Women’s Rights and Personal Security

India has invested for decades in women’s empowerment, but the persistent threat of harassment and violence in cities shows that the built environment must change to make women safe in public spaces.

Chinese statistics show that a quarter of that country’s married women have suffered domestic violence from their husbands. Though it’s critical that these women remain employed if they are to escape these abusive relationships, survivors often struggle with work. But China is making encouraging progress with measures to keep women active and safe in the workplace.

The biennial conference of the Women’s Funding Network, which took place in San Francisco September 11–13, provided an opportunity for The Asia Foundation to convene the panel “Gender and Climate Justice: Lessons from Asia and the Pacific.” The changing climate is arguably the biggest issue of our time, and the follow-on effects of environmental di… Read more

From 2018 to 2019, 2,500 boys from 61 schools in Mumbai, Indore, and Delhi, India, took a journey to redefine masculinity and stand up to gender-based violence. The Gender Lab Boys Program is the brainchild of cofounders Akshat Singhal and Ayushi Banerji, strong believers in the power of collective action who say they are out to change a patriarcha… Read more

3:00 pm – 4:30 pm Choate Room, First Floor 1779 Massachusetts Avenue, NW Washington, DC 20036 The 2018 Survey of the Afghan People provides critical insights on the status of women in Afghanistan and highlights gender gaps on a wide range of issues. The results of The Asia Foundation’s 14th annual public opinion survey are based on face-to-face int… Read more

October 11 marks the eighth annual celebration of the International Day of the Girl Child, established by the United Nations to address the challenges that continue to confront girls around the world. This year’s theme, With Her: A Skilled Girl Force, begins a year-long commitment by the global community to increase learning opportunities and build… Read more

Myanmar has long had a stated commitment to women’s role in public life. It was among the first countries in Asia to grant women the right to vote, in 1935. Myanmar endorsed the Beijing Declaration in 1995 and became a signatory to the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women in 1997. The National Strategic Plan fo… Read more

More than 300 gender and youth practitioners convened last month in Washington, DC, for the Gender 360 Summit to explore the theme of positive girl and boy development. Panels examined how gender issues intersect with health, education, economic empowerment, and gender-based violence among girls, boys, and youth of diverse gender identities. Over t… Read more

Female participation in the legal sector has increased dramatically in Afghanistan since the fall of the Taliban regime in 2001, but fundamental legal and gender reforms have yet to truly take root in the country. Afghan society’s strict segregation of the sexes, and a shortage of female legal professionals, makes it difficult for women to seek red… Read more

The Park Central Hotel 50 Third Street, San Francisco, CA The Asia Foundation is proud to be a co-sponsor of the three-day Women’s Funding Network conference. Join 300 women’s fund and foundation leaders, corporate foundations investing in economic security, senior executives of diversity and inclusion initiatives, and issue experts from around the… Read more

Concerns over access to justice and women’s rights are high in Pakistan. The appalling revenge rape in mid-July of a 17-year-old girl, ordered by a tribal council, has again ignited outrage over the country’s justice system and the sustained level of violence against women. In this interview, The Asia Foundation’s country representative in Pakistan… Read more

Human trafficking in India has reached a crisis level. A prominent headline in The Hindu last week declared ”An unsavory fact: India tops global slavery index.” A U.S. State Department report estimates that up to 65 million people were trafficked into forced labor, both into and within India. More recently, research reveals that India has the highe… Read more

On May 11, The Asia Foundation will host its sixth annual Lotus Leadership Awards Gala in New York City, honoring First Lady of Afghanistan, Rula Ghani, and Carnegie Corporation of New York and its president, Vartan Gregorian, for their efforts to improve the quality of life for women and girls in Afghanistan. The evening gala is a platform fo… Read more

Below is an excerpt from a profile of 2016 Asia Foundation Development Fellow, Nangyalai Attal, which appeared this week in HuffPost Women. Attal’s work focuses on Afghan girls and young women. The article comes from a new book from the George W. Bush Institute, with an introduction by former First Lady Laura Bush, “We Are Afghan Women: Voices of H… Read more

While women and girls are increasingly able to realize their rights and contribute to society, they continue to face enormous challenges and disadvantages across Asia. Today data shows that no country can get ahead if it leaves women and girls behind. In the words of former World Bank President Robert Zoellick: “Gender equality is smart economics.”… Read more

On June 3, The Asia Foundation’s Lotus Circle honored journalist and author Sheryl WuDunn, and Dr. Ranjana Kumari, a leader in the women’s rights movement in India, at the fifth annual Lotus Leadership Awards in New York City, for their contributions to the well-being of women and girls in Asia. Ms. WuDunn, the first Asian-American reporter to win… Read more

On September 24, 2013, Asia Foundation Trustee and Lotus Circle Advisor Missie Rennie hosted a trunk show at fashion designer Lyn Devon’s Manhattan showroom to benefit The Asia Foundation’s Women’s Empowerment Program. The all-day event gathered guests including Asia Foundation Trustee and Lotus Circle Advisor Masako H. Shinn and Young Lotus Circle… Read more

USAID Afghanistan features the launch of the Ministry of Women’s Affairs Organizational Restructuring and Empowerment Project (MORE), organized by the Ministry of Women’s Affairs (MoWA), The Asia Foundation and USAID. Read the full article: “MORE for Afghan Women’s Empowerment.”

The second publication A Report on Anti-Human Trafficking Initiatives Led by the Government of Nepal, the first-ever report brought out by the Government of Nepal/Ministry of Women, Children and Social Welfare, highlights the important initiatives undertaken by the Government of Nepal in addressing human trafficking in Nepal between April 2012 and… Read more

An overview of The Asia Foundation’s Counter-Trafficking in Persons Program in Cambodia.

Award-winning ABC News veteran Lynn Sherr to interview U.S. Ambassador Luis CdeBaca, Director of the U.S. State Department’s Office to Monitor and Combat Trafficking in Persons Today, The Asia Foundation and The Lotus Circle, a community of individuals working with The Asia Foundation to empower women and girls in Asia, honor Silicon Valley entrepr… Read more

Kathmandu forum seeks more holistic approach to combat trafficking in persons On September 17-19, 2012, expert speakers, donors, and participants joined the Asia Foundation in Kathmandu, Nepal for “Capturing Lessons Learned, Charting the Way Forward.” The three-day counter-trafficking in persons (TIP) workshop, hosted by The Asia Foundation’s Women… Read more

An alarming number of Cambodians, approximately 35 percent, live on less than $1.00 a day. In cities and small towns, young people are vulnerable to false promises of jobs or marriage—and are still systemtically trafficked into exploitative situations. Unsuspecting individuals, struggling to survive, are forced into prostitution or labor and also s… Read more

An alarming number of Cambodians, approximately 35 percent, live on less than $1.00 a day. In cities and small towns, young people are vulnerable to false promises of jobs or marriage—and are still systemtically trafficked into exploitative situations. Unsuspecting individuals, struggling to survive, are forced into prostitution or labor and also s… Read more

An alarming number of Cambodians, approximately 35 percent, live on less than $1.00 a day. In cities and small towns, young people are vulnerable to false promises of jobs or marriage—and are still systemtically trafficked into exploitative situations. Unsuspecting individuals, struggling to survive, are forced into prostitution or labor and also s… Read more

Millions of women in Asia are on the rise – taking advantage of expanding economic and educational opportunities, political participation, increasing rights and influence within their societies. At the same time, others remain trapped in a cycle of illiteracy, poverty, or ill health, often lacking the means to raise themselves and their families ou… Read more

Yesterday, the Wall Street Journal published an op-ed by The Asia Foundation’s Marielle Sander-Lindstrom, Chief of Party, Counter Trafficking in Persons Project (C-TIP), about Cambodia’s first-ever national efforts to collect standardized data on human trafficking. Trafficking statistics are notoriously difficult to gather, and consistent, accurate… Read more

The Asia Foundation is launching a $300,000 project to combat human trafficking in Vietnam over the next two years. The project will be implemented in partnership with the Government of Vietnam and local organizations in five provinces most affected by human trafficking. To support the project activities, The Asia Foundation will open an office on… Read more