Youth
In April, Libyan youth, media authorities, and election and government officials met in Benghazi to tackle a rising threat to peace: false news around the country’s elections. From April 21 to 23, over 85 participants took part in two forums organized by the UN Support Mission in Libya (UNSMIL). Their goal was to “combating spread of disinformation and misinformation during elections and fostering community peace and cohesion,” UNSMIL stated in a news report.
This effort reflects a broader peacebuilding theme: involving ordinary citizens – especially youth, women, and civil society – in dialogue about disinformation and misinformation, and reducing violence in communities. Since Libya’s 2011 revolution, the country has fractured into regions and militias, and recent years of instability have left Libyan society deeply divided.
Now, as the country prepares to resolve issues surrounding hindered elections, accurate information and social cohesion are seen as essential to prevent violence. The Benghazi meetings offered a model of inclusive dialogue: Participants shared ideas on how to combat false information and how communities can work together to avoid conflict. As participants at the forum said, “Civil society can play a critical role in promoting stability and building trust between institutions and communities.”
Full article published by Peace News on 12 May 2025.
Image credits: Peace News
Women’s roles are often confined to household management, particularly in the Northern Region of Nigeria. However, their potential stretches far beyond these limitations. Women possess great resilience, creativity, and leadership, and when empowered with the right tools and opportunities, they become powerful drivers of economic growth, social change, and community development. By breaking traditional barriers and stepping into roles such as entrepreneurship, advocacy and community leadership, women are proving that their contributions are essential to building more resilient and prosperous societies.
The UNDP’s Climate Security Project implemented in the Northwest states of Katsina and Sokoto is providing women with the necessary tools, training, and opportunities needed to break traditional barriers and thrive as active participants in their communities. Through skills acquisition programs, livelihood support, and business development initiatives, women are gaining economic independence and becoming leaders in sectors such as tailoring, agriculture, and entrepreneurship. This empowerment not only strengthens their families but also contributes to the overall resilience of their communities in the face of climate-related pressures that have significantly contributed to resource-based conflicts in the Northwest region of Nigeria.
Three young women from Jibia LGA, Katsina State, Umma Salma Salisu (23), Maimuna Abubakar (23yrs), and Mariam Mukhtar (22yrs), are rewriting their stories.t. These close friends were fortunate to be among the beneficiaries who received training and skills to build sustainable livelihoods.
Full article here published by UNDP
Hi Rulers! You’ve made it to the end of the week. This week we’re taking a look at Gen Z women taking on congressional campaigns. Let’s get to it:
Campaign announcements are in full swing as potential candidates eye the 2026 midterms and this year’s upcoming special elections. And two Gen Z women — both Democrats vying for House seats — are set on running their campaigns differently.
Last month, Kat Abughazaleh, a 26-year-old Washington, D.C., native who moved to Chicago last year, announced her bid to unseat Illinois Democrat Jan Schakowsky in a YouTube video.
Besides her age, her background is atypical for a congressional candidate. A former journalist, she covered far-right media and U.S. politics for Media Matters and Mother Jones before pivoting to content creation after she was laid off. Today, she holds a substantial following on numerous social media platforms including TikTok and X. Her reason for running echoes the concerns of other progressive voters she’s spoken to: Democrats aren’t doing enough.
“Trump is trying to install an authoritarian dictatorship, and we need people in power to be resisting loudly and publicly,” Abughazaleh tells Women Rule.
Read here the full article published by Politico on 11 April 2025.
Image by Politico
When I stood for election last year, I knew I’d be pushing boundaries.
I was young, passionate, and unashamedly ambitious—not for power, but for change. On polling day, I became the youngest councillor in the UK, winning by a landslide. That should have been the start of something empowering. But what followed was a sharp lesson in how politics still treats young women who step into the spotlight.
The morning after my win, I was pulled aside and told: “It’s not going to be easy. The other women will see you as a threat.” That comment didn’t come from an opponent. It came from someone who thought they were offering advice.
But I’ve never believed in tearing others down to lift myself up. I believe in collaboration over competition, and I want to see more women—especially young women—find the confidence to step into public life. We need more voices at the table, not fewer.
I’ve always known that being young in politics meant I’d be underestimated. But nothing quite prepares you for the way people second-guess your intentions, question your competence, or assume you’re just here for the photo ops. They didn’t see the months I spent canvassing, listening, scrutinising council decisions before I was even elected. They don’t see the hours spent poring over policy papers or the late nights preparing to challenge proposals that fail our communities.
Read here the full article published by Labour List on 19 April 2025.
Image by LabourList
While almost two-thirds of young people in the U.S. support democracy, almost a third view it skeptically and are more inclined to accept authoritarianism, according to a new report on attitudes of youth in America after the 2024 elections.
In a nationally representative poll of 18–29 year olds by the Center for Information & Research on Civic Learning and Engagement (CIRCLE) at Tufts University's Jonathan M. Tisch College of Civic Life and Protect Democracy, researchers found that 62% of the young people surveyed display "passive appreciation" for democracy, trusting government institutions, valuing democratic principles, and rejecting authoritarianism and political violence.
At the same time, the people in this group—who are more likely than the average to be conservative—are not civically engaged and do little more than vote, which doesn't augur well for democracy, say the report authors.
And then there are the 31% of the Gen Z survey respondents who do not buy into the value of democracy, have little confidence that the system works, and show higher support for authoritarian governments than other youth. This group, which the researchers refer to as displaying "dismissive detachment" from democracy, vote at a similar rate as other youth, but rarely participate in political action, and believe that they cannot create political change.
Read here the full article published by Phys.org on 14 April 2025.
Image by Phys.org
How can we feel like we are being represented without having enough women to represent us? Women make up 51% of our country, but only 21% of women hold executive positions. For years women were not allowed to even vote let alone run for any form of office, and at this rate it will take 134 years to have gender equality in our government.
We need to make more efforts to support women in politics because we bring different perspectives to the table, and we can stop the negativity that comes with being a woman in politics.
Women can have a very different perspective of the world because of the life experiences that we have to endure. In the article, "Why Women in Politics?" it states, "Depending on whether women are young or older, educated or uneducated, live in rural or urban areas, they have very different life experiences that lead to different priorities and needs.”
This quote is so important because it is so true. Oftentimes women's ideas and thoughts are overlooked because traditional political systems and structures have been dominated by men, who may not fully understand or prioritize the unique perspective and needs of women in a political standpoint.
Read here the full article published by the Courier Journal on 21 March 2025.
Image by Courier Journal