Latest content: Gender

The Indian MP and Bollywood legend, Kirron Kher, has called for Commonwealth member states to speed up their efforts towards achieving gender equality in their respective countries.

Abolish laws that allow discrimination and replace them with legislation that protect women’s rights. This was one of 14 big asks presented to Foreign Ministers today from the Women’s Forum.

Collective action to help women overcome barriers to entrepreneurship makes good economic sense. This is the message that rang loud and clear as government leaders, ministers, activists and world-renowned professionals met to deliberate women’s economic empowerment on the second day of the Commonwealth Women’s Forum in London today.

Female genital cutting (FGC) is one of the more hidden, yet wide reaching, barriers to the empowerment of women and girls in at least 45 countries all over the world. It intersects with a variety of other issues.

The Commonwealth Women’s Forum today endorsed a set of recommendations for getting more women into political leadership.

The Second Commonwealth Women’s Forum begins in London on Monday with a call for women’s rights to be firmly on the agenda of leaders when they meet later in the week.

To commemorate International Women’s Day, the Commonwealth’s Gender Section hosted an event at Marlborough House entitled ‘Progress for Women and the Vote in the Commonwealth’.

Forced labour, child labour and exploitation were all addressed at an event marking International Human Rights Day.

The horror of sexual violence in conflict must be challenged by educating women about their human rights and empowering men and boys as champions against such abuses, says leading women's rights activist Dr Denis Mukwege.

A practical guide aimed at ending violence against women in parts of Asia has been praised by experts.

The fight to end violence against women and girls will be bolstered by the publication of a new guide offering support to judges across Asia.

A coordinated response to tackle the scourge of child marriage has never been more pressing in the Commonwealth, where a child is married every 17 minutes.

A project to raise awareness of the economic cost of violence against women and girls in the Commonwealth has been launched.

Experts from around the globe have discussed ways to support more women into politics during two significant events hosted by the Commonwealth.

A group of 25 people will be attending a workshop on Friday 7 July to discuss the findings of the Commonwealth Secretariat’s studies on women’s political participation in the Commonwealth.

At the UN Human Rights Council in Geneva, the Commonwealth and the Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights jointly hosted a side event on ending child, early and forced marriage.

Protecting green spaces in towns and cities, ring-fencing school budgets for physical education, and empowering women and girls through sport, are among a set of policy prescriptions set out in a report on global goals published today.

The 2016 UNDP Human Development Report's lead author, Dr Selim Jahan, describes Commonwealth countries as “doing very well” in terms of human development.

The Caribbean and Africa will be the first to benefit from action to get more women into political leadership, the Commonwealth Secretariat has announced.

The Commonwealth has joined ministers and civil society leaders from across the globe to make strong commitments on women’s rights and empowerment at the 61st Session of United Nations Commission on the Status of Women.

Young women across the Commonwealth are set to benefit from a new initiative to help them acquire critical life skills and to progress in their careers.

Commonwealth Secretary-General Patricia Scotland and Secretary-General Designate Dr Joanna Newman, of the Association of Commonwealth Universities met on International Women’s Day todiscuss how their two organisations could work even more closely together.

Campaigners, Commonwealth high commissioners, parliamentarians and members of civil society today stood behind a new initiative to support its member governments to eliminate domestic violence.