Shahla Ismayil has over 25 years of experience advancing gender equality and women’s rights. She chairs the Women’s Association for Rational Development and directs Gender Port – Azerbaijan’s first gender-oriented think tank. She participates in dialogue platforms for peace in the South Caucasus, has led over 130 projects and authored more than 170 publications on human rights, gender and civil society. Shahla is a founding member of the Women, Peace and Security (WPS) Advisory Council and she helped develop all three of Azerbaijan’s National Action Plans on United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 (NAP on UNSCR 1325).

Bozgul Dodkhudoeva is a former Deputy Prime Minister of Tajikistan and the founder of the Sarvar (Leader) Women’s Educational Center in Dushanbe. Her work in the post-conflict period has contributed to increasing women’s participation in education, leadership, and peacebuilding in Tajikistan.

#ForAllWomenandGirls is a rallying call for action on the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action. Selma Acuner, a prominent gender equality advocate and policy negotiator, reflects on the importance of inclusive negotiation processes, civil society engagement, and the collective efforts that have driven the women’s movement forward.

Stefanie Posavec is a London-based American creative director, artist and author known for transforming complex data into accessible, human-centred visual experiences. Stefanie mentored Central Asian artists through “Art-Kazan: Where art meets data” and participants of Albania’s first gender Datathon under the UN Women “Making Every Woman and Girl Count” regional programme.

The five Central Asian countries – Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, and Uzbekistan – have come together to develop the first-ever Regional Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security (WPS) for Central Asia. This landmark initiative aims to drive transformational change for women’s equal participation and rights in all regional peace and security processes.

More than 30 women entrepreneurs from Montenegro and Serbia gathered in Belgrade on 7 October for the Women’s Entrepreneurship EXPO 2025, a regional platform dedicated to empowering women-led businesses across Europe and Central Asia. This year’s EXPO took place under the theme “"Gender Equality in a Changing World - Unlocking Growth Potentials for Women Entrepreneurs through Gender Responsive Procurement,” as part of the “France - Western Balkans Business Forum.” Organized by the Chambre de Commerce et d’Industrie France Serbie in collaboration with UN Women, and funded by the European Union, the event brought together over 150 representatives of companies from France and the Western Balkans.

A mother of two and a graduate attorney, she has worked in the legal field for most of her life, focusing on specialized areas like government agencies, land registries, and district social security centers.

Sonja Licht, a sociologist and civic activist since the 1960s, has founded many local and international CSOs and women’s organizations, and received numerous international peace and human rights awards. She's the Founder and President of Foundation BFPE for a Responsible Society in Belgrade, which was was instrumental in initiating and preparing the First National Action Plan (NAP) for the implementation of UNSCR 1325: “Women, Peace and Security” in Serbia, adopted in 2010 by the Government of the Republic of Serbia.

Natalia Albu, PhD., is an Associate Professor at the ‘Alexandru cel Bun’ Military Academy in the Republic of Moldova, and Co-founder of the Platform for Security and Defense Initiatives NGO. She helped develop the National Defense Strategy (2018), National Action Plan (NAP) for the Implementation of United Nations Security Council resolution 1325 (UNSCR 1325) for 2018–2021, and National Security Strategy (2023). She is also a member of the informal Women’s Advisory Board on Sustainable Peacebuilding in the Republic of Moldova.

Colonel Biljana Blazheska has served in the Army of the Republic of North Macedonia for 26 years. From her first day as a platoon commander to her current role as Aide-de-Camp to the President, her journey has been one of perseverance, leadership and quiet transformation. As one of the first women to rise through the Army’s ranks, for Biljana, service is not just a profession, it is a lifelong commitment to peace, leadership and mentorship.

Alice Bouman-Dentener is a biologist/ethologist from the Netherlands who has won international acclaim for her expertise on water governance, social inclusion and gender.

Op-Ed by Kaori Ishikawa, UN Women Country Representative in Georgia and Liaison for the South Caucasus, on the occasion of the International Day for Care and Support

In February 2023, a series of catastrophic earthquakes shook Türkiye, reducing entire neighborhoods to rubble and displacing millions. Among the hardest-hit regions was Adıyaman, where the struggle to rebuild continues even today.

Sweeping aid cuts are dismantling the very organizations that are critical to ending violence against women and girls. The new UN Women report At Risk and Underfunded, based on a global survey of 428 women’s rights and civil society organizations, finds that on the back of cuts by governments, more women are at risk of suffering violence with services diminishing and advocacy silenced.

Care work keeps the world running. From the moment we wake up to the time we sleep, care shapes our lives, our economies and communities. It's in the meals prepared, the children walked to school, the aging parents supported, the laundry washed and folded, and the countless invisible tasks that make daily life possible. Without care work, societies would simply stop functioning.

Seida Karabašić is President of the Prijedor Women Izvor NGO, which works tirelessly to locate missing persons and advocate for stronger laws and support for women’s rights, roles and recognition in post-war Bosnia and Herzegovina.

Words shape how we see the world. They can challenge stereotypes and inspire social change. For centuries, books have been both refuge and liberation, especially for women whose voices were too often silenced or erased. To honor this legacy while looking toward the future, UN Women Regional Office for Europe and Central Asia (ECARO), together with the International Publishers Association (IPA), took part for the first time the world’s largest book fair – the Frankfurt Book Fair in October 2025.

Damira Tukhtasinova, 66, from Uzbekistan, is a Director of the Center for Social and Legal Support for Women and Their Families “Kalb Nuri”, Fergana Region. She has led efforts to bring together diverse ethnic and cultural groups and confront discrimination and conflict in Uzbekistan’s tense border areas. Her work directly supports the Women, Peace and Security agenda by empowering women as local peacebuilders.

In 2010, Tahmina Khaidarova from Dushanbe was diagnosed with HIV, a moment that significantly altered the course of her life. Beyond the personal challenges, she also had to navigate social stigma in her community.

Knarik Mkrtchyani, 34, is an Armenian human rights defender and co-founder of the Women’s Agenda – a women-led civil society organization focused on women’s resilience and peacebuilding. Through the Institute for War and Peace Reporting (IWPR), she has been directly engaged in the co-creation of Armenia’s third National Action Plan (NAP) on UN Security Council Resolution 1325, Women, Peace and Security Agenda (WPS).