Our Stories

New market lifts profits for women

Grace Poni, a 42 year-old mother of 10, no longer has to shell out precious cash to transport her farm produce to distant markets. These days, she and 100 other women sell their goods at a newly constructed market right in their hometown of Nyai-Wudabi in South Sudan’s Central Equatoria State. Nyai more

Mangoes in mali: Changing lives and a nation's economy

On a spring day in southwest Mali, a group of Malian women holding corners of a blue and turquoise cloth turn their heads to the sky. In seconds, the green mangoes that hang from the tree branches above will be prodded by a stick, knocking them into the colorful cloth. Anyone who has tried a Malia more

Kyrgyzstan: Community development provides relief during harsh winter

The village of Kazybek, at the foot of the mountains in Naryn province, Kyrgyzstan, endures extremely harsh winters, with temperatures averaging around -20Cº and sometimes dropping as low as -40Cº. “Previously, the kindergarten was only open during the warmer seasons and closed for nearly five month more

Burundi: Returning to a normal life after war

Some mornings Espérance Nibigira, 35, wonders how she will find the energy to begin the day. As a combatant in the north-west of Burundi during the civil war that raged between 1993 and 2005, resulting in 300,000 deaths, she suffered an accident on the battlefield that left her disabled and sufferin more

DR Congo: New businesses transform Kivu women’s lives

Hundreds of women whose husbands were killed or who experienced sexual violence during more than a decade of conflict in eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) have started setting up small businesses to help rebuild their lives. Some 25 women’s groups in DRC, made up of 1,025 individuals in more

Indonesia: Fighting for Social Justice

By Tomi Soetjipto Three years ago, Indonesian housewife Ibu Odah had little knowledge of legal affairs. Now, the mother of two is at the forefront of a legal fight against domestic violence in the remote island of Ternate, in the North Moluccas province of Indonesia. With the knowledge and expertise more

Bangladeshi micro-credit model helps empower Zambian women

Just two years ago, Elizabeth Sakala-Banda, a mother of seven in Zambia’s eastern Petauke district, was unemployed and had no way of knowing that an Asian micro-credit scheme could turn her life around, and help put her children through school. During 2010, Elizabeth and some 829 other women j more

A woman holding a baby visit the "Village of Hope" center in Rwanda, a haven for women survivors of rape and other crimes during the Rwandan genocide.

Gender-based violence awareness program opens eyes in Rwanda

Emmanuel, a pastor in northern Rwanda, had always considered himself a model husband. That is, until he attended a gender-based violence awareness programme in his community that showed him he had been violent to his wife to a degree that is considered illegal. “When I learned that my behavior was n more

Multi-use engines drive women's empowerment in 1,000 Mali villages

Before the installation of a diesel-fueled engine, Koumantou village in southern Mali would to fall into near total darkness each night. The only light would be cast from the restaurant of local businesswoman, Kadia Kone. This scene is repeated throughout rural Sub-Saharan Africa, where 9 more

UNDP-IKEA partnership helps women change rules in India

For most of her life, Shiela Devi had few options. Growing up in an impoverished village in India’s northern state of Uttar Pradesh, she ate her brothers' leftovers, did chores at home while they went to school, and married at age 15. At 35, Shiela was completely illiterate, had no source of income, more

Breaking the glass ceiling in Pakistan

Pakistan has a relatively high proportion of women in Parliament compared to other countries in South Asia, with women accounting for 19 percent of representatives in the upper and lower houses. Nonetheless, women in Pakistan still face many difficulties in accessing decision-making positions at the more

"Now I exist": Delivering identity cards in Burundi

By Aaron Nsavyimana, second place of UNDP's storytelling contest. Those of us possessing an identity card can imagine how things would be without one. Those of us who don’t possess one don’t need to imagine. We know. We know we can’t vote, can’t be heard, and certainly can’t run for office. But it more

A woman operates a loom during a training programme at the Women's Development Centre in Cambodia.

Chor Vichara, Cambodia, weaves a better future for herself

The eldest child of a local school teacher and a homemaker, Chor Vichara, 22, dropped out of school at 16 so that her two brothers could pursue their studies. She then went to work at a garment factory in Phnom Penh, 40 kilometres from her home. At the factory she earned about US$70 a month sewing s more

Women in punjab watch their teacher perform a demonstration during a class on veterinary skills.

Veterinary skills help empower women in rural Pakistan

Muhammad Bibi’s life in the Punjab province of Tehsil Mian Channu, northeastern Pakistan, took a sudden turn when her husband had a heart attack and was unable to work. Without warning, she became the sole provider for her six children and her spouse. At the time, the few goats that Bibi's family ow more

Timor-Leste: Bringing out the rural woman vote

By John Fenech, third place of UNDP's storytelling contest Senora Mendonça Côrte-Real, a grandmother from the capital city of Dili in Timor-Leste, is now the country’s oldest registered voter after having finally been given the chance to exercise a democratic vote for the first time at the ripe old more

Sri Lankan women embrace leadership

K. Lalith Kulanayake recently became the first woman to serve in her local government. Kulanayake lives in a region of Sri Lanka where female political participation is among the lowest in the country. Yet, she is determined to serve her community, particularly the women, who are often under-represe more

Zambia: Villagers turn their backs on overfishing

By Ville Saikku and Sirak Gebrehiwot Sebi Nafukwe, who never had any agricultural experience before, is busy harvesting rice for the first time in Mbete village, on the shores of Lake Tanganyika in Zambia. She is one of 700 women who have turned their backs on fishing from the lake after ove more

Women play major role in Tunisia's historic election

Azza Badra was one of thousands of women in Tunisia who competed for a seat in the country’s national elections on 23 October, the first since the dramatic pro-democracy shift in January this year and since its independence in 1956. Badra, a mother of two, ran as a Green Tunisia Party candidate more

Supporting democratic elections in the new Tunisia

by Jamel Haouas, first place winner, UNDP's storytelling contest Sumaya Al Arounony, a second year student of informatics from the coastal town of Ben Arous in Tunisia, had never voted before. But, on the morning of 23 October 2011 that was not the only reason for her eagerness to vote. more

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