Articles | Lowy Institute

20 Apr 2023
Afghanistan

Sex and Gender
Don’t reward the Taliban’s gender apartheid with recognition

Farkhondeh Akbari , Jacqui True

Returning diplomats to Afghanistan would send a terrible message to women and girls that the world has given up on them.
8 Mar 2023
China

China's Government

Human rights

Sex and Gender
Beijing and the birth rate: a question of human rights for women

Yun Jiang

Despite the government's gender positive rhetoric, Chinese women are still viewed as resources of the party state.
8 Mar 2023
Asia

Pacific Islands

Sex and Gender
“Amplify their voice”: Promoting gender equity in Asia and the Pacific

Daniel Flitton

The regional head of UN Women has a simple but crucial message on this International Women’s Day.
8 Mar 2023
Sex and Gender
Women and politics: a new world order

Clare Caldwell

With geopolitical oxygen so often depleted by autocratic strongmen, how might a globe dominated by female leaders look?
3 Mar 2023
Fiji

Sex and Gender
A new era of democracy for Fiji – but where are the women?

Romitesh Kant , Kerryn Baker

A steep decrease in the number of women representatives after the election suggests growing disengagement.
16 Feb 2023
Afghanistan

Sex and Gender
Is the tide turning on classroom bans for Afghan girls?

Hilmand Dehsabzi

In Afghanistan, there is increasing dissatisfaction with the suspension of female higher education, even within the Taliban.
7 Feb 2023
Asia

Sex and Gender
Valuing Asia’s women leaders

Ramona Vijeyarasa

Telling the Asian stories remind us that these are not “Australian”, or “Asian” or “American” experiences – but global.
2 Feb 2023
New Zealand

United States

Sex and Gender
Women leaders: not so poles apart

Erin Hurley

In seemingly different settings, Jacinda Ardern and Nancy Pelosi confronted much the same challenges.
18 Jan 2023
Southeast Asia

Australia

Australian trade, investment & economy

Technology

Sex and Gender
Link start-ups ecosystems to build influence in Southeast Asia

Robert Law

Australia should launch a major initiative to support investment with new business prospects in the region.
16 Jan 2023
Yemen

Sex and Gender
A seat at the negotiating table: How women are building peace in Yemen

Jena Jaensch

Peace is not just the absence of conflict but dismantling the structures that contribute to gender-based violence.
2 Nov 2022
Aid & Development

Australian Foreign Aid

Sex and Gender
Where does Australia’s new aid budget leave gender equality?

Annabel Dulhunty

Gender equality is not just an “add-on”, it is essential to a functioning society. Funding must reflect that.
21 Sep 2022
Indonesia

Japan

Sex and Gender
Economic diplomacy: Womenomics shifts from Tokyo to Jakarta

Greg Earl

Can a female finance minister in Indonesia avoid the demographic dilemma that has handicapped Japan’s evolution?
16 Aug 2022
Pacific Islands

New Zealand

Sex and Gender
Wrong balance of power in Pacific

Elzanne Bester

New Zealand can bolster the international rules-based order by working towards Pacific women’s political representation.
1 Aug 2022
Australia

United States

Sex and Gender
US abortion bans unleash state-sanctioned violence against women

Tania Penovic

The Australian anti-abortion movement wants to learn from and replicate the campaign to overturn Roe vs Wade.
26 Jul 2022
Australian Diplomacy

Diplomacy

Sex and Gender
The future is female, but women in diplomacy still under-represented

Elise Stephenson

It’s two steps forward, one step back for gender parity in Australian international relations.
27 Jun 2022
Sex and Gender
Gender equality in the Pacific: less talk and more action

Jessica Collins

Pacific women leaders are driving for change, and economic empowerment is key.
10 Jun 2022
Pacific Islands

Australia

Sex and Gender
Penny Wong dives deep into the audacity of the Oceanic Pacific

‘Ofa-ki-Levuka (‘Ofa) Guttenbeil-Likiliki

Nurturing relationships is paramount to break down unequal power dynamics – especially in working for women rights.
10 Jun 2022
India

Sex and Gender
India’s inconsistent adherence to the Women, Peace and Security agenda

Shivangi Seth

Sending women to serve as peacekeepers is laudable. But at home, women continue to be marginalised.
10 May 2022
Papua New Guinea

Sex and Gender
Where are the women? The challenge facing the next PNG parliament

Teddy Winn

A country ranking among the world’s lowest for political participation by women has enormous social bias to overcome.
2 May 2022
Australia

China

Solomon Islands

Sex and Gender
Solomon Islands-China security pact: A feminist foreign policy answer

Joanna Pradela

For Australia to change the game in regional relations, it needs to grapple with new rules about systems of power.
28 Apr 2022
Sex and Gender
Southeast Asia: Gender parity is not gender equality

Meg Hocking

Overcoming the root causes of the gender gap means tackling harmful stereotypes and biases, country by country.
8 Mar 2022
United Nations

Human rights

Sex and Gender
Young feminist leadership is the future of peacebuilding

Helen Berents , Erika Yague , Shadi Rouhshahbaz

Feminist leadership coupled with the UN’s Youth, Peace and Security agenda envisions a more just and inclusive peace.
8 Mar 2022
United Nations

Human rights

Sex and Gender
Sexual exploitation and abuse in peacekeeping: Connecting the dots

Jasmine Westendorf

The abuse of women and children must be urgently addressed as a key issue in the hierarchy of harm.
30 Nov 2021
Australia

Solomon Islands

Sex and Gender
Solomon Islands deployment: Australia must meet obligations to women

Nicole George

The risks to local women’s security are well understood. Following plans already in place should be a priority.
27 Aug 2021
Diplomacy

Australia

Sex and Gender
Australia and LGBTQI rights

Kate Clayton

Canberra needs a loud and proud foreign policy on the human rights of gender and sexual minorities.
17 Aug 2021
Afghanistan War

Afghanistan

Migration

Human rights

Sex and Gender
What to do after the Taliban take-over

Susanne Schmeidl

The foreign troops might be gone but Afghanistan is still our responsibility.
2 Aug 2021
Papua New Guinea

Sex and Gender
How many times? Reckoning with gender-based violence in PNG

Leanne Jorari

Urgent action is needed to end PNG’s poor record as the most dangerous country in the region for women and girls.
9 Jul 2021
China

Technology

Sex and Gender
China’s forced invisibility of LGBTQ communities on social media

Ausma Bernot

A safe place for young people in China to discuss their sexual and gender identities has suddenly been silenced.
2 Jul 2021
Diplomacy

Australian Development Assistance

Australia

Australia and the Pacific

Sex and Gender
Forgiveness not permission: A feminist foreign policy

Alice Ridge , Joanna Pradela

If Australia wants to adopt a values-based approach to the world, the next step is obvious.
28 Jun 2021
Myanmar

Sex and Gender
Supporting the victims of sexual violence in Myanmar

Sara E Davies , Phyu Phyu Oo

With the military often complicit in crimes, access to civil society organisations is increasingly difficult.
22 Jun 2021
Afghanistan War

Afghanistan

Sex and Gender
Standing with Afghanistan: Inclusion and women’s rights in peace talks

Jacqui True , Azadah Raz Mohammad , Felicity Gerry , Jenna Sapiano

Australia, and the world, must insist that negotiations safeguard women’s rights, else talk of peace will be empty.
15 Jun 2021
China

Human rights

Sex and Gender
Beijing could easily encourage people to have more children, but won’t

Yaqiu Wang

However China frames its population policy, birth limits fundamentally infringe on women’s reproductive rights.
21 Apr 2021
India

Sex and Gender
India’s failure to include enough women in politics

Rajesh Trichur Venkiteswaran

The world’s largest democracy has barely begun to draw on half its pool of candidates.
8 Apr 2021
Japan

Human rights

Sex and Gender
Legalising same-sex marriage in Japan

Akimoto Daisuke

A court ruling has thrown down the challenge to Japanese politicians to ensure equality before the law.
30 Mar 2021
Diplomacy

Australia

Sex and Gender
Australia must walk the talk on women’s rights – globally and at home

Leanne Smith

It’s not just local politics. Australia’s credibility with a feminist foreign policy, in name or not, is on the line.
25 Mar 2021
Afghanistan

Human rights

Sex and Gender
Afghanistan: When a song is not just a song

Susanne Schmeidl , Gillian Howell , Jawed Nader

A move to prohibit girls singing was met with a big backlash on social media – a sign of the times, old and new.
25 Mar 2021
Coronavirus

Human rights

Sex and Gender
Female genital mutilation is still a risk – especially in a pandemic

Kit Catterson

Could lockdowns and travel restrictions have led the practice of female genital mutilation to increase in Australia?
8 Mar 2021
Poverty

Coronavirus

Sex and Gender
Food security and Covid-19: Recognising women’s leadership

Over half the world’s farmers and food producers are women. A study will look at their experiences in the covid crisis.
8 Mar 2021
Pacific Islands

Sex and Gender
Private sector progress in women’s leadership in the Pacific

Sarah Boxall

Women’s representation in politics across the region still lags. But a positive change is occurring in business.
8 Mar 2021
Australia

Sex and Gender
Advancing the Women, Peace and Security agenda in Australia

Laura J. Shepherd , Kit Catterson

A second National Action Plan is overdue. It’s not too late to integrate concerns about causes of gender-based violence.
8 Dec 2020
Global Economy

Coronavirus

Sex and Gender
Women, peace and security are not only wartime issues

Rose Khattar

The cost of domestic violence has only grown during Covid lockdowns – in rich and poor nations alike.
17 Nov 2020
G20

Saudi Arabia

Sex and Gender
The G20’s existential crisis

Erin Watson-Lynn

The group’s expanded mandate, including into women’s empowerment, puts its relevance and its values under a microscope.
6 Nov 2020
Iran

Sex and Gender
Iran’s year of reckoning

Melissa George

The #MeToo movement is gaining traction in Iran, but its impact is unlikely to alter the status quo in the short term.
5 Nov 2020
Diplomacy

United Nations

Indonesia

Russia

Human rights

Sex and Gender
A backlash against the Women, Peace and Security agenda?

Jacqui True , Irine Hiraswari Gayatri , Nuri Widiastuti Veronika , Patricia Salas Sanchez

Power politics overshadow progress at the UN Security Council as Resolution 1325 celebrates its 20th anniversary.
26 Oct 2020
China

Coronavirus

Sex and Gender
Can Covid-19 advance gender equality in China’s health policies?

Sara E Davies , Huiyun Feng , Connie Cai Ru Gan

The coronavirus pandemic revealed the disconnect between wishful official edicts and rigid social conventions.