Advocacy & Lobbying
On August 15, 2021, the lives of the Afghan people underwent a stochastic lifestyle shift. It marked the establishment of a Taliban-governed Afghan state for the first time since 2001. This theocratic regime has been characterized by humanitarian organizations such as Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch as oppressive toward women, with documented restrictions on their rights to work, education, freedom of movement and public participation. Additional documented human rights concerns include religious intolerance, persecution of minorities, suppression of press and speech freedoms, extrajudicial killings and denial of due process.
The Taliban takeover of Afghanistan, coined “The Fall of Kabul,” was a far more hastened onslaught of events than American intelligence and even the Taliban themselves anticipated. The United States military completed its withdrawal by August 30, 2021. It took the Taliban just 10 days to retake Afghanistan. The only thing to change as impetuously in Afghanistan as the system of government change was the constitutional rights of Afghan women.
Women’s voices and experiences are crucial for the functioning of our democracy. Yet, despite many women’s roles as community leaders right across the island, they remain significantly underrepresented in our political system North and South. This particularly affects women from marginalised communities, including Traveller, disabled and migrant women.
Today (Wednesday, 3rd September, 2025),at Reimagining Leadership, an event hosted by the National Women’s Council’s (NWC) All Island Women’s Forum at Queen’s University Belfast, feminist activists, political leaders, and community organisers discussed how to achieve greater representation of women in politics and explored forms of feminist leadership, including community leadership, that go beyond the traditional political system. Rather than conforming to the existing system, participants explored what a truly feminist leadership would mean that embraces feminist values, principles and approaches.
Historically, Northern Ireland has had the lowest proportion of women representatives among all UK devolved institutions—only 35.5% of seats at the national level and 31.5% of council positions are held by women.
Reacting to the ratification of the Protocol to the African Charter on Human and Peoples’ Rights on the Rights of Women in Africa, (Maputo Protocol) on 26 August by the Central African authorities, Abdoulaye Diarra, Senior Researcher at Amnesty International, said:
“The Central African authorities ratification of the Maputo Protocol is a welcome and long-awaited step in promoting and protecting women and girls’ rights in the country, including from all forms of gender-based violence (GBV) such as early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation that have long hindered their education, health, and well-being.”
“However, actions speak louder than words and Central African authorities must now follow through to take necessary measures to ensure the full implementation of the Maputo Protocol by adopting a comprehensive law to address GBV and promote gender equality, strengthening the justice system, improving support services for survivors, and raising awareness in communities, including in rural areas.”
“According to the UNFPA latest figures, 61% of Central African girls are still married before the age of 18, and 22% of girls and women aged 15 – 49 suffer from a form of genital mutilation.”
“We urge the adoption of a holistic approach that addresses the root causes of gender-based violence to change attitudes and norms in order to empower women and girls in the Central African Republic.”
“We also urge Niger and Chad, the two countries in West and Central Africa who have not yet ratified the Maputo Protocol, to do so without delay.”
TALLINN, Estonia -- Antanina Kanavalava says her four years in a Belarusian penal colony as a political prisoner were filled with a fear and anguish that still haunts her.
She nearly lost parental rights to her two young children when she was initially arrested. Her eyesight deteriorated from sewing military uniforms in a dimly lit room. Denied access to even basic needs like feminine hygiene products, she used rags or whatever she could find amid unsanitary conditions.
“Women in prison go through hell and can’t even complain to anyone,” Kanavalava, 37, told The Associated Press after her release in December. “The head of the prison told me straight out that people like me should be put against the wall and shot.”
Belarus has nearly 1,200 political prisoners. While all endure harsh conditions like unheated cells, isolation and poor nutrition and health care, human rights officials say the 178 women behind bars are particularly vulnerable.
This year’s International Youth Day shines a spotlight on the extraordinary potential and pressing challenges facing young people—especially young women and girls—as they strive to turn global commitments into meaningful, community-driven change. For the 1.2 billion young people aged 15 to 24 in the world, roughly half of whom are young women and girls, the stakes in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) have never been higher and the challenges more evident.
Thirty years after the Beijing Declaration boldly stated that “women’s rights are human rights”, progress in fulfilling those rights has stalled and, in some areas, regressed. In a world facing profound global uncertainty, rising geopolitical tensions, economic instability, shrinking civic space, and deepening inequalities, young women and girls continue to lead the way ahead, accelerating gender equality gains where they matter most: in schools, marketplaces, village councils, parliaments, and online spaces. They are advocating for rights, challenging stereotypes, innovating climate solutions, and confronting discrimination and violence head-on.
The empowerment of all women and girls was firmly upheld at the 2025 High-Level Political Forum (HLPF) – the United Nation’s central platform for reviewing progress on the Sustainable Development Goals – as world leaders adopted a new Ministerial Declaration placing gender equality at the centre of global development.
UN Women welcomes the Declaration, which reaffirms the Beijing Platform for Action and calls for women’s full, equal, and meaningful participation in public life, leadership, peacebuilding, and crisis response. It addresses long-standing barriers including poverty, unpaid care work, discriminatory laws and social norms, harmful practices, and multiple and intersecting forms of discrimination. It underscores the rights of rural and Indigenous women, their access to land and natural resources, and the importance of integrating gender into climate action, as well as women’s critical role in small-scale fisheries and coastal economies and in the strengthening of food security and commits to address the structural barriers that they face.
Read the full article published here.
The Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women today considered the combined seventh to tenth periodic report of Nicaragua in the absence of a delegation.
Committee Experts raised questions on the treatment of women human rights defenders in Nicaragua, and the lack of sufficient health services for women, among other issues.
Click here to read the full report published by the United Nations News on 23 October 2023.
Violence against women in politics (VAWIP) is an urgent problem worldwide. At the time of this writing, U.S. House of Representatives Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s husband had just been violently assaulted by a conspiracy theorist, shouting “Where is Nancy?” after breaking into their house. In Canada, women, Indigenous, Black, racialized, and queer political actors face harassment and threats on a regular basis. During the 2022 Québec provincial election, politician Marwah Rizqy received death threats from a man who allegedly called the police to inform them where they could find her body (she was pregnant at the time). In 2022, federal Deputy Prime Minister Chrystia Freeland was accosted by a man who yelled profanities at her while she was with her all-women staff. These are not isolated incidents, and the political science community has an important role to play in addressing them.
Click here to read the article by Cambridge University Press on 15 September 2023.
In the vast landscape of Mongolia, the traditional nomadic lifestyle is deeply rooted in the fabric of its culture.
Gers, the round white felt tents, have served as the traditional homes of the Mongolian people. They have supported their nomadic way of life and culture since before the time of Chinggis Khan.
In the heart of these nomadic homes, two columns, known as "Bagana (Багана),” stand equally in their position. But these are not mere architectural elements supporting the Gers; they are like quiet messengers with a powerful story to tell. These columns serve as symbols of gender equality, with each one representing men and women, beautifully embodying the core principles of harmony and balance in Mongolian culture.
Despite this rich culture, gender inequality still prevails in Mongolia; men and women have not been equally seen in decision-making processes. The country currently ranks 133rd in terms of women's representation in decision-making, with only 17.1 percent of parliamentary seats held by women, falling below the global average of 26.5 percent.
But the narrative runs deeper. Today, Mongolian women continue to face insufficient support during their pregnancy and child-rearing while continuously battling against deeply ingrained gender stereotypes.
The recent UNDP Gender Social Norms Index report confirms this sobering reality. It shows that 97% of Mongolians hold biases against women, often believing men are better political leaders. These biases, rooted in patriarchal values, create systematic barriers for women in politics and public decision-making.
It is an undeniable reality that Mongolian women face every day.
Read here the full article published by the UNDP Mongolia on 13 September 2023.
In September 2022, I had the opportunity to organize a roundtable at the Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association (APSA), connected to my 2021 APSA Distinguished Award for Civic and Community Engagement. First conferred in 2020, the award honors “significant civic or community engagement activity by a political scientist which merges knowledge and practice and has an impact outside of the profession or the academy.” In my case, it recognized work I had been doing since 2015 with the National Democratic Institute and other global practitioners to recognize and combat violence against women in politics as a distinct form of violence aimed at preventing and undermining women’s political participation.
Click here to read the full article published by Cambridge University Press on 9 August 2023.
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Somalia grapples with unique cultural, societal, and structural hurdles that hinder women’s access to political processes. Despite introducing a non-legally binding quota, the most recent federal elections in 2022 saw a decline in women’s parliamentary representation. Beyond this, women’s leadership in public spaces remains inadequate at all levels. Patriarchal norms, gender stereotypes, and cultural barriers hinder women’s full participation in decision-making, with women predominantly perceived as homemakers, with caregiving responsibilities.
Click here to read the full article published by Relief Web on 01 August 2023.