Kamla navigates the ruthless suburbs of Delhi carrying a safety pin concealed in her hand. This is the only way the 15-year-old can survive the journey to her computer coaching centre using public transport buses. She is routinely harassed by men and boys on the bus who try to touch...

In Marcela's community, back home on the outskirts of San Salvador, girls dread going to school once they become adolescents. They are routinely harassed by boys in their classes and many are coerced into abusive sexual relations. The consequences are particularly devastating for those girls who become pregnant and are...

Huyen, 16, from Hanoi and Hakima, 13, from Kampala, have travelled nearly 30,000 kilometres between them to get to the UN Headquarters in New York. They want answers to their questions. They want to know what the world is doing to resolve the problems they face in their...

At 13, the only dream Ganesh has, is to live.

His parents and brother - all died of AIDS. Of the family of four, he is now the only survivor and HIV positive.

Unlike cheery teenagers of his age, Ganesh from Pune, India, is consumed with thoughts of...

As the UN observes the 'International Day of the World's Indigenous Peoples' today, the fight to uphold the rights of some of the most marginalised and discriminated populations on the planet is fast becoming a lost cause.

The 370 million indigenous people spread across 70 countries are rapidly...

At 24, it is already a struggle for Altagracia to carry on living. Each time she looks at herself in the mirror all she can see is deep scars on her face and belly. Inflicting grievous wounds, her machete brandishing former partner was adamant to finish her off. Seeing her...

Five-year-old Aliya thinks it is some kind of a game she must soon master to be a winner. From the time she wakes up till she goes to bed Aliya watches her mother and all girls and women in her neighbourhood consumed in a frantic race. They all make beedis...

Early morning last Saturday, when most of us were fast asleep and the rest still rising from slumber, a young Bangladeshi woman quietly made history. At 9.30 am Nepal time, Nishat Mazumder conquered Everest. The 31-year-old became the first woman from Bangladesh to reach the highest point on the planet.

They have no Twitter army, no righteous war being waged for their rescue. They are visible, they are out there on the streets. From ruthless lanes of Dhaka to dangerous dark alleys of Rio, tens of millions of children the world over are daily fighting hunger, violence and abuse just...

The last few days I have spent scouring the tsunami-devastated coastline of Japan's north-east. From Ishinomaki to Onagawa, Shichigahama to Kesennuma, the landscape has been drastically altered as Japan presses on with the world's costliest disaster recovery till date.

Town after town affected by...

I spend my time looking for ditches these days. Fresh out of hostile environment training for aid workers I know where to dive in to save my life if caught in a sudden exchange of fire.

This is just the start. I can Delta Kilo myself...

Besides Hispaniola itself- the second largest island in the Caribbean, Haiti and the Dominican Republic share one more thing in common - their seismic fault lines.

The two nations have a long history of earthquakes in addition to their vulnerability to hurricanes and cyclones.
As Haiti...

Home Secretary Theresa May is a politician. It is understandable that her wish to see the Human Rights Act scrapped serves a large audience within her political party as well a significant constituency outside, among the general public.

Although brazen as it may appear in its language and intent,...

The UN General Assembly sessions, like listings at bookmakers' parlour, have favourites, and on occasions, even clear winners. As a scribe, for instance, you have a fair idea that Israel-Palestine issue will incite passions and dominate the agenda. From leaders with well-rehearsed speeches to news channels on a...

In many fortunate societies the state plays the role of both protector and provider. Even in the most corrupt and calamitous nations, people have the state to turn to as the last resort. The state, howsoever feeble and fragmented, instils a sense of commonality for its people, in suffering and...

They are out there, always, often the first people to reach. You have seen them feed malnourished children and starving people in the Horn of Africa. You have relied on their eyewitness accounts delivered on webcams as haggard, dazed faces revealed the real scale of Japan's tsunami and...

As the UN observes the International Day of the World's Indigenous People at its headquarters in New York today, a reclusive community of indigenous people in Philippines prepares for another restless night of fear and uncertainty.

Far away in the dense, dark forests of Occidental Mindoro,...

It is nearly five years since Sandhya got married to Dablu. It was a grand ceremony by all accounts involving music, singing and a feast where guests had sumptuous amounts of food to relish.

Dablu, however, is still counting the cost as he went penniless after the big party....