First Person: The Indonesian power ranger

In rural areas of The Gambia, job opportunities are scarce, but villagers like Guidom Sabally are benefiting from practical training, gaining recognized qualifications, and setting up successful small businesses in their communities.

Fatoumatta Fatty’s commute on an old, malfunctioning wheelchair takes up to two hours during rainy season in The Gambia, but she is happy joining her co-workers at a sanitary pad production centre, where she takes pride in making products that help women overcome “period poverty” across the country.

Taking place at “a pivotal moment for the rights of women and girls,” the United Nations body dedicated to gender equality and women’s empowerment opened its annual session on Monday hearing calls to help women, especially those in rural communities, secure an end to the male-dominated power dynamic that has long marginalized their participation and muted their voices.