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International Women's Day 2024

IWPR is supporting media and civil society around the world in working towards a gender equal world free of bias, stereotypes and discrimination.
A woman walks past a mural calling for women and children's rights in Afghanistan on August 12, 2022 in Bamian, Afghanistan.
A woman walks past a mural calling for women and children's rights in Afghanistan on August 12, 2022 in Bamian, Afghanistan. © Nava Jamshidi/Getty Imagea
A mal-nourished child looks up towards her mother in a hospital ward. © LIONEL HEALING/AFP via Getty Images
A mal-nourished child looks up towards her mother in a hospital ward. © LIONEL HEALING/AFP via Getty Images
Afghan women chant slogans and hold placard during a women's rights protest in Kabul on October 21, 2021. The Taleban violently cracked down on media coverage of the protest in Kabul, beating several journalists. © BULENT KILIC/AFP via Getty Images
Afghan women chant slogans and hold placard during a women's rights protest in Kabul on October 21, 2021. The Taleban violently cracked down on media coverage of the protest in Kabul, beating several journalists. © BULENT KILIC/AFP via Getty Images
Assel Baimukanova works at at the Institute of Biology and Hydrogeology while pursuing a PhD majoring in ichthyology. Photo courtesy of A. Baimukanova.
Assel Baimukanova works at at the Institute of Biology and Hydrogeology while pursuing a PhD majoring in ichthyology. Photo courtesy of A. Baimukanova.
Women cover their faces when walking down a street on August 14, 2022 in Kabul, Afghanistan. After the Taliban takeover of the country in August 2021 the female population have had to quit jobs and young girls after the age of 12 can no longer go to school or complete further education. © Nava Jamshidi/Getty Images
Women cover their faces when walking down a street on August 14, 2022 in Kabul, Afghanistan. After the Taliban takeover of the country in August 2021 the female population have had to quit jobs and young girls after the age of 12 can no longer go to school or complete further education. © Nava Jamshidi/Getty Images
STUART PRICE/AMIS/AFP via Getty Images
STUART PRICE/AMIS/AFP via Getty Images
Natalia Idrisova, is an international economist from Tajikistan. Photo courtesy of N. Idrisova.
Natalia Idrisova, is an international economist from Tajikistan. Photo courtesy of N. Idrisova.
Reporters for Tolo News cover their faces as they attend an editorial meeting at Tolo TV station in Kabul on May 22, 2022.
Reporters for Tolo News cover their faces as they attend an editorial meeting at Tolo TV station in Kabul on May 22, 2022. © WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images
President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded the Order "For Courage" to judge Yulia Matveeva on December 16, 2022. © Supreme Court of Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded the Order "For Courage" to judge Yulia Matveeva on December 16, 2022. © Supreme Court of Ukraine
Maria Kolesnikova is Central Asia’s only winner of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) prize. Photo courtesy of M. Kolesnikova.
Maria Kolesnikova is Central Asia’s only winner of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) prize. Photo courtesy of M. Kolesnikova.

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COMMENT

The Struggle Starts by Speaking Out

Giving voice and driving change takes sustained, collective effort.

Anthony Borden
Anthony Borden
IWPR EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR


The standardised game of football was invented in England, but from 1921-70, women were banned from Football Association (FA) grounds.

It took 103 years for the women’s game to recover. Currently, the Arsenal Women’s team sells out matches at the “men’s” stadium and is setting new attendance records– at long last, routinely exceeding the levels last seen a century ago.

This progress could only be achieved through collective effort – commitment from the players, fans, FA, media, business, schools, clubs and (in my own modest contribution) parents. Changing structures, changing minds, creating broad and sustainable social engagement. And lots of driving.

"The struggle is long and takes sustained, collective effort. Giving voice, driving change – as this collection of reports attest, it starts by speaking out."

Reporters for Tolo News cover their faces as they attend an editorial meeting at Tolo TV station in Kabul on May 22, 2022. © WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images
Reporters for Tolo News cover their faces as they attend an editorial meeting at Tolo TV station in Kabul on May 22, 2022. © WAKIL KOHSAR/AFP via Getty Images

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AFGHANISTAN

The Women Journalists Defying the Taleban

Against all odds and despite constant danger, a brave few continue to report.

Zainab Pirzad
Zainab Pirzad
MEDIA CONSULTANT


Since the Taleban takeover of August 2021, conditions for Afghan girls and women have deteriorated dramatically. The authorities have imposed oppressive policies that curtail freedom of movement, expression and association.

More than 80 per cent of female journalists have lost their jobs, according to Reporters Without Borders. The few who remain must navigate intimidation and grave threats to their security to continue working.

The names and exact locations of the women profiled here have been changed to protect their identities. 

“Everything has changed for women, they are no longer treated as human beings.”

After the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021 the female population have had to quit jobs and young girls after the age of 12 can no longer go to school or complete further education. Most art, culture and pastimes have also been banned. © Nava Jamshidi/Getty Images
After the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan in August 2021 the female population have had to quit jobs and young girls after the age of 12 can no longer go to school or complete further education. Most art, culture and pastimes have also been banned. © Nava Jamshidi/Getty Images

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AFGHANISTAN

“I Don’t Want to Live. I Want to Die”

Two decades of efforts to protect women and girls has been systematically dismantled.


Freshta Ghani, Mahtab Safi and Mahsa Elham ZAN TIMES JOURNALISTS
 

When Tahmina’s father realised the Taleban were on the verge of returning to power, he quickly married her off to a man whose family had ties to the militants. Aged 17, she moved into her husband’s family home in the Dand-e-Ghori district of Baghlan province, in the north of Afghanistan. 

There, she was abused from the moment she stepped over the threshold. Her husband slapped, punched and beat her, often at the urging of her father-in-law. Her new family mocked, humiliated and abused her. 

Life became even more unbearable when Tahmina’s husband was ambushed and killed by bandits. His father insisted that the young widow, then the mother of a two-month-old boy, marry her husband’s eight-year-old brother. When Tahmina refused, he killed her infant by cutting his throat.  

“In the Taleban’s view, it is not necessary for women to go to court."

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AFGHANISTAN

“I Have Learned to Never Give Up”

What helps me keep going is my belief in our mission to empower women journalists to report on what is happening under the Taleban.

Zahra Nader
Zahra Nader
ZAN TIMES FOUNDER & EDITOR-IN-CHIEF


I really miss Kabul. From Aref Shahid middle school to Iqra bookstore, from the Babur gardens to Razawi bakery and its Zaffron ice-creams - Kabul was the first city that I truly felt was mine. 

I spent part of my childhood in Iran, where we fled the Taleban takeover when I was six years old. There, as an Afghan refugee I was subjected to racial slurs, cursed in the street, denied the right to education. I was humiliated and made to feel that I was unworthy of respect because of my country of origin. Some nights, I wished for a miracle that would turn me into an Iranian. But I learned miracles don't exist.

My life changed when I returned to Kabul in 2003. On the dusty streets of Kabul, I always held my head up with pride, for having a claim on the soil I was walking on. I was never afraid to speak up in Afghanistan, because this country belonged to me as much as it belonged to anyone else. It was in Afghanistan that I found my worth as a human being and learned to be an active player in the future I had imagined for myself and for my country. That gave me the confidence I needed to fight back. 

“It was in Afghanistan that I found my worth as a human being.”

Frontline Updates
© LIONEL HEALING/AFP via Getty Images
© LIONEL HEALING/AFP via Getty Images

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UGANDA

Ugandan Women Risk Their Lives to Access Abortion

“Many girls are dying because we have chosen to ignore them.”

Culton Scovia Nakamya
Culton Scovia Nakamya
JOURNALIST & MEDIA ENTREPRENEUR


For Jovia (not her real name), 2023 was the worst year of her life. The 20-year-old business student was gang-raped at a drunken house party in the Kampala suburb of Kansanga and six weeks later realised that she was pregnant. 

“I wondered what I am going to tell my parents. For God’s sake, I am just in my second semester of year one, and I didn’t know who did it,” she said.

Her options were limited, as abortion is illegal in Uganda except under rare circumstances. She confided in a female friend, who suggested they visit the Kampala suburb of Nakulabye, an area known as a hub of clinics that administer clandestine abortions, mostly to students.

“Society’s perceptions will not change now, but should women continue to die?”

Maria Kolesnikova is Central Asia’s only winner of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) prize. Photo courtesy of M. Kolesnikova.
Maria Kolesnikova is Central Asia’s only winner of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) prize. Photo courtesy of M. Kolesnikova.

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CENTRAL ASIA

Women in Central Asia Lead on Climate Change

Campaigners tackle widespread scepticism and lack of understanding of crisis.

Lola Islamova, Anar Bekbassova, Aigerim Turgunbaeva and Viktoria Petrova


Women have become leading lights in the field of environmental activism across Central Asia, despite facing public resistance and gender discrimination – and the fact that there are almost no women political decision-makers across the region. 

"The health of women and children is the basis of the future of our society."

STUART PRICE/AMIS/AFP via Getty Images
STUART PRICE/AMIS/AFP via Getty Images

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TANZANIA

How Fetching Firewood Risks Women’s Lives

In rural areas, collecting fuel is not only time-consuming and exhausting, but leaves women vulnerable to violence and sexual abuse.

Hellen Nachilongo
Hellen Nachilongo
CONTRIBUTOR

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UKRAINE

"I Want Justice to be Done”

How a local judge was imprisoned for refusing a Russian request to serve on the “supreme court” of the so-called Donetsk People's Republic.

Olga Golovina
Olga Golovina
IWPR EDITORIAL COORDINATOR
President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded the Order "For Courage" to judge Yulia Matveeva on December 16, 2022. © Supreme Court of Ukraine
President Volodymyr Zelensky awarded the Order "For Courage" to judge Yulia Matveeva on December 16, 2022. © Supreme Court of Ukraine
youtube video thumbnail for video MKjAfrCh5w8
Anthony Borden interviews Oleksandra Matviichuk, 2022 Nobel Peace Prize co-recipient & Head of the Centre for Civil Liberties, Ukraine
interview

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ROMANIA

Defying Kompromat

“I couldn’t be bribed or stopped with death threats, but maybe I was supposed to be embarrassed enough by intimate pictures to be silenced.”

Emilia Sercan
Emilia Sercan INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALIST


I’ve been an investigative journalist for over 25 years, and since 2015 I have published over 100 articles exposing how senior Romanian officials in key institutions - politics, law enforcement, intelligence, military, the justice system - have plagiarised massive parts of their doctoral dissertations. I’ve also exposed how those plagiarists operate as a network, using their influence and power to legislate, regulate or investigate to cover their academic fraud.

"When these attempts to silence me failed, the harassment began."

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MIDDLE EAST & NORTH AFRICA

“The Space for Abuse Seems Endless”

Gender disinformation aims to create a hostile environment for women with the goal of shaming, intimidating, silencing and excluding them.

Nadia Samet-Warren IWPR COUNTRY DIRECTOR

I am a woman of colour and a rights activist who has experienced every form of online abuse imaginable for over a decade. So let me tell you how this particular form of violence makes victims feel. 

Online abuse and harassment against women from the Middle East and North Africa region is a pervasive and concerning issue that often silences their voices and restricts their fundamental right to freedom of expression.
Online abuse and harassment against women from the Middle East and North Africa region is a pervasive and concerning issue that often silences their voices and restricts their fundamental right to freedom of expression.
Zinaida Mocanu, Mariana Dîmcenco.
Zinaida Mocanu, Mariana Dîmcenco.

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MOLDOVA

Moldova’s Women Mayors

Local elections see growing representation as candidates defy barriers.

Lilia Zaharia
Lilia Zaharia
MEDIA EXPERT

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PROJECT HIGHLIGHT

New Cyber Resilience Handbook for Women Rights Groups

Guide offers civil society groups practical resources to combat online threats.

A new IWPR handbook will support women’s rights activists, peacebuilders and advocates in Armenia, Moldova, and Georgia navigate the complex world of cybersecurity threats.

Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting internet-connected systems such as hardware, software and data from cyberthreats.
Cybersecurity is the practice of protecting internet-connected systems such as hardware, software and data from cyberthreats.

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PROJECT HIGHLIGHT

IWPR International Women's Day Journalist of the Year

Prize to honour contributors, beneficiaries and partners working in often challenging environments.

IWPR has launched an award for outstanding journalism to recognise the work of our network of women reporters worldwide. 

Submissions for the inaugural IWPR International Women's Day Journalist of the Year have come in from contributors, beneficiaries and partners in countries including Ukraine, Venezuela, Iraq and Afghanistan.

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