Stories

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Mercedes Pombo, 23, is a climate activist and co-founder of Jóvenes por el Clima Argentina (Youth for Climate Argentina). She is a philosophy student and a member of UN Women’s Civil Society Advisory Group in Argentina.
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Ariet Ojulu is the Head of the Women, Children, and Youth Affairs Office in Itang Woreda, Ethiopia, a district neighboring three refugee camps hosting refugees predominantly from South Sudan.
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Svetlana Babaș, 19, is a Ukrainian Roma woman who had to flee her home as a result of Russia’s military invasion in Ukraine. She shares her story as a young mother who was worried about her fast approaching due date while escaping war and her journey to safety in a temporary placement center for refugees in central Moldova.
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Rachel Nzulu, 29, works to support women farmers develop climate smart agriculture techniques.
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Kamala Thapa, 39, an indigenous Magar woman, is Indigenous Peoples and Local Community Manager at the Centre for Indigenous Peoples’ Research and Development, a non-governmental organization in Kathmandu, Nepal.
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Norah Magero is a Mechanical Engineer and a Renewable Energy Expert from Kenya with experience in the design and management of off-grid energy technologies.
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Dr. Gladys Kalema-Zikusoka, Uganda’s first wildlife veterinarian, is Founder and CEO of the Conservation Through Public Health NGO and 2021 United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) Champion of the Earth in Science and Innovation. 
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Mursal Samadi* had worked as a prosecutor, independent investigator, and a civil society leader for more than 16 years in Afghanistan when the Taliban took over Kabul on 15 August. She remains in Afghanistan, advocating for the rights of Afghan women and girls.
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Celia Umenza Velasco is a leader of the largest Indigenous group in Colombia, the Nasa People, from the northern Cauca region of Colombia, one of the zones most affected by the armed conflict. Umenza Velasco briefed the United Nations Security Council at the recent Open Debate on Women, Peace and Security.
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Naheed Farid was among many women leaders who left Afghanistan, fearing for their lives, as the Taliban took over in August 2021. Farid spoke at the UN recently, calling for international support to address the unfolding humanitarian crisis in Afghanistan and to safeguard women’s rights.
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Mariamu Rasidi Tungu is one of the many women farmers in rural Tanzania. Together, UN Women and UNFPA are jointly supporting them to increase their production, and train them in new skills to boost their incomes, economic resilience and agency.
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Jesmin Aktar lives in a village of Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. She regularly attends UN Women's "Shanti Khana" [Multi-Purpose Women's Centre – MPWC] learning sessions and is dedicated to improving her life by pursuing a challenging job and contributing to society.
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Roa’a Al-Fased, 14, works to empower adolescent girls in her community in Jordan through promoting access to sexual and reproductive health services and raising awareness on gender-based violence.
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Jyotsna Siddharth, actor, writer and activist from India, spoke at a side event during the 76th session of the UN General Assembly, co-organized by UN Women and the National Alliance of Women’s Organisation in India. In this interview, Ms. Siddharth talks about India’s anti-caste and young feminist movement.
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Born and raised in Morocco, Yasmina Benslimane witnessed first-hand how oppressive laws affect women and force them to remain silent out of fear of breaking the status quo. She runs Politics4Her, a feminist blog and youth-led movement that advocates for the inclusion of girls and women in politics.
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Miatta Darwolor is the Founder and Executive Director of Sister Aid Liberia, a women-led non-governmental organization that promotes young women and girls’ rights in political participation and leadership; works to prevent violence against women and girls; and advocates for women-friendly policies and laws.
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Christina Bilous is a Roma civic activist. She is also leader of a self-help group in the community of Toretsk, near the front line in the conflict-affected Donetsk region of Eastern Ukraine. As an active community member, Bilous heads up the Roma non-governmental organization, Sumnakuno Petalo, advocating for the rights of Roma women and girls.
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Former Lebanese prison inmate Oula Abdo, 24, reflects on the challenges of life after prison and how she is getting back on her feet to embrace life again.
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Eldar Alić is a young farmer from Kalesija in north-eastern Bosnia and Herzegovina. He founded Nutri Pelet, a company that produces ecological manure pellets from unprocessed manure. Alić advocates for healthy living and practical, eco-friendly solutions to better manage earth’s limited, natural resources.
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Korka Diaw is a Senegalese farmer. She leads REFAN, the Network of Women Farmers in the North of Senegal, which empowers women and fights poverty through agriculture. In this story, she talks about adapting to COVID-19 and climate change.