Perspectives: The ICRW Blog

Natko Geres and Vojislav Arsic have a lot in common. Both 28, the two young men share a taste for popular urban culture. Some of their earliest memories are also the same. They were both six-years-old when war erupted in the former Yugoslavia. On opposing sides of the frontline in those dark days – Natko in Croatia and Vojislav in Serbia – the two have come together in the post-conflict era to fight a new battle.

As the One Billion Rising global call to action against gender-based violence kicked off, ICRW’s Nandita Bhatla reflected on the rape of a New Delhi woman that sparked global outrage, explaining how to ensure a safer tomorrow for India’s women and girls.

A new UN resolution to ban female genital mutilation presents an opportunity for governments, organizations and others to create effective approaches to curb the practice. One successful program in Ethiopia provides a strong example of how to do just that. 

When my colleague asked me if I had any questions for the woman before me in a hospital bed, her skin taut and raw from the burns, I could barely speak. The sight of her and the injuries she had sustained at the hands of her husband silenced me.

Former ICRW board member Winnie Byanyima writes about how her mother, a school teacher in Uganda, used what little she had to create opportunities for her children. Today, Byanyima directs the gender team in the Bureau for Development Policy at the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

It’s hard for me to forget Tesfaye Haile. A tall man with light brown eyes and a salt-and-pepper beard, he was perhaps the most animated person I met during my week in Ethiopia’s Amhara region.

For three days earlier this year, a few of my colleagues and I gave a training workshop on how to reduce stigma against people living with HIV. What made the training especially unique was that our audience included priests and nuns.