Note from the editor: In this article, published to observe Human Rights Day, International Medical Corps reflects on the importance of health as a human right. We also share some examples from the frontlines, where our committed healthcare workers put theory into practice, helping people who have had their lives ripped apart by conflict to …
All of society—not just women and girls—benefits from gender equality. Study after study shows that communities, companies and economies grow stronger, more resilient and sustainable when women and girls are given the same opportunities as their male counterparts. Conversely, in places where women and girls face high levels of violence, paired with a lack of …
When money and resources are withheld from women, they lose so much more than vital means of survival—they lose their sense of adequacy and autonomy. But in Blangoua, a town in Cameroon’s Far North Region, a program funded by the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations (ECHO) is helping a community of women regain …
Women’s economic empowerment is an indispensable component in the fight for gender equality. Sitting at the restaurant she runs, Rebecca Nyangot Biel—a 39-year-old mother of six from Nyal in South Sudan—is a striking example of why. Her unwavering spirit is inspiring, but it wasn’t always like this. She might be a business owner today, but …
Sometimes, what you don’t know can kill you—like not knowing about proper nutrition and handwashing, safe sex practices and maternal health support. Other times, what you don’t know can severely disempower you—like not knowing where to turn for help after you have been raped. When it comes to gender-based violence (GBV), women and girls are …
Nyabong Puok is a 35-year-old South Sudanese mother of six living in Jewi Refugee Camp, in Ethiopia’s Gambella region. She is one of thousands of South Sudanese who fled their homes seeking a safe place where they and their families could settle and start a new life. Gambella is home to more than 410,000 refugees …
Enisa Eminovska has been confronting gender inequality for most of her life. She characterizes the Roma culture in Macedonia, where she grew up, as “extremely patriarchal and conservative.” When, at the age of 13, her desire to play sports provoked an extended family meeting on her failure to “act like a girl,” her mother had …
As a child growing up in Liberia, “I always knew something was wrong,” says Gertrude Garway, International Medical Corps’ Gender-Based Violence (GBV) Manager in South Sudan. She watched as young girls around her were forced to marry much older men, who then raped and beat them. When these women or girls in forced marriages resisted …
“It has reached epidemic proportions.” This is how Sara Othow, Caseworker with International Medical Corps team in Aburoc, South Sudan, describes the level of sexual and gender-based violence (GBV) in the country. When I interviewed Sara about the situation in South Sudan earlier this year, she explained that several factors are behind the high levels …
Violence against women is endemic in every corner of the globe. Rape and sexual abuse violate the bodies, minds and hearts of women and girls—and this tears at the fabric of households and communities wherever it occurs. Though International Medical Corps works tirelessly to treat survivors of gender-based violence (GBV) in places where little to …