New York: In Africas Sahel region, escalating violence and poverty are severely impacting women and girls, as displacement, hunger, and terrorism undermine their rights to safety, education, and a viable future. Risks to women and girls across this vast region are systemic and severe, exacerbated by political instability, environmental collapse, and a declining international presence.

According to EMM, Sima Bahous, Executive Director of UN Women, informed ambassadors in the Security Council that women and girls experience abductions, child marriage, and exclusion from schools and public life. Their movement, visibility, and even clothing are heavily restricted. Schools have been burned or shut down, leaving over one million girls without access to education. Bahous highlighted that abduction is not merely a by-product of terrorism in the Sahel but a tactic, with the number of women and girls abducted in Burkina Faso more than doubling over the past 18 months.

In Mali, female genital mutilation affects 90 percent of women, while child marriage rates in parts of the region are among the highest globally. Maternal mortality, driven by early pregnancy and poverty, remains a significant issue. The distances women and girls travel for water or firewood are increasing, while their safety diminishes. Climate change exacerbates these hardships with extreme heat and drought, increasing both mortality and food insecurity across the region.

International support for the region is waning, with only eight percent of this year's humanitarian appeal met by May. Development assistance has decreased by nearly 20 percent over the past two years, leading to the suspension of women's protection and empowerment programs. Ministries focused on gender equality are being defunded, merged, or closed. Democratic and civic space is also narrowing, with limited female participation in political reforms and charter drafting.

Leonardo Santos Simão, head of the UN Office for West Africa and the Sahel, warned that a deteriorating security environment marked by jihadist attacks and political turbulence is undermining progress and fueling displacement. Shrinking space for media, civil society, and women's organizations threatens significant gains. The region's economy remains vulnerable to external shocks, with rising debt levels constraining governments' capacity to provide essential services.

Despite these challenges, progress is possible. In Chad, women hold 34 percent of parliamentary seats, and women's participation in local peacebuilding in Mali and Niger has increased, helping resolve disputes over scarce resources. Joint UN programming has increased adolescent girls' return to school by 23 percent and doubled women's participation in local governance across conflict-affected communities. A UN-World Bank initiative has reached over three million adolescent girls with healthcare, safe spaces, and life-skills training.

However, these gains remain fragile. "We cannot abandon the Sahel," Bahous emphasized, urging support for the women of the Sahel in recognition of their potential to shape a better future.