The 2025 theme of IWD calls for action to unlock equal rights, power and opportunities for all, particularly by empowering the next generation of young women. What actions do you consider to be key to make this goal a reality, internationally and on more local scales?
True transformation demands structural change, not performative gestures. Women’s rights are not an afterthought; they are the foundation of justice. We cannot claim progress while excusing violence, harassment, and economic exclusion. Equality is meaningless if women are denied land, fair wages, or safety.
We need:
- A rejection of empowerment models that force women to adapt to oppressive structures rather than dismantling them.
- A refreshment of knowledge systems and governance models that recognize gender balance as a foundational principle.
- A transformation of masculinity that sees men not as protectors of women, but as partners in liberation.
- A world where, women are respected in all forms of their femininity because they deserve to be
- A world where gender equality is not a conversation, but a lived reality.
The global landscape for gender equality in 2025 faces many complex and intersecting challenges — as an individual, which obstacle do you consider the most urgent to address?
Many men see gender equality as someone else’s fight, failing to recognise their own stake in dismantling patriarchy. They fail to acknowledge that patriarchy conditions men to suppress emotions, conform to rigid roles, and mistake dominance for strength. Breaking free from these constraints isn’t just about being better men, it’s about being freer human beings.
Men must step up. Not as occasional allies who will lend support when it is convenient, but as active participants in justice. And so boys must be raised to respect strong women, not fear them. Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie put it best: "The type of man who will be intimidated by me is exactly the type of man I have no interest in." Strength in women is not a threat. It’s a gift to society.
You were on the panel with high-level speakers from Member States, UN Agencies, civil society organisations — what was it like to partake in the discussion and speak at the UN as a student?
It was an honour to sit alongside high-level figures, but more than that, it was an opportunity to speak truth to power. As a student, unbound by diplomatic constraints, I had the freedom to voice hard truths. Hearing the perspectives of both youth and diplomats from vastly different backgrounds reinforced the urgency of this fight. The discussion wasn’t just policy, it was personal, and that made all the difference.
What do you study at the Institute and what is it like to be a student in Geneva?
I am in the MINT programme, specialising in "Mobilities, Migrations, and Boundaries." Studying in Geneva, at the crossroads of multilateralism, has broadened my perspective on global issues. The intellectual diversity and the city’s unique international character, makes for an enriching and thought-provoking experience.