Working for Women's empowerment and Gender Equality
UNIFEM is the women's fund at the United Nations. Established in 1976, it provides financial and technical assistance to innovative programmes and strategies aimed at fostering women's empowerment and gender equality. UNIFEM also helps make the voices of women heard at the United Nations — to highlight critical issues and advocate for the implementation of existing commitments made to women.
With its headquarters in New York, UNIFEM today works in over 100 countries and has 15 regional offices in Africa, Asia and the Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean, Central and Eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States (CEE/CIS).
Placing the advancement of women's human rights at the centre of all of its efforts, UNIFEM focuses its activities on four strategic areas:
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Reducing feminized poverty
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Ending violence against women
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Reversing the spread of HIV/AIDS among women and
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girls, and Achieving gender equality in democratic governance in times of peace as well as war
The Sub-regional Office of UNIFEM South Asia is based in New Delhi, India. It covers nine countries of the region, i.e., Afghanistan, Bangladesh, Bhutan, India, Iran, Maldives, Nepal, Pakistan and Sri Lanka.
UNIFEM works in partnership with governments, women’s organizations, the UN System, bi-lateral agencies, the SAARC Secretariat, civil society, national and international NGOs and research organizations.
Two international agreements frame UNIFEM's work: the Beijing Platform for Action resulting from the Fourth World Conference on Women in 1995, and the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The spirit of these agreements has been affirmed by the Millennium Declaration and the eight Millennium Development Goals for 2015, combating poverty, hunger, disease, illiteracy and gender inequality, and building partnerships for development. The Security Council Resolution 1325 on women, peace and security also provides a crucial reference for UNIFEM's work in support of women in conflict and post-conflict situations. In South Asia, it is also guided by the regional mandates, which emerge from the South Asian regional ministerial meetings, which are held to track progress on the implementation of the Beijing Platform for Action. Since 1996, UNIFEM has been organizing these meetings biennially in partnership with Governments of the region.
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GoI-UNIFEM MoU on safety of women migrants signed
 CEO of the Indian Council of Overseas Employment, Government of India, Mr. G. Gurucharan, and Ms. Anne F. Stenhammer, Regional Programme Director of UNIFEM share copies of signed MoU on empowerment of women migrants |
The Government of India today signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the United Nations Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM) on protecting and empowering women migrant workers who are exposed to vulnerabilities as a result of migration...Read more
Making Delhi safer for women with the help of DTC staff
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A training was organized for Delhi Transport Corporation instructors who would orient bus drivers and conductors to the need to intervene when women are harassed in buses
NEW DELHI: An initiative by UNIFEM, in partnership with the Delhi Government and Jagori, an NGO, is making an effort to put an end to this unpleasant experience faced by thousands of women everyday. The initiative has been aptly titled, “Safe Delhi for Women”… Read more
‘Bell bajao’ campaign PSA wins award at Cannes
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A still from a PSA developed as part of the Bell Bajao campaign against domestic violence in India
India’s women panchayat leaders face many challenges
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Panelists at the dais during the Women’s Empowerment Day celebrations (from left to right) UNIFEM SARO Regional programme Director Anne Stenhammer; Ms. Gursharan Kaur; Rajasthan Minister for Panchayati Raj, Bharat Singh, and Mohini Giri from the Guild of Service
Final Evaluation Report of the Phase II of the Regional Programme on Empowering Women Migrant Workers in Asia
Asia, characterized by acute poverty amidst fast growing economies, is a primary source of migrant labour within and beyond the region. As dynamic flows emerge, the growing involvement of women in migration deserves policy and programme attention due to its increasing socio-economic significance and the vulnerability that migrant women workers continue to experience.
List of High-Level Government Supporters of the Campaign
