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Namibian hackathon takes on scourge of gender violence
In many ways, Lelanie Basson is the picture of an empowered woman. But the best-selling Namibian author and entrepreneur remembers darker times: an abusive relationship that turned her life upside down. “He would…
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After escape, former ISIL slaves face new challenges
“I was raped. I hated life and attempted suicide,” described Maha*, a 19-year-old Yazidi woman who was abducted by the Islamic State of Iraq and Levant (ISIL, also known as Daesh or ISIS). She was enslaved, transported…
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Midwives saving lives in hurricane-devastated Haiti
"I was twisting in pain this Friday,” 31-year-old Emmanuella Jeanty told UNFPA, describing her labour pains. She was in Beaumont, a town in southwest Haiti where Hurricane Matthew had left a trail of devastation…
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Around the world, activists call for an end to violence against women
Violence against women and girls is one of the world’s most pervasive human rights abuses. But a global chorus of voices is calling for change. Today is the start of an international campaign, 16 Days of Activism…
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“They would be taking us in as wives”: Boko Haram survivors recount horrors, escape
“It was during the quiet hours, about 8:30pm, that Boko Haram came,” 15-year-old Goggoji told UNFPA. “I could see fire as houses were burnt.” She and her mother were captured by the militant group and loaded onto trucks…
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Iraq centre brings specialized care to gender violence survivors
The town of Duhok, in northern Iraq, is filled with survivors of conflict. More than 46,000 people are scattered across three displacement camps, and thousands more are living outside the camps, according to the UN…
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Families increasingly resort to child marriage as Yemen’s conflict grinds on
A recent assessment by UNFPA and the Italian aid group INTERSOS indicates that families in Yemen are increasingly resorting to child marriage as the conflict drives them deeper into poverty and desperation.
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Communities in the Amazon band together to save pregnant women
Margarita Mamallacta’s community, in a remote Ecuadorian district on the edge of the Amazon rainforest, was not always a safe place for mothers. Pregnant women in the indigenous communities here, in the Putumayo Canton…
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Return of Chibok girls highlights needs of women and girls
“We cannot underestimate the amount of support that each of these girls will need,” said Joy Michael, a UNFPA humanitarian analyst, in the weeks following the release of 21 schoolgirls captured by insurgent group Boko…
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