UN agency advancing gender equality and women's empowerment
Across Sudan, fighting between the army and RSF continues to disrupt aid, with El-Obeid and Darfur seeing sieges and drone strikes. Civilians suffer from hunger, water scarcity, disease, and sexual violence, while the UN and human rights groups push for ceasefire and humanitarian access.
As South Africa marks the 70th anniversary of the 1956 march for women’s rights, officials say gains in representation have not translated into security or economic equality. The day highlights ongoing gender-based violence and inequality, with data showing rising violence against women and continued gaps between political progress and daily realities.
UN agencies and multiple news outlets have reported that, five years after the Taliban retook Kabul, Afghan women and girls remain formally banned from secondary and higher education, face broad curbs on employment and movement, and are losing access to health training such as midwifery, producing a deepening human-rights and public-health crisis.
The Taliban’s return to power has reached five years as Kabul marks the anniversary with ceremonies and crackdowns. While security has improved and some infrastructure projects advance, women face sweeping restrictions, humanitarian needs rise, and international recognition remains limited. Attacks against officials persist, while aid workers face detentions amid a fragile economy.
Police have found a ninth body in Kempton Park, Ekurhuleni, as investigations intensify into a series of murders of women in the area. Authorities are considering all possibilities, including multiple suspects or separate perpetrators, and have issued a public warning amid rising femicide and violent crime concerns.
A spate of killings of women in Ekurhuleni, east of Johannesburg, has sparked national alarm over gender-based violence. Nine bodies have been found in two months; authorities are reviewing cases, and no definitive links have been established. Investigations include potential serial-killer links, police actions, and public safety advisories.