Malala Yousafzai will mark her 16th birthday today by delivering a speech at UN headquarters in New York, calling on governments to ensure free compulsory education for every child. It will be Malala’s first public speech since she was attacked on her school bus in Pakistan's north-western Swat valley, shot

Soroptimist International welcomes the announcement  that Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka from South Africa will be the new Executive Director of UN Women, the organization leading UN’s work on advancing gender equality and women’s rights. Ms. Mlambo-Ngcuka  became a Member of Parliament in South Africa in 1994 and from 2005-8 was the first woman to hold the

"When we devote attention and resources to the education, health and wellbeing of adolescent girls, they will become an even greater force for positive change in society that will have an impact for generations to come. On this World Population Day, let us pledge to support adolescent girls to realize

The month of May saw a wonderful variety of projects as Soroptimist International clubs continued to empower and educate women and girls via the expertise of both age old traditions and modern technology. See some pictures and read about the projects below. SI Dunfermline (UK) worked with their local community

The Millennium Development Goals deadline of 2015 is not far away. To date, many of the goals have not been achieved and this timescale now puts the pressure on member states to realise these goals. With the end in sight a new post-2015 framework needs to be designed, building on

International Widows Day on 23rd June 2013 highlights the ongoing plight of widows worldwide and the need for action towards achieving both recognition and full rights. Absent from statistics, disregarded by many researchers and overlooked by many national, local and civil society organisations, widows are virtually invisible in the wider

Soroptimist International has signed a joint statement calling for human rights to be placed at the core of the post-2015 development agenda, which will succeed the Millennium Development Goals. The statement, by several leading human rights and development organisations, says that: “a post-2015 framework anchored in human rights moves from

“Girls’ and women’s health and rights must be prioritized today, tomorrow, and every day until our work is done. Because we know, when girls and women survive, all of us thrive.”  Women Deliver President Jill Sheffield. The annual Women Deliver conference, held this year on May 28 – 30 in

Video: Female genital cutting from Thomson Reuters Foundation on Vimeo. UN Agencies have urged Egypt to enforce the law against Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting and are calling for a full investigation into the death of a 13 year-old girl undergoing the practice at a private clinic. “The latest tragic death of

Beyoncé, Madonna, Prince Harry and Archbishop Desmond Tutu were among the celebrities who appeared at a star-studded concert on Saturday 1st June to highlight the millions of women and girls denied adequate healthcare, education and justice. 50,000 people attended the Chime for Change concert at London’s Twickenham rugby stadium, which was