International Women's Day

08 March 2012

A mother and child in a community run garden in Molia, Niger. Photo: David Ohana/ OCHA.

This year, International Women’s Day focuses on the empowerment of rural women and their role in poverty and hunger eradication, development and current challenges.

“Invest in rural women. Eliminate discrimination against them in law and in practice. Ensure that policies respond to their needs. Give them equal access to resources. Provide rural women with a role in decision-making.” UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon

Learn more about UNDP's work to empower women >

Our Stories

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

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

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

Our Videos

The Glass Ceiling

a 30-minute documentary depicts the challenges women face when seeking public office in Thailand.

UNDP talks with the Rwandan Speaker of the Parliament Ms. Rose Mukantabana

With 56 percent women in the Parliament Rwanda is first in the world for women parliamentarians.

Statement by UNDP Administrator, Helen Clark

"Rural women account for nearly half the agricultural labor force and are custodians of traditional knowledge about the land and their local environment. Backed by small development investments, rural women can lead the way in building food and nutrition security for their families and communities, and thus in building resilience to future extreme weather events."