Two years ago, Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine led to mass displacement within and outside the country as millions of Ukrainians left in search of safety and support. Anastasiia Pyrohova is a psychologist and the coordinator of the Women’s New Horizons project, run by the local group Women’s Perspectives in the Western city of Sambir, where she has lived since fleeing her native Zaporizhzhia with her family. Here, Anastasiia supports women and girls by providing psychological counselling and creating resources to help internally displaced people access essential services.

Ghotai* is a computer science student in Baghlan, Afghanistan.

Arefa* is a teacher and midwife in Farah, Afghanistan.

Hira* is a former public servant in Kunar, Afghanistan.

Adela* is a teacher and protester in Kabul, Afghanistan.

Fleria Mukula, 65, has lived in Bungoma County in Western Kenya all her life. She felt she could bring more to her community and, while raising a family and running a farm, she became one of its leading voices on peace and conflict. In 2022 she was included in the Government of Kenya’s honours list, receiving the County Hero Award for her peacebuilding efforts.

Sevgim Parıltı is a professional chef and the owner of a restaurant in Ankara, the capital of Türkiye. Following the 6 February earthquakes that struck 11 cities in the country’s southeastern region, Parilti made the decision to travel to İskenderun, one of the most affected cities, to cook for and serve the survivors.

Alice Ledu is a South Sudanese refugee living in Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement in Yumbe District, Northern Uganda. Through UN Women’s Second Chance Education Programme, implemented with financial support from the Government of Japan, she gained life-changing vocational skills. Now a business owner, Alice is paying it forward by helping to train and mentor a new generation of young people.   Access to education can transform the lives of women and girls, generating new possibilities for individuals, families and communities. Yet as of 2022 nearly 130 million girls worldwide were not enrolled in formal schooling, over half of whom resided in crisis-affected countries. On 24 January, UN Women marks International Day of Education by highlighting the central role of education in furthering women’s empowerment—and the critical need to ensure its universal availability.  

Jaha Dukureh is the UN Women Goodwill Ambassador for Africa. A renowned activist, she herself is a survivor of female genital mutilation (FGM) and child marriage. On 19 to 27 November 2022, Jaha undertook a mission to Liberia to support the Liberian Government in their efforts to eliminate all forms of violence against women and girls, including harmful practices such as FGM and child marriage.

Salma*, 26, a Lebanese mother of 3 girls, was 13 years old when she eloped with her 16-year-old next door neighbor. Looking to escape her abusive stepmother, she thought marriage would offer her liberty. Instead, it opened a door to further abuse and violence.

Anastasia Perepylytsia, 44, is no stranger to displacement. In 2014, she had a stable job in finance and lived a normal life together with her husband and two children in Donetsk, eastern Ukraine. But when the Russian army invaded her hometown, she had to flee with her family to Zaporizhzhia, a city situated on the banks of the Dnieper River in the southeast. When the war began in 2022, she had to leave again, relocating to Novovolynsk in western Ukraine. At first, she struggled to find employment, information or psychological support—until she came across UN Women’s ‘Community Mobilization for Empowerment’ project. Now, she is using her experiences of displacement to help others in similar situations adapt.

My name is Mahbouba Seraj. I am 74 years old. I am an activist and women’s rights defender and I live in Afghanistan. A historian by education, for the last 12 months I chose to stay in Afghanistan to witness what was happening to my country and its people and to work for a better Afghanistan—one that belongs to all of us.

Najiba*, 45, is a mother, former university lecturer and counsellor who helps women heal from trauma in Afghanistan. Despite threats and restrictions on her freedom to move, she continues to enable women to learn and heal.

Zarina*, 28, is a young Afghan woman entrepreneur. Her drive for innovating and passion for baking made her one of Afghanistan’s youngest entrepreneurs. Her business is still running, but her clients are scarce and her plans for expansion across the country had to be shut down.

Nasima*, 36, is a peacebuilder and a women’s rights activists. She has been living in Afghanistan all her life. After 15 August 2021, she continued to work in Afghanistan in what would soon become one of the world’s most complex humanitarian emergencies.

Larysa Denysenko is a journalist, attorney, human rights activist and co-founder of the Association of Women’s Lawyers of Ukraine, “JurFem”. Before the war, Denysenko and JurFem mainly advocated for women’s leadership in legal professions, provided mentorship and supported strategic court cases related to domestic violence and gender-based discrimination. Now, this has extended to representing the interests of those who have survived conflict-related sexual violence allegedly perpetrated by the Russian military in Ukraine.

Mariam lived with an abusive husband for 17 years before leaving him in 2018 after she sought protection and legal help from KAFA, a Lebanese non-governmental organization and a UN Women partner. With legal services and support, Mariam was able to access justice and regain the strength she thought was lost.

Riko Nagu is a women’s and girls’ rights activist, member of the United Church Women’s Fellowship group.

Nahla Haidar is a member of the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and a Commissioner of the International Commission of Jurists (ICJ). She has over 30 years of professional experience mainly within the United Nations System, ranging from social development, to relief coordination, to peace-building and human rights. Ms. Haidar is CEDAW’s rapporteur on reprisals and covers cases on women human rights defenders.

Gladys Koech has been working as an occupational therapist for persons with disabilities in Kenya’s coastal region for more than 10 years. Through the Association of the Physically Disabled of Kenya (APDK), she also works with communities to strengthen their understanding of disabilities and combat widespread stigma. UN Women’s partnership with the Council of Governors in Kenya has boosted resources to helplines around the country. As COVID-19 has increased demand for psychosocial services, Koech has witnessed a growing trend of mothers of children with disabilities being abandoned by their partners. Part of UN Women’s COVID-19 response in Kenya is being carried out in conjunction with UNICEF and UNDP as part of the Joint Devolution Programme supported by the Governments of Sweden, Finland, and Italy.