The 13th session of the World Urban Forum in Baku concluded with a high-level Women’s Roundtable focused on advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment in housing and urban development.
Building on the Beijing+30 Action Agenda and the New Urban Agenda, the two-hour discussion provided an action-oriented platform aimed at strengthening the right of women and girls to safe, adequate and affordable housing.
The session brought together policymakers, urban experts, civil society representatives and human rights advocates to share policy recommendations and practical examples from different countries. The outcomes are expected to feed into the WUF13 final outcome document and future policy processes.
Speakers highlighted how the global housing and climate crises are disproportionately affecting women, particularly through unequal land rights, insecure tenure, discriminatory laws and limited access to basic services.
Civil society representatives also shared personal experiences, drawing attention to the daily realities faced by women living in unsafe or unstable housing conditions.
The discussion emphasised that housing insecurity is closely linked to gender-based violence, with participants noting that a lack of safe and affordable housing can trap women in abusive situations or push them into homelessness and poverty.
Female-headed households were identified as especially vulnerable because of economic exclusion and restricted access to credit and housing systems.
United Nations Deputy Secretary-General Amina Mohammed attended the session and delivered opening remarks, underlining that access to housing is directly linked to dignity, safety, health and inclusion.
Participants called for stronger gender-transformative approaches to housing and land governance, urging governments to integrate women’s needs more effectively into national urban policies.
The roundtable also focused on strengthening women’s leadership in housing and land management, with recommendations aimed at improving participation in decision-making and policy design.
The session featured a multi-stakeholder panel presenting best practices and policy tools to support more inclusive housing systems. These proposals will be incorporated into the official WUF13 outcomes and used to guide future international urban policy discussions.
Like other stakeholder-driven sessions at WUF13, the roundtable was developed through a participatory process led by experts in women’s access to housing and gender equality, ensuring broad representation and diversity.
The Women’s Roundtable took place on the final day of WUF13, which brought together more than 40,000 participants from 182 countries under the theme “Housing the world: Safe and resilient cities and communities”.
Throughout the week, the forum featured ministerial meetings, leaders’ summits, civil society assemblies, business sessions and thematic discussions on urban resilience, climate change, artificial intelligence in urban governance and sustainable development.
Among the key developments during the forum were discussions on the global housing crisis, the launch of new co-operation platforms and the expansion of international urban partnerships, including preparations for future World Urban Forum gatherings.
The U.S. will impose unprecedented measures on Iran in order to economically isolate the country, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said...
Georgia could gain a direct electricity link to Europe under plans for a new overland energy corridor connecting Azerbaijan, Georgia, Türkiye ...
Türkiye has unveiled plans for joint military exercises and defence production with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan under a new security pact that i...
Flights at Catania airport in Sicily will remain suspended until early Friday as ash from Mount Etna continues to disrupt air travel, following hundreds of cancellations and diversions over the past week.
Hundreds of flights have been cancelled or rerouted at Catania Airport over the past week as ash from Mount Etna’s ongoing eruption continues to disrupt air travel in Sicily.
Iran says the Strait of Hormuz remains under its control, rejecting U.S. President Donald Trump’s claim of “total control” over the strategic waterway and insisting it will not reopen until Washington fulfils its commitments under an interim deal.
The U.S. will impose unprecedented measures on Iran in order to economically isolate the country, U.S. Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent has said.
Iran and the United States remain at loggerheads over efforts to agree a permanent end to the war in the Gulf, according to a senior Iranian source who said there had been no progress in talks to revive the interim deal agreed in June and define a timeframe to implement it.
The United Nations has urged sustained international engagement with Afghanistan five years into Taliban rule, warning that restrictions on women and terrorism concerns risk undermining gains from improved security.
Iran says the U.S. war and military presence in the region have worsened marine pollution around the Strait of Hormuz, calling for environmental protection to form part of future arrangements governing the strategic waterway.
Georgia could gain a direct electricity link to Europe under plans for a new overland energy corridor connecting Azerbaijan, Georgia, Türkiye and Bulgaria, potentially reshaping regional power flows.
Türkiye has unveiled plans for joint military exercises and defence production with Saudi Arabia and Pakistan under a new security pact that includes a collective defence clause.
Uzbekistan will allow eligible businesses to operate for up to three months without a licence or permit under a new regime aimed at cutting barriers to market entry and attracting investment.
You can download the AnewZ application from Play Store and the App Store.
What is your opinion on this topic?
Leave the first comment