In recent decades women’s political representation has significantly increased in Africa. From 2000 to 2018, the proportion of women parliamentarians almost doubled, and women’s representation in cabinet increased fivefold to 22% between 1980 and 2015. Unfortunately, the numbers do not necessarily imply influence....

The male perspective dominates in times of conflict – think of the generals, the diplomats, the doctors. But what about the women? What is a gendered perspective of war and what value can it add? Female narratives in conflict scenarios have long been neglected, overlooked or forgotten. Recently, however, more and more stories have emerged – including Doaa Al Zamel’s incredible story written by UNHCR’s Melissa Fleming – which among other things moved me to share the stories of my own grandmothers...

Due to US pressure, the UN General Assembly has voted to cut $600 million from the UN Peacekeeping budget. The impact on women and girls must be addressed, or the cuts could cause serious harm, say PhD fellows Ortrun Merkle and Diego Salama. Women walk past UN peacekeepers at South Darfur’s Attash refugee camp, January 2017. Due to budget cuts, the mission will reduce its troop numbers from 13,000 to less than 9,000 by 2018. Ashraf Shazly / AFP The United Nations General Assembly has voted...

US President Donald Trump has called global warming a “hoax” perpetrated by the Chinese and appointed a foe of environmental regulations to head up America’s Environmental Protection Agency. On April 22, which annually marks Earth Day, thousands of scientists around the globe marched to defend the role of science, research and facts in society today against repeated attacks from the White House....