ekata (“Women United”) Women’s Cooperative. With 124 … [Read more...]
UNDP offers six-point plan to fast-track women in politics, Asia-Pacific
UNDP THAILAND/MARK S. COGAN | ABC JOURNALIST HELEN BROWN MODERATES A DISCUSSION OF PROMINENT POLITICAL ACTORS SHARING THEIR THOUGHTS ON WHY THE PUSH FOR POLITICAL EQUALITY IN ASIA LANGUISHES BEHIND OTHER REGIONS. BANGKOK — It will take 50 years for gender balance to be achieved in Asia-Pacific national legislatures if the increase in women’s participation in parliaments remains at the current pace, says a UN Development Programme (UNDP) study released this week. Economic progress will be … [Read more...]
Nepal: Boosting entrepreneurship among poor rural women
Nepal: Boosting entrepreneurship among poor rural women Chitrakali Budhamagar began her career in 2003 collecting yarn made out of 'allo' (Himalayan nettle) and selling it in the Nepalese capital Kathmandu. With the money she made selling yarn, she bought readymade garments to sell in her home village of Pyuthan, in the western part of the country. Born to a poor peasant family, Chitrakali had few other options. However, in 2005, opportunity knocked. She enrolled in a three-month … [Read more...]