¡°A society where the rights of women and girls are trampled on, is no society at all. Women¡¯s full participation in politics and the economy makes a society more likely to succeed. Sustainable peace cannot be built where the rights of women are ignored.¡±???
Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Deputy Secretary–General?Amina Mohammed?at?Security Council meeting on peacebuilding and sustaining peace,?26 January 2023
Women and girls represent half of the world¡¯s population and therefore also half of its potential. But, today gender inequality persists everywhere and stagnates social progress.?Ahead of next month¡¯s annual stocktake of progress on women¡¯s rights-the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ¡¯s Commission on the Status of Women-the Goal of the Month editorial takes a close look at?Sustainable Development Goal 5?(Gender Equality).
The first quarter of the year offers a host of opportunities to accelerate action towards the achievement of SDG 5 and build further momentum towards the?SDG Summit?in September.
News: Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ pushes for women¡¯s rights in Afghanistan?
When the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan in 2021, progress on that country¡¯s women¡¯s rights took a turn for the worse. The de facto authorities¡¯ recent decree banning women from working for national and international non-governmental organizations followed edicts to close universities to female students, until further notice, and prevent girls from attending secondary school.?
In recent weeks, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ dispatched a comprising Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed, Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Women Executive Director Sima Bahous, and Assistant Secretary-General Khaled Khiari from the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ political, peacebuilding and peace operations.??
In meetings with Taliban leaders, the Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ delegation?¡°directly conveyed the alarm?over the recent decree banning women from working for national and international non-governmental organizations, a move that?undermines the work of numerous organizations helping millions?of vulnerable Afghans,¡± according to a .?
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The Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ delegation also called for efforts to be intensified to reflect the urgency of the crisis facing Afghan women and girls, ¡°and stressed the importance of a unified response by the international community.¡±? A proposal to hold an international conference on women and girls in the Muslim World in March this year ¡°was also considered and agreed in principle,¡± according to the press release. So, stay tuned for this conference.??
In a recent Security Council meeting on sustainable peace, Ms. Mohammed declared: ¡°A society where the rights of women and girls are trampled on, is no society at all. Women¡¯s full participation in politics and the economy makes a society more likely to succeed. Sustainable peace cannot be built where the rights of women are ignored.¡±?
What to Watch For
Coming Up

LDC5 (5-9 March, Doha)
The world¡¯s 46 least developed countries are in a race against time to deliver the SDGs by 2030. World leaders, businesses, civil society, young people and other partners will gather in Doha, Qatar from 5 to 9 March for The Fifth United Nations Conference on the Least Developed Countries (LDC5), a once-in-a-decade opportunity to accelerate sustainable development in the most vulnerable countries. The LDC5 Conference in Doha will seek to advance new ideas, raise new pledges of support, and spur delivery on agreed commitments, through the Doha Programme of Action that was adopted in March 2022.
For more information, visit the Conference website: /ldc5/

Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ 2023 Water Conference (22-24 March, New York)
Billions of people worldwide still live without safely managed drinking water and sanitation, even though access to both services has long been defined as a human right. Without these services, women and girls are more vulnerable to abuse, attack and ill-health, affecting their ability to study, work and live in dignity. is expected to spur global action towards addressing the water crisis, which disproportionately affects women and girls.
Get involved: The Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Department of Global Communications launched the Countdown digital campaign on 22 January 2023.
COMMÄ¢¹½ÊÓÆµICATION ASSETS?
- Conference Countdown??
- Generic Conference: Quote cards, static cards, and design template ?
- Hashtag: #WaterAction
- 5 #WaterActions you can take /sustainabledevelopment/un-2023-water-conference-engagement-5-water-actions-you-can-take/
- Backgrounder, Overview, Fact& Figures and Frequently Asked Questions
- News articles:
Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ Water Conference: Water a ¡®dealmaker¡¯ for multilateral cooperation and the SDGs
? Ancient tale of hummingbird inspires Ä¢¹½ÊÓÆµ World Water Day campaign
Kindly note that for the Conference opened on 9 January and runs through 10 March.
For more information, visit the Conference website:




