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Sharing Solutions for Sustainable Development: From Rawalpindi to the UN HLPF

As a transgender rights activist from Pakistan and the co-founder of PINK Center, I had the extraordinary privilege of participating in the United Nations High-Level Political Forum on Sustainable Development (HLPF) 2024. Bringing together world leaders, policymakers, civil society organizations, youth delegates, and stakeholders, the annual platform serves as a global stage to review progress, share best practices, and chart new paths towards achieving the 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).    The HLPF 2024: A Global Stage for Sustainable Development The High-Level Political Forum 2024 was a whirlwind of innovative ideas, youth engagement, and global cooperation. This year's forum, under [...]

2024-10-08T10:08:27+00:008th October 2024|

Mali’s Youth Take the Lead on Inclusive Education Advocacy

By Zeinabou Walet Mohamed Ali In Mali, critical issues such as insecurity and climate change are hampering the successful implementation of educational strategies. Socio-cultural constraints are leading to a depressingly low level of girls' education, as demonstrated by a 2018 UNESCO study which highlighted that only 37% of girls were enrolled in secondary school compared to 44% of boys. As a result, only a third of women are able to decipher a simple sentence, compared with 80% of men. I recently had the opportunity to participate in a consultative day with young leaders involved in educational issues in Mali aimed [...]

2023-10-10T10:16:28+00:009th October 2023|

Gov-HER-Nance: A Feminist Approach to Governance, Accountability, and Climate Justice

Somaya Jalari is a 70-year-old fisherwoman who, like many generations before her, has been fishing and boating on the Phewa Lake all her life. She has seen various changes taking place in Phewa Lake in her lifetime. For instance, the local and indigenous fish species are no longer available in the lake. Consequently, women and men like her who depend on the Lake have to buy new species of hatchlings from their savings and leave them in the water. Furthermore, the water has been heavily polluted by floods, weeds, and plastics which has negatively affected biotic life.  Somaya says, “I [...]

2023-08-14T12:33:13+00:004th July 2023|

Music as a Catalyst – Amplifying Underrepresented Voices

By Kibo Ngowi Art is a powerful tool for connecting people and shining a light on important social issues, and promoting equity and representation. This is an idea that runs right through the Lab’s Arts for Change programming. With music in particular, the Lab has created a network of musicians making socially conscious music across the African continent, creating sustainable models for change that integrate values and impact into the fabric of their work.  Two people who played an instrumental role in this process are the musician MI Abaga and the activist Nora Rahimian. These two talented changemakers have recognized [...]

2023-06-27T09:38:29+00:0027th June 2023|

Combating violence against the transgender community in Pakistan

Written by Fouzia Khan Bhittani We live in a world encompassing different beliefs and cultures that generate specific attitudes and stances toward gender diversity. However, these attitudes define the marginalization of a particular community or people, like the transgender community in Pakistan, commonly referred to as the Khawaja Sira—a group of people that includes various forms of gender deviance. Khawaja Sira covers anyone that bends the societal construction of gender, including people who identify as transsexual, choose to cross-dress, identify as true hermaphrodites, are genderqueer youth, intersex people, and eunuchs. The transgender community has gained little visibility in Pakistan, as [...]

2023-06-14T11:53:25+00:0014th June 2023|

Why Accountability Lab is Moving to a Co-Leadership Model

Written by Blair Glencorse I am more and more convinced every day that the traditional, single Executive Director structure in the non-profit sector is a relic of the past. The future of organizational leadership is collective. For an organization like Accountability Lab - that is growing rapidly, adapting constantly and in which our values serve as the basis for our decision-making - it now seems essential. That is why we have recently moved to a three-person co-leadership model, through which I now lead the organization with my colleagues Cheri and Jean (read more about their thoughts on this transition here [...]

2023-06-12T14:19:33+00:0012th June 2023|

Gov-Her-nance: Five ways to foster collaboration between local governments and communities

By Soni Khanal and Sanjeeta Pant Nepal is a largely patriarchal society with a hierarchical caste system. But fixing old problems and creating equitable government structures does not have to be an uphill battle. Initiatives such as Gov-HER-nance, a pioneering campaign initiated by Accountability Lab Nepal (ALN) in collaboration with female local government representatives in Nepal’s Dhangadhi sub-metropolitan city, brings in new voices and finds solutions to issues of gender equity, local development, and open government. Contrary to what citizens commonly believe, we have found that government representatives can be eager to collaborate with community members to drive change, and to [...]

2021-05-18T10:46:47+00:0018th May 2021|

Getting students debating solutions to gender-based violence

By Samina Anwary It’s not often we get to explore “out there” solutions to entrenched socio-cultural problems to the extent that it becomes a formal debate with well researched arguments and rebuttals. But this is exactly what happens when young people are given the platform to find creative solutions to seemingly intractable challenges. "The government is required to provide protection and safety under our constitutional framework. Therefore, they are complicit in perpetuating GBV. This is why a class action law-suit is needed." This was the strong statement made by Rhodes University debater Khanyisa Mqotyana during a debate on whether the [...]

2020-10-22T19:12:40+00:0022nd October 2020|

“We Have the Power” to Reform Our Electoral Laws

“We can all say there is a need to have more women in the electoral process; we want to have more women in leadership; we think women can do better,” said iCampus Manager Luther Jeke. But the question is, how do you get more people to hear what you say? That’s where Rap2Rep, a music competition run in partnership with Accountability Lab and iLab Liberia, comes in. Rap2Rep is a one of a kind competition that provides a platform for performers “to shape the future of the country through song.” It began on a small scale in 2016, and has [...]

2019-09-25T00:00:00+00:0025th September 2019|

The Struggle for Gender Accountability in Pakistan

Naeema Butt is a social entrepreneur from Pakistan, who has been working for the past 11 years to improve gender equity in Pakistan. In particular, her work in the arts is trying to portray how difficult it can be for women to break into certain industries in the country. Naeema’s journey began when she faced harassment and discrimination in her personal and professional life as a young woman from a conservative family, and also as a female soccer player. It was an uphill battle of finding herself and pursuing her dreams. These painful experiences are what fuelled her struggle and [...]

2022-11-10T06:46:30+00:009th August 2019|
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