Gender equality is explicitly mentioned only in two of the eight MDGs, but in reality, it is an over-arching and crosscutting concern that can enhance performance on every other indicator of human development.
The goals of Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment in the MDGs can be seen as opportunities for mainstreaming women's concerns and perspectives in development, by identifying synergies amongst the MDGs, the Beijing Platform for Action, and other international and national commitments. Also, working towards social, political and economic empowerment of disadvantaged groups of women and men in a holistic manner is important for achieving the goals.
02-07-2009Defying social taboos on women entering the public sphere, female reporters from Pakistan’s Federally Administered Tribal Areas are working on news bulletins focussing on socio-political issues. Radio Khyber that aims to counter extremism in the region has provided a platform to these women to accept new challenges.
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Image: Radio Khyber's female journalists prepare scripts for news bulletins outside a studio in Peshawar/ Photo credit: Dawn
03-07-2009Nepalese women married to Bhutanese refugees fear they may be left out of the third country resettlement programme and end up separated from their families. Even children will get separated from their uncles, cousins and grandparents.
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Image: Many Nepali women whose husbands are Bhutanese refugees feel left out of the third country resettlement programme/ Photo credit: IRIN
01-07-2009Professor Jayati Ghosh’s Never done and poorly paid makes an exceptional study of women’s role in Indian economy against the backdrop of fast globalising world. Nirmala Banerji, a feminist economist, critically examines the key issues raised in the book and the ones that failed to find a mention.
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Image: Woman working in the saltpans in Little Rann of Kutch in Gujarat/ Photo credit: WUNRM
20-06-2009Refugee Girls: The Invisible Faces of War is a comprehensive document by the Women’s Refugee Commission. It narrates untold stories of millions of girls displaced by conflicts and shows how with education these girls can emerge out of the crisis.
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Image: Afghan girls study in a school for refugee children in Quetta, Pakistan/ Photo credit: Google
Fighting for 'lost heroes' in Sri Lanka Visaka Dharmadasa has been relentlessly providing support to thousands of families in Sri Lanka in tracing missing soldiers during the civil war. Besides advocating a permanent solution to the Tamil problem, she has been running awareness programmes across ethnic groups to empower women through education.
