Gaza - New York: Europe and the Arabs
The world is witnessing the highest number of active conflicts since 1946, creating unprecedented risks and suffering for women and girls. Currently, 676 million women live within 50 kilometers of deadly conflict zones, the highest level recorded since the 1990s. This is according to the UN Secretary-General's 2025 Report on "Women, Peace and Security," which was launched yesterday, Monday. According to the UN Daily News Bulletin, a copy of which we received Tuesday morning,
According to the report, the number of civilian casualties among women and children has quadrupled compared to the previous two-year period, and conflict-related sexual violence has risen by 87 percent in two years.
This report coincides with the 25th anniversary of Security Council Resolution 1325, which committed the international community to ensuring the full participation and protection of women in peace and security issues. The report warned that two decades of progress in this area are being unraveled.
“Women and girls are being killed in record numbers, excluded from peace tables, and left unprotected as wars proliferate,” said Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women. “Women don’t need more promises; they need power, protection, and equal participation.”
Funding Cuts
Despite overwhelming evidence that women’s participation makes peace more sustainable, women remain largely excluded from decision-making, according to the United Nations. In 2024, nine out of ten peace processes did not include women negotiators, with only 7 percent of negotiators and 14 percent of mediators worldwide.
The report also reveals a dangerous imbalance: while global military spending exceeded $2.7 trillion in 2024, women’s organizations in conflict zones received only 0.4 percent of aid. Many women’s groups working on the front lines face imminent closure due to financial constraints. The World Is Heading in the Wrong Direction
At a press conference held at UN Headquarters on Monday to launch the report, Nyaradzai Gombonzwanda, Deputy Executive Director of UN Women, said that the Secretary-General's report shows that the world is heading in the wrong direction. "Military spending has reached record levels, while gender equality and multilateralism are under increasing attack."
The UN official emphasized that the impact of Resolution 1325 is clear. She continued, "More women now serve in justice and security institutions, and millions of survivors of gender-based violence receive support that did not exist before. Crimes that were once ignored are now being investigated and prosecuted. Women have helped build peace in their communities."
In countries affected by war, maternal mortality and girls' school dropout rates have steadily declined. More women are holding positions in parliament and government, thousands of survivors have received reparations, and 115 countries now have national action plans on women, peace, and security, according to the UN official. As we mark the 25th anniversary of Resolution 1325 and the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Platform for Action, Nyaradzai Gombonzwanda emphasized that this anniversary must be a turning point. “The message from women in conflict zones is clear: stop wars, uphold international law, and disarm. Women’s leadership is not symbolic; it is what makes peace possible and lasting,” she said.
Two women killed in Gaza every hour
Sarah Hendricks, Director of the Division for Policy, Programme and Intergovernmental Support at UN Women, said the figures in the report reflect wars increasingly waged against the bodies of women and girls, in shocking disregard for international law.
She continued: “Behind these numbers are women giving birth in shelters under bombs, girls forced out of school, survivors silenced, and peacebuilders risking their lives every day. Over the past two years, women and girls in Gaza have been killed at a rate of nearly two every hour.”
Sarah Hendricks highlighted some urgent priorities:
⬅️First, set binding targets and quotas to ensure women's full, equal, and safe participation in peace and political processes, and pledge to allocate at least 1 percent of official development assistance directly to women's organizations in conflict-affected countries.
⬅️Second, ensure accountability for all acts of gender-based oppression, reproductive violence, and conflict-related sexual violence.
⬅️Third, redirect resources away from weapons and toward women-led peacebuilding and recovery.
⬅️Fourth, and finally, lead a gender data revolution so that women's experiences in crises are counted, made visible, and accounted for.