Women still ignored over war
Not a single mention of women in UN resolutions on Iran, Lebanon and Ukraine
Decades after the UN formalized the impact of war on women, they’re still left out of negotiations. Plus, University of Georgia students on the issues shaping their midterm votes, and Tahmina Begum on what it means to be a “good woman"
When nations ignore the unique and disproportionate impact of war on women and girls, their rights deteriorate.
That was the message Zubaida Akbar, Afghanistan program manager at rights group Femena, gave to a civil society forum earlier this week discussing the UN security council’s promises to recognize the different ways women and girls experience war and take action.
“When the WPS [women, peace and security] agenda fails, it looks like Afghanistan in August of 2021,” said Akbar, referring to when the Taliban retook control of the country. “It looks like the collapse of a country… And when the WPS agenda continues to fail it looks like Afghanistan today,” she told the audience of campaigners and government officials.
Activists from Sudan, Myanmar and Syria expressed similar sentiments, highlighting how member states were not accounting for, or addressing, the impact of conflict on women and girls.
