While progress has been made in advancing the rights of women and girls, urgent action is needed to address emerging challenges such as technological advancements, climate change, new forms of violence, and health inequities.
This Women’s Month, Child Rights Coalition Asia (CRC Asia), a regional child rights organization, joins the whole of society in calling for all women and girls to fully enjoy their rights and achieve genuine equality and empowerment.
“This call to action is essential as digital gaps widen, climate crises intensify, and violence continues to take new forms. We must act collectively to ensure a future where every girl and woman is protected, included, and empowered,” said Amihan Abueva, Regional Executive Director of CRC Asia
Bridging the Digital Gender Gap
Technology is a powerful tool for progress, yet millions of girls remain excluded from digital access. According to a UNICEF study, Internet use among boys were double those of girls in Nepal, and quadruple those of girls in Pakistan. Weekly access to information media was also substantially lower among adolescent girls in Nepal, India, Afghanistan, and Timor-Leste.
“In the Asia-Pacific region, many girls face barriers such as limited internet connectivity, lack of digital literacy, and online harassment and exploitation, which prevent them from fully engaging in education and economic opportunities,” said.
Bridging the digital gender gap is therefore crucial to ensuring all children can safely access opportunities, education, and platforms to exercise their rights in the digital environment.
Ending Violence Against Women and Children
“In many parts of Asia-Pacific, harmful practices such as child marriage, trafficking, and domestic abuse remain widespread,” added Abueva. UNICEF estimates 736 million women—almost one in three—have been subjected to physical and/or sexual intimate partner violence, non-partner sexual violence, or both at least once in their life. This figure does not include sexual harassment.
“Too many girls live in fear every day. We should feel safe in our own homes and schools, but for many, that is not the reality,” shares Mei, a child advocate from the Philippines.
“Violence against women and girls in all its forms—physical, sexual, psychological, and online—must end. Strengthening legal protections, ensuring survivor-centered responses, and addressing harmful gender norms are critical steps toward a future free from violence,” said Abueva.
Addressing Climate Change Impact on Women and Girls
Women and children are also among the most vulnerable to climate-induced disasters. The United Nations estimates that 80% of individuals displaced by climate change globally are women. In Asia-Pacific, women in coastal and rural communities face heightened risks due to rising sea levels, extreme weather, and food insecurity.
“I’m not going to die because of homework or a science project. My survival—our survival—lies in the condition of our environment,” says Ridhima, a young climate activist from India.
“Climate justice must prioritize protection, mitigation, and adaptation efforts that leave no one behind – especially children,” said Abueva.
It Takes a Village
“We, child rights advocates, can’t just fight on our own. We need to work together towards strengthening regional efforts, such as the ASEAN frameworks, to mainstream women’s and girl’s rights into concrete policies and collaborative action plans,” said Abueva.
CRC Asia has been working hard to constructively engage governments such as the ASEAN, the United Nations, and other stakeholders by voicing children’s concerns, recommendations, and opinions on matters concerning their rights in the digital environment, to protection from all forms of violence against children, and to a clean, safe, and healthy environment.
Abueva said, “We urge governments, civil society, private sector partners, and communities to work together in tackling these urgent challenges. Women and girls must not only be seen as beneficiaries but as active participants and leaders in shaping solutions. It is time to accelerate action for gender equality and the full realization of women’s and girls’ rights. Our collective future depends on it.”
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Child Rights Coalition Asia (CRC Asia) is a network of child rights organizations working for and with children in the Asia-Pacific region. CRC Asia works hard by focusing on protection from violence against children, advocating for children’s right to a clean, healthy, and sustainable environment, children’s right to health, children’s rights in the digital environment, children’s civil and political rights, and children’s access to quality education.