Daria Zymenko combines art and activism in her work. In her creative projects, Daria explores personal and socially significant topics, including sexual violence and its consequences. She is also a member of the NGO “SEMA Ukraine”, which brings together women who have experienced sexual violence in captivity or during the occupation, a speaker, and participates in conferences and advocacy events.

As Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine is set to begin its fourth year, more than 1.7 million women and girls remain internally displaced throughout the country, according to IOM data. The war has been devastating for all the 3.7 million internally displaced persons in Ukraine – and also imposes gender-specific burdens on women and girls.

2024 was an election year. Direct presidential elections were held in 31 countries worldwide, and voter turnout was record high. However, only five women have been elected heads of state, making female political leadership more of an exception than the norm. Ukraine lags behind the world average in women's participation in political life at the national level. Only 22% of the Ukrainian parliament is made up of women. There are only five women in the 21-member Cabinet of Ministers. One woman heads a region, and only two women are incumbent mayors — in Poltava and Zaporizhzhia.

For the first 50 days, I was kept in a torture chamber in Izolyatsia prison,” shared Liudmila Huseynova. “In this place, you become a person without rights. From 6 a.m. to 10 p.m., you stand with a sack covering your head, and your hands in cuffs. You can get beaten for no reason. Your blood freezes as you hear the screams from others held in captivity, thinking maybe you’ll be next.”

“UN Women's new strategy on youth and gender equality aims to empower young people to partner in achieving gender equality. UN Women is collaborating with the NGO Girls and our government partners on this important initiative to mobilize young women and men, including representatives of youth organizations, and help them become agents of change. We hope it inspires you and your organizations to become more visible and active advocates for gender equality,” noted Julia Broussard, Deputy Representative of UN Women in Ukraine.

Iryna Periv (25) from Lviv is an experienced lawyer and a dedicated representative of Ukraine’s vibrant youth who has been working with the Women's Perspective Centre for about two years on the “Women’s New Horizons” project, supported by UN Women and Sweden. On International Youth Day, learn how Iryna is driving positive change through her activism and advocacy.

My name is Yana Panfilova, I am 26 years old, and I am from Ukraine. I was born with Human Immunodeficiency Virus (HIV). As a child, I feared that I would die, but my mother helped me understand that HIV is not a death sentence - you can still live a fulfilling life by taking good care of yourself. I dreamed of a world where teenagers living with HIV could create a movement and work together without hiding.

Women’s economic empowerment is essential to promoting women’s rights and gender equality. Central to this effort is employment, which not only fosters financial independence but also drives personal growth and achievement.

The Ukraine Recovery Conference (URC2024) concluded in Berlin on June 12, continuing the series of annual high-level political events dedicated to Ukraine’s swift recovery and long-term reconstruction since the onset of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. The conference brought together over 3,400 participants, representing a wide array of stakeholders, including governments, international organizations, financial institutions, businesses, regions, municipalities, and civil society, all united by a shared commitment to strengthen Ukraine’s resilience for as long as needed.

The Women’s Peace & Humanitarian Fund (WPHF) has launched a Call for Proposals in Ukraine to support civil society organizations working to improve the socio-economic recovery and political participation of women and girls displaced by the war in the Ukraine.

9 квітня у Києві відбулася тематична сесія Комітету Верховної Ради України з питань інтеграції України до Європейського Союзу у співпраці з ООН Жінки в Україні щодо питань гендерної рівності у процесі вступу до ЄС та ролі Верховної Ради в цих процесах. Захід підтримали уряди Данії та Швеції.

The UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia and the UNFPA Regional Office for Eastern Europe and Central Asia, together with the European Union (EU), started the Phase II of the regional programme “EU 4 Gender Equality: Together against gender stereotypes and gender-based violence”. The programme aims to reduce gender discriminatory attitudes and practices between women and men in institutional and community spheres, including unpaid domestic and care work in six Eastern Partnership countries: Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Georgia, the Republic of Moldova, and Ukraine.

The sixty-eighth session of the Commission under the priority theme: “Accelerating the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls by addressing poverty and strengthening institutions and financing with a gender perspective” wrapped up in New York last week. The United Nations largest annual gathering on gender equality and women’s empowerment brings together representatives of Member States, United Nations entities and civil society and non-governmental organizations from across the globe.

This opinion was expressed by Sabine Freizer Gunes, UN Women Representative in Ukraine. She believes that attention to gender equality issues in Ukraine helped the country to respond promptly to the problem of conflict-related sexual violence (CRSV) and to counter it.

On October 25, as part of the "Inside Out" project, 50 portraits of outstanding women of today who promote the Women, Peace and Security agenda through their work were installed in front of the main entrance to the UN Headquarters in New York. One of the 50 peacemakers featured in the Inside Out photo exhibition under the slogan "Peace begins with her" is Ukrainian human rights activist Oleksandra Matviychuk, head of the Center for Civil Liberties, which was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022.

Oleksandra Matviychuk is a human rights activist from Ukraine. Following the “Maidan” demonstrations in November 2013, which led to the ousting of the Government and left many casualties among activists, she created the Euromaidan SOS Facebook page. As head of the Centre for Civil Liberties, she also provided legal assistance to protesters victimized during the crackdown. Together with her team, Matviychuk has documented over 18,000 reported war crimes against the Ukrainian people since 2014. The Centre for Civil Liberties won the Nobel Peace Prize in 2022.

Larysa Denysenko is a journalist, attorney, human rights activist and co-founder of the Association of Women’s Lawyers of Ukraine “JurFem”. Before the war, Denysenko and JurFem mainly advocated for women’s leadership in legal professions, provided mentorship and supported strategic court cases related to domestic violence and gender-based discrimination. Now, this has extended to representing the interests of those who have survived conflict-related sexual violence allegedly perpetrated by the Russian military in Ukraine.

19-year-old researcher Marharyta Meleshkova from Ukraine invented a tool to clean soil polluted by oil. She encourages more girls to work in science and overcome gender stereotypes.

The HeForShe movement in Ukraine is launching a dialogue with students on gender equality, with a focus on stereotypes and discrimination. UN Women's HeForShe solidarity movement for gender equality is going on a University Tour, which will feature five universities in Ukraine. The HeForShe University Tour has already taken place in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, France and Thailand.

Ivanna Levchenko is a second-year student at the Kyiv National Economic University named after Vadym Hetman. She is also a member of AIESEC organization which aims to bridge the gap between countries and people. Today, more than half the world’s population is under 30 years of age. Students and youth are the new generation of leaders and changemakers, and it is critically important to understand their priorities as we shape the gender equality movement to change the world.