Articles Category: Gender

Indigo derives from the Greek word “indikon,” meaning “from India.” The Indus valley civilisation in 4th century BC discovered that the Indigofera plant could produce a blue dye. A complex and time-consuming process of soaking, fermenting, and drying i

“Be a man.” “Toughen up.” These are phrases women often hear. From everyday life to the professional realm, we are reminded more often than needed to be equal to men. This has set us up to a fallacy that men and masculine qualities are the benchmarks f

“Every child has a right to dream, all girls need to study and to pursue their futures, and not to become a wife or a mother at a young age. And if they are forced to marry someone, they should know that they have the right to say “no.”  They should di

Women’s increased participation in all stages of the peace process and decision-making, from deterrence to post-conflict reconstruction efforts, is key to attaining long-lasting peace and security.

Ambassador Urawadee Sriphiromya served as the Permanent Representative of Thailand to ASEAN from 2021 to 2024. Ambassador Urawadee gave this interview shortly before she left Jakarta on March 2024 for her next assignment as Ambassador of Thailand to Vi

Women in ASEAN in the Era of Digitalisation: Facing Challenges and Seizing Opportunities The celebration of Women’s Month this year resonated deeply with the priorities and commitments of ASEAN to forge ahead with gender equality and the empowerment of

Minister I Gusti Ayu Bintang Darmawati talks to The ASEAN about the regional frameworks and plans that embody ASEAN’s strategies for empowering and improving the well-being of women and girls in the region. She also talks about why Indonesia is encoura

ACWC is a consultative body that supports the work of the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Social Welfare and Development. ACWC Chair and Cambodian Ministry of Women’s Affairs Under Secretary Hou Nirmita talks about the role of the Commission in securing t

Dr. Mari Elka Pangestu addresses issues of power, representation, and equality. Before joining the World Bank as a managing director in 2020, she held various leadership positions in the Indonesian government, including as Minister of Trade (2004-2011)

UN Women Asia and the Pacific Regional Director Mohammad Naciri discusses the impact of the COVID-19 crisis on women, efforts to implement a gender-fair and gendersensitive pandemic recovery plan, and the continuing partnership between UN Women and ASE

Shiela May Pansoy, a 39-year-old native of Davao del Sur, is one of the 37,000 women in the Philippine police force.

One night in 2019, Shinta Puspa Dewi found herself hiding under the bed as her patient yelled, “Hide, or they will shoot you!”. Her patient, who has dementia, believed they were in the middle of a war.

Tra My Nguyen was a model student all her life, but felt unfulfilled even after landing what she thought was her dream job: an engineer in advanced materials. It did not take long for Tra My to realise she did not want to spend the rest of her life sur

Shwegyin Town in Bago District, Myanmar, is reputed to be one of the country’s best places to get gold. The town lives up to its name, “Shwegyin,” which means “making gold” in English. However, the precious mineral is not what keeps bringing 27-year-ol

Noemi Obrero Abainza is a working mother and sole parent to her two children while her husband works overseas.