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“I felt like a prisoner”: Spousal violence in Iraq
Iraq
“There are lots of setbacks in life, but what matters is standing up again,” said 33-year-old Cojine*. She would know. She endured years of spousal abuse.
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In Paraguay, urging young people to end dating violence
Paraguay
At only 16 years old, Laura* has already experienced intimate partner violence. “For two years, I put up with verbal and even physical abuse,” she said, referring to an ex-boyfriend. “It’s one of the worst things I have…
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UNFPA scales up response after Iraq earthquake
Iraq
In the aftermath of the powerful earthquake that struck the Iraq-Iran border on 12 November, UNFPA has scaled up its emergency response to meet the needs of women and girls.
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A story of violence: 16 objects show the reality of gender-based violence around the world
“That’s what’s left of my teeth after my husband beat me,” Ameera* said at a women’s shelter in south-western Yemen.
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In Pakistan, empowering midwives to empower women
Pakistan
Aashu Tresa, 32, remembers when becoming a mother was a life-or-death proposition. When she was growing up, no one in her rural village, Misree Kolhi, gave birth under the care of a trained health worker. “Unskilled,…
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Solar lanterns light perilous path to shared toilets in Myanmar refugee camps
Myanmar
WAINGMAY, Myanmar – Khin Khin shudders when she thinks about walking in the dark from her shelter to the shared toilet. “I never feel safe to go to the toilet at night,” she said.
In Myanmar, 1.5 million…
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For most vulnerable Nigerian women, high rates of traumatic birth injury
Nigeria
“One week after I delivered my second child, I realized that there was an issue,” Aisha told UNFPA from her hospital bed in Maiduguri, in north-east Nigeria. She had developed an obstetric fistula, a devastating…
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Trailblazing all-girl cricket tournament calls for bowling out child marriage
Nepal
"I often watch boys playing cricket on this ground. But today I caught a glimpse of girl cricketers in action," said Irfan Darji, a 13-year-old spectator at the final match in a trailblazing girls’ tournament…
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In Cambodia, push to end maternal deaths in remote areas
Cambodia
RATANAKIRI, Cambodia – In the remote farming village of Sakreang, in Cambodia’s far north-east, Romam Pcheuk visits pregnant women in their homes. “I keep my eye on the girls who are pale, and those that get pregnant…
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A secret pregnancy in the Comoros: One teen’s story
Comoros
Sara* was 17 when she found out she was pregnant. Living in a rural village in the Comoros, she carried the entire pregnancy in secret, and then gave birth in a hospital bathroom.
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Two wheelchairs and a stroller: Overcoming barriers to parenthood in Belarus
Belarus
When Anya Shevko, 29, became pregnant, she had to weigh herself at a recycling centre because the local maternity clinic did not have suitable scales. Even visiting the clinic was difficult because Anya is in a…
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“Your voice is your weapon”: Taking on sexual harassment in Egypt
Egypt
“Your fear is controlling you,” instructor Amany Abdel-Aal told a roomful of women at a Wen-Do self-defence class, held in a cheerfully painted youth centre on the outskirts of Cairo.
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