Partner News

1 March 2012 – The United Nations agency mandated to promote gender equality today announced it will give out $10.5 million in grants to organizations working to advance economic and political empowerment of women in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe and Central Asia.

For the full news story, see UN.org.

United Nations, New York, 1 March 2012 — At a high-level event at the Commission on the Status of Women in New York, Michelle Bachelet, Under-Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director, issued a new call for proposals for UN Women’s Fund for Gender Equality from organizations working to advance economic and political empowerment in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, and Europe and Central Asia.

5 Mar, 2012 - “Parties that take women’s political participation seriously benefit from stronger electoral positions, access to new groups of voters and stronger relations with their constituents,” NDI President Kenneth Wollack said at the Feb. 29 launch of a new guidebook for political parties.

For the full story, see NDI.

5 March 2012 - Mount Kilimanjaro, Tanzania. Today, 75 men, women and youth commenced their three day trek to the top of Africas highest mountain Mt. Kilimanjaro, standing at 5,895m or 19,341-ft above sea level with an extraordinary humanitarian objective. The 75 climbers representing 36 African countries, 14 United Nations agencies, businesses, women's rights activists and civil society organisations are participating in a continent-wide campaign to end violence against women and girls.

7 Mar 2012 - To honor the struggle of the Dalit women of Nepal, International IDEA has published three stories of the current Constituent Assembly members who are featured in the “Women Members of the Constituent Assembly of Nepal.”

For the full story, see International IDEA.

The first UN conference, a two-day meeting in Thimphu saw senior government officials, mostly women, from Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Norway and Nepal, discuss the promotion of women’s political leadership and governance in India and south Asia. The participants and presenters debated the value of a quota for Bhutan.

UN Entity for Gender Equality and Empowerment of Women (UN Women) regional program director, Anne F Stenhammer, said quota for women to partake in politics was not important.

8 March 2012 — Against the backdrop of global geopolitical events and during a period of unprecedented transformation in the region, UN Under-Secretary-General and UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet commemorated International Women’s Day in Morocco today. Highlighting the progress made globally in women’s legal rights, educational achievements and participation in public life, she also underlined the huge gaps that still remain for women globally from unequal opportunities to gross violation of rights.