“I used to be afraid to give my opinion, but now I tell people about complex issues like politics, women’s rights and the Constitution. I feel strong,” says 24-year-old Amani Thawabta, a law school graduate from Palestine. Although she speaks about lobbying for women’s rights as powerfully as a lifelong advocate, that wasn’t always the case. Amani is from the small Palestinian village of Beit Fajjar in the central West Bank, where the conservative culture makes it hard for young women to take part in public life or claim their rights.

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It is symptomatic of the low profile kept by the International Criminal Court (ICC) that even what might be regarded as a landmark event and a positive one too for women – the election of the first female president in its troubled 12-year history – passed with hardly a murmur.

Narayanganj, Bangladesh — This Muslim-majority nation may have a female prime minister, but at the local level it remains difficult for women to gain and hold political power.

Salina Hayat Ivy knows this better than anybody. As the mayor of this fast-growing port city close to Dhaka, she is the first and only woman to lead a “city corporation” — that’s the local term for Bangladesh’s 11 biggest urban jurisdictions. It’s a role that makes her something of a spokesperson for women leaders and the barriers they face here — but also a symbol of the possibilities for change.

Joint Press Release
UNDP and UN Women

Suva, Fiji - Today (01 April 2015) representatives from the Government of Samoa, the Government of Australia, UN agencies and civil society organisations gather in Apia to witness the signing of the Increasing Political Participation of Women in Samoa (IPPWS) UN Joint Programme.