Blogs & Opinions


Why Are Women Experts ‘Absent’ From Panels on War & Security?

Aug 27, 2020 | Ruhee Neog

In Aristophanes’ Lysistrata, an Athenian magistrate demands of an assembly of women: “And where do you get off taking an interest in war and peace?” The play, set…


Stopping Fuel Supplies Into Gaza Harms Israel

Aug 21, 2020 | Gidon Bromberg

When Hamas, which seeks to pressure the government of Qatar to continue sending money into Gaza launch rockets and balloon bombs into Israel, not only…


Water Wars Will Increasingly Fuel African and Middle East Conflicts

Aug 21, 2020 | Clive Lipchin and Hussein Solomon

The planet is heating up fast. Nowhere is this more evident than in the Middle East and Africa where the impacts on water security and…


In Northeastern Syria, Pollution and Conflict Prevent Thousands from Clean Water

Aug 20, 2020 | Elena Bruess

It has been decades since the oil fields in northeastern Syria began poisoning land and water. Production took off in the late 1960s, and before…


Put Gender Equality at the Heart of the Post-COVID-19 Economic Recovery

Aug 20, 2020 | Valeria Esquivel

Prior to the onset of the COVID-19 crisis large numbers of women were excluded from the labour market. The pandemic has made things much worse.

It is disproportionately…


To Address Gender-Based Violence, We Need Creativity, Collaboration and Courage

Aug 20, 2020 | Bjorn Andersson

One glaring truth the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic has reinforced when it comes to gender-based violence is that it is a humanitarian, development and socioeconomic crisis—a…


COVID-19 Exacerbates the Effects of Water Shortages on Women in Yemen

Aug 20, 2020 | Margaret Habib

The UN estimates that gender-based violence (GBV) has affected 33 percent of women worldwide. In Yemen, GBV has increased by 63 percent since the start of the civil war.…


Climate Security: The Role of Climate and Food Systems Science in Conflict Prevention and Peace-building

Aug 19, 2020 | Nam Nguyen

A systemic analysis of the role that climate, natural resource and food systems play in conflict and peace is key to design and implement interventions…


Want More Global Freedom and Prosperity? Include More Women in Leadership

Aug 16, 2020 | Natalie Gonnella-Platts

A century after women secured recognition of their right to vote within our own democracy, we must recommit to ensuring that women and girls around…


Yemen Environmental Bulletin: The Decline of Tihama Date Production and Yemen’s Agricultural Collapse

Aug 14, 2020 | Wim Zwijnenburg

Yemen’s fertile wadis that flow down from the mountainous areas on the west coast have been an essential lifeline for a population that has relied on its…


To Understand How Disasters Relate to Conflict and Peace, Reframe the Starting Point

Aug 11, 2020 | Laura E. R. Peters

Is the world doomed to be ever-more tumultuous? For years, headlines have suggested that climate change causes or acts as a threat multiplier for violent conflicts. For example, climate…


Breaking Down the Gender Barriers in Mining

Aug 11, 2020 | Tebogo Leepile

In a male-dominated industry like mining, women have proven themselves to be just as competent and valuable - despite the industry-related stigma and stereotypes.Giving more…


How Impact Investing Can Help Girls Shatter the Glass Ceiling

Aug 10, 2020 | Henrietta H. Fore and Suzanne Biegel

Governments and private investors have long recognized the importance of investing in education and skills development, in terms of both achieving gender equality and economic…


Climate Change Is a Security Threat to the Asia-Pacific

Aug 10, 2020 | Shiloh Fetzek and Dennis McGinn

This week the ASEAN Joint Task Force on Humanitarian Assistance and Disaster Relief (HADR) will meet via video conference, with the COVID-19 pandemic escalating just…


The Key to an Inclusive Recovery? Putting Women in Decision-Making Roles

Aug 9, 2020 | Francesca Donner

As the world sketches out post-pandemic plans, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, the head of U.N. Women, explains why having more women in leadership positions could lead to…


Thoughts on Womanhood, Gender Roles, and Agriculture

Aug 7, 2020 | Patricia Marie Cordero Irizarry

As women, we’ve been generally told to be obedient, to sit with our legs closed, to comb our hair, to wear bras, and not to…


Anticipatory Action for COVID-19: Building the Systems That Protect Livelihoods throughout a Pandemic

Aug 5, 2020 | Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN

The impacts of the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) crisis on food systems are vast and varied, and as of yet hard to predict. But nowhere…


Decades of Progress on Gender Equality in the Workplace at Risk of Vanishing

Aug 2, 2020 | Pamela Jeffrey

Five months into the pandemic, the warning lights for female participation in the workplace are flashing furiously as progress made toward gender equality over the…


The Exaggerated Threat of Oil Wars

Aug 2, 2020 | Emily Meierding

Over the past year, Chinese seismic survey vessels and their paramilitary escorts have interfered repeatedly with Vietnamese and Malaysian oil and natural gas exploration in the South China…


Agriculture & COVID-19: Pro Women Farmer Policies Needed

Aug 1, 2020 | Binod Sinha

A two-week survey conducted during the lockdown by Harvard TH Chan School of Public Health, Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) and Centre for Sustainable Agriculture (CSA)…


How the Grand Renaissance Dam Might Spark Basin-Wide Water Cooperation

Aug 1, 2020 | Ashok Swain

Ethiopia’s on-going construction of the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam on the Blue Nile River has attracted speculation that it could lead to a ‘water war’.

There is no…


COVID-19 and the Food System: Setback or Opportunity for Gender Equality?

Jul 31, 2020 | Catherine Ragasa and Isabel Lambrecht

Agriculture and the food sector are critical to food and nutrition security. They not only produce food for growing populations but also contribute to economic…


Reviving Energy Cooperation in South Asia

Jul 31, 2020 | Saheb Singh Chadha

Recent developments in South Asian energy security such as the India-Nepal petroleum products pipeline and the India-Bhutan joint venture hydroelectric project have revived conversations on…


The Role of Afghanistan’s Resources in Security

Jul 30, 2020 | Farzad Ramezani Bonesh

During the last two decades, we have witnessed the Afghan government’s efforts to identify natural resources in the country with the help of foreign governments…


We Can't Build Back Better Without Economic Justice for Racialized Women

Jul 28, 2020 | Carmina Ravanera and Anjum Sultana

This summer has been one of racial reckoning. In the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic, millions joined in Black Lives Matter protests around the world, protesting…


Scale Climate Action by Engaging With Women’s Organizations: Why Climate and Gender Funders Must Work Together

Jul 28, 2020 | Jeannette Gurung

Global frameworks for climate action, including but not limited to the Paris Agreement and the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, have recognized that they must…


USAID’s New Center for Water Security Signals Progress, But More is Needed

Jul 27, 2020 | Stephanie Cappa and Sarah Davidson

As the COVID-19 crisis grew this spring, the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) revamped its Water Office, renamed it as the Center for Water…


How COVID-19 Can Bring Gender Justice

Jul 23, 2020 | Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka and Helena Dalli

Disasters shape the course of history. In the wake of the Spanish flu of 1918, more women entered the labour market and in roles previously…


Fund Resilience: Create Systemic Change by Working at the Nexus of Climate and Gender

Jul 23, 2020 | Prachi Seth

Women in developing countries are particularly vulnerable to climate change due to their high dependency on natural resources for their livelihoods coupled with lesser economic,…


To Solve the Climate Crisis, Women Must Own More of the World's Land

Jul 21, 2020 | Martha Merrow

Land, women, and climate change: the future of all three are intrinsically connected and must be addressed comprehensively to create equitable change and a livable…