By Jaya Ramachandran

NEW YORK (IDN) – Rural women make up 25 per cent of the world’s population and in developing countries they comprise 43 per cent of the agricultural labour force that produces much of the world’s Food.

They are therefore critical to the success of almost all of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as they all have gender equality and women’s empowerment at their core.

Rural women constitute the backbone of rural communities, where, “and in many households they have the key responsibility for food security, education opportunities and healthcare”, as the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon has stressed.

BANGKOK (IDN) – The United Nations is implementing a new project to help close the online gender gap in Asia and the Pacific. The project entitled ‘E-Government for Women’s Empowerment’ is the first of its kind in the region to address the gender dimension of e-government.

The UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP), in partnership with the UN Project Office on Governance (UNPOG) of the Division for Public Administration and Development Management, and the UN Department of Economic and Social Affairs (UNDESA), have joined hands to provide new tools to assist governments to design, develop and implement e-services that can respond to the needs of women.

By Kalinga Seneviratne

This article is the 11th in a series of joint productions of Lotus News Features and IDN-InDepthNews, flagship of the International Press Syndicate.

BANGKOK (IDN | Lotus News Features) – The first ASEAN Buddhist Conference held on September 22-23 at Nakhonpathom Rajabhat University, about 100 km from Bangkok, brought together Buddhist Bhikkunis (nuns), Bhikkus (monks) and lay Buddhists from across Asia in a bid to form alliances to empower the increasing community of Bhikkunis in Asia.

Buddhism is unique, in comparison to many other religious traditions, because Gautama Buddha himself said (according to canonical literature) that like men, women could also attain all four stages of enlightenment (nirvana). Thus, on the request of his aunt and stepmother Mahaprajapati Gotami, he set up the order of Bhikkunis during his lifetime. 

What does being a winner mean? For 12-year old Adrielle Alexandre, who is carrying the Olympic torch, it’s not only about becoming an Olympic rhythmic gymnast, but to make her community a place free of violence and full of respect. She is among 400 girls who are participating in a programme in Brazil that empowers girls through sport and by creating safe spaces.

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – “I’ve learned from sport that we have to make efforts to succeed. We get nowhere if we stay at the same place doing nothing,” says Adrielle Alexandre, a 12-year old young athlete from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

At least four times a week after school, Adrielle goes to an Olympic Villa – one of 22 public spaces with free sports facilities managed by the municipality – to take ballet, gymnastics and Pilates classes.

For Syrian refugees in Jordan, integration into the Jordanian society is fraught with challenges. Mistrust and rumours taint how each group perceives the other. A project by UN Women organized football camps for adolescent girls, where Jordanian and Syrian girls built friendships and social cohesion.

UN Women News Feature

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – Rawan and Samah have much in common. They are about the same age; they live in the same city – Mafraq, in northern Jordan – just a short drive from the Syrian border. They are loving, dedicated mothers to daughters who go to the same school. They share similar responsibilities, joys, and struggles in their daily lives. But one crucial difference sets them a world apart.

UN Women News Feature

NEW YORK (IDN-INPS) – Sport has the power to transcend boundaries of sex, race, religion and nationality. It promotes health and wellness, improves self-esteem, and teaches leadership, team skills and perseverance.

Women in sport defy gender stereotypes, make inspiring role models, and show men and women as equals. Seeing is one step closer to being.

Women are more visible in sport now than ever before: Of a total of 997 athletes, only 22 women competed, for the first time, at the 1900 Games in Paris. The London 2012 Olympics was the first Games in which women competed in every sport of the Olympic programme. In Rio, approximately 4,700 women – 45 per cent of all athletes – will represent their countries in 306 events.