Türkiye, facing a 93,000-driver shortage, is tackling gender imbalance in trucking by boosting female participation. Only 1.4% of truck drivers are women. In response, the UND Women Working Group was launched in 2024, followed by the UND Women Truck Driver Academy in 2025, in partnership with key ministries. Over 300 women have applied so far. [...]
The security crisis in Niger’s Tillabéri region has intensified since the July 2023 military coup, with jihadist violence escalating and women bearing the brunt. Armed groups like the Islamic State–Sahel Province have attacked villages, killing civilians and abducting or enslaving women and girls. Survivors report rape, forced marriages, and the targeted killing of male relatives [...]
Saudi Arabia's staging of the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) Finals in 2024 was contentious because of its human rights situation, even as the kingdom advertised progress in the area of women's rights. As much as players such as Coco Gauff pointed out the opportunity the tournament presented to promote young girls, others claim that Saudi Arabia [...]
Afghanistan is facing a worsening maternal care crisis, intensified by recent funding cuts to the UN’s reproductive health agency, UNFPA. In Bamyan Province, women walk for hours to access maternal care at remote clinics, some heavily pregnant or carrying newborns. The U.S. has slashed $102 million in funding to UNFPA’s Afghanistan operations, part of a [...]
Women human rights defenders in Laos face systemic oppression, including arbitrary detention, retaliation, and severe restrictions on their rights to freedom of expression, assembly, and association. The United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) has repeatedly expressed concern over these issues. In its 2024 concluding observations, CEDAW highlighted undue restrictions on [...]
Poverty and limited opportunity, particularly in rural regions, are key drivers of the increase in sex work in Thailand. Most people, especially those from rural and developing areas, experience limited access to education, health care, and secure employment. With few practical options, sex work is a viable choice because it offers a relatively high and [...]
The International Criminal Court (ICC) prosecutor is seeking arrest warrants for senior Afghan Taliban leaders, including the group’s top leader and chief judge, for crimes against humanity targeting women and girls. The investigation is based on evidence collected since the Taliban regained control in August 2021. It reveals serious abuses such as killings, arbitrary detentions, [...]
Divisions exist within Taliban leadership on Afghan women's education. Deputy Foreign Minister Sher Mohammad Abbas Stanikzai announced publicly that there was no basis for excluding education for women and girls, praising their right to learn. Taliban officials in certain areas have even provided medical courses for female students. Nonetheless, despite these opinions, the Taliban's highest [...]
The conflict in Sudan has left a serious humanitarian crisis in which sexual violence is more widely used as an instrument of fear. More than 12 million women, girls, and men are exposed to the risk of harm, greatly up from the past year. Layla herself is a survivor who was imprisoned, beaten, and saw [...]
During the initial eight months of 2024, more than 28,000 women in Tehran applied for medical check-ups because of violent injuries, most of which were caused by domestic violence. Iran's judicial system, however, does not criminalize domestic violence, rendering victims unprotected. A proposed law to combat gender-based violence is stuck, and there are only 17 [...]
