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On 21 September, Indian legislators passed the first legislation considered in the country’s new Parliament building: the Women’s Reservation Bill, 2023. The bill, which passed both houses of Parliament almost unanimously—with just two votes against—will ensure that women occupy at least 33 per cent of the seats in state legislative assemblies and the Lok Sabha, the lower house of Parliament.

Even before Niger’s political crisis this summer, an estimated 10.6 million people, or 41 per cent of the population, faced moderate to acute food insecurity. The National Council for the Safeguard of the Homeland took power on 26 July, and there are now more than 500,000 internally displaced people, 84 per cent of whom are women and children.

As UN Member States and civil society groups prepare to mark the twenty-third anniversary of Security Council resolution 1325 on women, peace, and security, the world is in crisis.

The latest IPU report on Youth Participation in Parliament reveals that parliaments are getting slightly younger, with small increases in the number of parliamentarians under 45 years old.

A recent report by UN Women and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs showed that an additional investment of USD 360 billion per year, globally, would be necessary to completing SDG 5.

“The price tag for SDG 5 is in—we can afford it, and we need to pay it”, said UN Women Executive Director Sima Bahous.

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Speaking to the Council’s annual meeting in Geneva on protecting the rights of women and girls, the UN High Commissioner said it was an urgent task, and there needed to be zero-tolerance of gender-based violence.

He highlighted the alarming reality that female human rights defenders, women journalists, and those in public office and political decision-making positions, routinely come under “vicious” attack.

The plight of women and girls in Afghanistan featured prominently at the Human Rights Council on Monday where independent UN-appointed rights experts warned of systematic “gender apartheid” and “gender persecution”.

Despite the legal reforms that have been taken by various Arab countries following their ratification of various international agreements guaranteeing women's civil and political rights, women have not been able to achieve equal representation in elected councils.