Gender Equality

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Most Recent:Gender Equality

Jihan al-Taei, an Iraqi politician

Iraq’s First ‘Feminist’ Political Party Jumped High Hurdles to Exist

Iraq’s parliamentary elections are scheduled to be held in November, and though the country has a new women-led political party, al-Mawadda — meaning, loosely, “affection” or “solidarity” in Arabic — it will not be contesting them officially. After more than …

Antonio Guterres in Papua New Guinea

[UN: Sept. 5] South Korea Juggles Nuke Powers & More

Welcome back to our weekly summary after a pause in August. We’ve made changes to our headline and produced a more streamlined format for faster reading, though this issue is on the longish side. Let us know what you think. …

Women Are Barely Seen or Heard in the News, Report Reveals

Women are underrepresented and misrepresented in the news globally, according to the Global Media Monitoring Project 2025 report. It revealed that only 1.8 percent of news coverage focuses on gender-based violence despite the prevalence of the problem among women, who …

What’s the Future of Peacekeeping? The Women, Peace & Security Agenda

In August, the United Nations Secretariat welcomed civil society’s suggestions on how to create more agile, effective UN peace operations as part of its commitment under the Pact for the Future. Our answer, as experts on women, peace and security, …

American Crusaders Aim to Boost African Women While Attacking Our Rights

Over stock footage of an African city and people smiling, an American man’s calm voice says, “A stronger future begins with stronger families.” Posted to Instagram in June by the Mormon Church in West Africa, the video features images of …

UNGA80 Is Around the Corner: Here’s the Lineup So Far

Every September for as long as anyone can remember, the United Nations General Assembly turns New York City into an epicenter of diplomacy, advocacy, deal-making, global partying and Midtown traffic jams. The 80th UNGA, as it’s known, opens its annual …

Afghans on a bus heading from Iran to Kabul or Herat

It Happened at the UN: Week Ending July 11

This Week @UN: Delaying gaps in crime of aggression; a UN project the US didn’t defund; humanitarians want crisis planning. Plus: South Sudan airdrops; Afghanistan apartheid; fuel for Gaza; US sanctions; 2-state solution session; Russia-UN MoU dies. Thanks for sharing …

Where’s the Support for Gender Equality? Women Ask at a Global Forum

Advocates for gender equality and global financial reforms from around the world were disappointed with the Financing for Development pronouncement even before the United Nations international forum started this week in Seville, Spain. Fueled by a feeling that they were …

Memo to US Defense Boss: The Women, Peace & Security Act Is Federal Law

When United States Secretary of Defense Pete Hegseth announced in a post on X that he had “proudly ENDED” the Women, Peace and Security Act of 2017 by his department, he sparked immediate backlash from women’s rights advocates worldwide. Indeed, …

Roses in bloom at the UN Rose Garden

It Happened at the UN: Week Ending May 23

The good news: Memorial Day weekend is here, the advent of summer (and muggy NYC)! The UN is closed on Monday. We welcome your news tips: info@passblue.com This Week @UN: UN reform survey; UN’s (English) relief chief; Argentina targets Indigenous …

Pramila Patten in North Darfur in 2018

UN80 Plan Spells Doom for the Organization’s Core Work, Insiders Say

The UN80 initiative proposed by United Nations Secretary-General António Guterres has sparked concerns over the effect it could have on the core work of the organization, including its gender equality ambitions, according to about a half-dozen UN insiders and experts …

Bolivian Vice President David Choquehuanca

Bolivia Jumps the Gun With Early Candidate for UN Secretary-General

Bolivia’s delegation to the United Nations circulated a letter to fellow member states announcing the nomination of the country’s Vice President David Choquehuanca as a candidate to succeed António Guterres as secretary-general of the UN. Guterres’s term finishes on Dec. …

Zehra Patwa is workingto criminalize female genital mutilation, or FGM, in Connecticut

Taking Female Genital Cutting Out of US Shadows

The practice of female genital mutilation is mostly associated with dozens of countries in Africa and the Mideast, but the reality is that millions of women and girls in some 94 countries are victimized by it every year. This includes …

The Gaza Soup Kitchen

It Happened at the UN: Week Ending May 2

This Week @UN: Women tackling human trafficking; US anti-DEI demands at FAO; US retaliates against South Sudan peacekeeping; Greece’s unity push. Plus: Israel/Gaza; India/Pakistan; US disses “feminists”; Syria; Afghanistan; UN streamlining ideas; US-UN envoy nominee. Please follow us on Blue …

FAO Faces the Latest Anti-DEI Demands by US at the UN

The United States is extending its reach to radically shift its role in the United Nations system to reflect its policies on language, culture and funding under the Trump administration. The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) is the latest UN …

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