Since the Taliban took over control in Afghanistan, the life of women and girls has dramatically changed.
Afghan women and girls have been denied their fundamental rights to free movement, public space, education, jobs, political and social participation, and safety. They can not go outside without a male chaperon, access secondary education, work in spaces shared with men, apply to public jobs, protest safely or wear what they want.
In this unprecedented context, UN Women is committed to staying in Afghanistan and supporting all Afghan women and girls.

Join us on Thursday 5 May at 12.30 pm Vienna time to discuss with UN Women’s Representative in Afghanistan how the international community can protect the rights of all Afghan women and girls.

Please register here.

After registration, you will receive the link to the virtual round table by email. This allows you to join the Zoom video conference at the time of the meeting using a browser or a free app.

As always, we ask for a donation for UN Women’s support in Afghanistan.

Find the newest report on women´s rights in Afghanistan on our website.

We look forward to your participation!

II./ Gender transformative climate adaptation: African women’s leadership as a driver for change

• Main organizer (and co-organizers if applicable): Austria, OECD, Global Water Partnership, CARE International
• Date, start time and end time of the event (in Eastern US/Canada EST time zone: 23 March at 9am EST (4pm in Kampala/UTC+3), will run for 75 minutes (end at 10:15 EST)
• Link to the RSVP/registration form or virtual event platform, or a general email address to be published on the public calendar, for public enquiries: https://careorg.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_VUGsCODBTReM_Sj_SvMVVw;
• Brief description of the event: Women and girls face a double injustice: climate change and gender inequality as they are disproportionately impacted by climate change, women and girls bring a unique perspective and are developing creative and effective solutions. Nevertheless, many climate adaptation policies, plans and programs are not gender responsive, let alone transformative and substantial funding is lacking. Drawing on direct experience in African contexts, this event brings together representatives from government, civil society and multi-lateral agencies to share good practices and provide concrete recommendations on how to promote women’s leadership and gender equality in the climate justice agenda.
• Links to webpages: https://careclimatechange.org/; https://genderinpractice.care.org/; https://aipwater.org/wacdep-g/; https://www.gwp.org/globalassets/documents/gwpsa/aip-wacdep-g-support-programme_singles_final_feb2021.pdf

• Topic/theme: Gender perspectives in climate change

An online event by Global Responsibility, the Austrian Platform for development and humanitarian aid, with support by the Austrian Red Cross, CARE, Light for the World, and WIDE

Register here!

Worldwide women and girls were severely hit by the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, the lockdowns and the socio-economic impact in their regions. Particularly in countries of the so-called Global South, the pandemic has disproportionately pushed women out of employment, decreased their livelihoods and income generation for their families. This has led to rising levels of poverty, hunger and social inequalities. Gender based domestic violence has increased. Women and girls have also taken on the brunt of additional unpaid care work at home. Barriers to access adequate maternal healthcare have led to worse health outcomes for women, e.g. high-risk pregnancies and complications at birth. Due to carework obligations, girls were more often taken out of school than boys and also the risk of (forced) child marriage has increased. Children are falling behind in education due to a long period of closed schools and childcare facilities during lockdowns or due to lack of access to online lessons and materials.

These social and economic effects on women and girls have caused a heavy backlash against women`s rights and gender equality. Moreover, the UN warns that the world is not on track to achieve the 2030 Agenda and the Sustainable Development Goals and in some cases, decades of progress have been reversed. At the same time, governments in the Global South have fewer options to tackle the social and economic challenges and encounter limited financial resources to address the impact of the pandemic and facilitate inclusive and sustainable recovery.

About the event

Join Global Responsibility and its partners for a conversation with discussants from the Global South perspective about the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on women and girls and resulting policy implications. Women representing civil society organisations from African and Eastern European countries will share their experiences and an analysis of the social and economic effects of the pandemic on women’s empowerment and gender equality. Based on these real-life accounts of women, various stakeholders working in development cooperation and policy will discuss how Austrian international development actors can support recovery and sustainable and inclusive development in these regions.

Guiding questions for the online event

What social and economic impact of the COVID-19 pandemic are women and girls experiencing in the Global South and what are the reasons for women being more effected than men by the consequences of the pandemic? What differences can be found amongst countries, regions and groups of society, specifically focusing on ways how to decrease vulnerability and increase resilience? What programmes were developed and what kind of measures were implemented by civil society organisations? What options do governments in the Global South have to counteract the socio-economic crises? How can government actors, both national and international, incl. development agencies, identify policy options to better support women and girls and foster women’s rights? How can Austrian development policy support conditions for an inclusive recovery and sustainable development as well as higher resilience of vulnerable groups in crises?

These are some of the questions that discussants from the Global South, Austrian development cooperation and academia will discuss in two separate panels. The online event will include opening remarks by the director of Global Responsibility, which will be followed by a key-note speaker representing a civil society women’s network.

Programme (to be updated continuously here)

• Opening remarks: Annelies Vilim, Director, Global Responsibility

• Keynote speech: Âurea Mouzinho, Co-founder and co-coordinator, Ondjango Feminista, Angola

• First panel discussion – Perspectives from the Global South:
  Ina Girard, Project manager, Austrian Red Cross, Georgia
  Jenipher Taaka, Expert on gender and gender based violence, Uganda
  lauda Manala, Communication manager, Light for the World, Mozambique
  Clarisse Konombo, Project manager, Caritas (OCADES), Burkina Faso
• Second panel discussion – Policy options: Representatives of Austrian development cooperation and academia

Moderation: The event will be moderated by Rita Isiba, Anthropean Partners

Language: English and French with simultaneous interpretation

Registration: Please register via this link. Registered participants will receive a Zoom link for entering the event which is supported by SpaceWatch.Global.

The event will be recorded for the purpose of documentation. By participating in the event, you agree to the publication of photos and video clips made during the event.

The event is supported by the Austrian Development Cooperation.

A link to the video recording of the event will be available in a report about the event on this website.