From shared struggles to shared solutions: Women unite on housing at World Urban Forum

Anacláudia Rossbach, Executive Director (UN-Habitat),Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Anar Guliyev, Chairman of the State Committee on Urban Planning and Architecture of Azerbaijan, María Victoria Romero Caballero, Ambassador of Mexico to Azerbaijan. [Agutu Rosa, Standard]

Women from different parts of the world, carrying different stories, met in one room during the recent  World Urban Forum 13 in Baku, Azerbaijan.

But as they sat together and listened to each other with empathy, balancing tears, and nodding in recognition, one thing was certain: they might have come from different continents, different accents and different languages, but their predicaments were the same.

From informal settlements challenges in Kenya to Brazil's favelas (informal settlements) and indigenous communities in Canada, all these women spoke of the same fears, overcrowded homes, housing insecurities, unpaid care, sexual and gender based violence, struggle for dignity, and just to be seen.

Ann Wanjiru from Kenya painted a clear picture of life in informal settlements. "Housing, care and basic services are crucial. One toilet used by 30 people, a house that is 10 by 10 houses the whole family," she said.

Wanjiru added that for women, lack of housing, sanitation and care services creates additional burden and risks, echoing a conversation taking place in the United Nations system about how cities can become spaces of care and inclusion.

Pennie Carrighan from North West Coast British Columbia, Canada, was elated that this was the first time they had a caucus at the World Urban Forum.

"We have the UN declaration of indigenous rights and would really like to see it apply to housing and land rights. The federal government of Canada acknowledged that the land belongs to us, and this is the first time we have been recognised."

Another representative and researcher from Kenya, Muthio, highlighted that cities are built on women's invisible labour, and when systems do not work, women act as the shock absorbers. "We need to reduce the unpaid burden of women in cities, looking for ways to improve women's unpaid labour."

A Brazilian representative who is also an activist for women's rights talked about the challenges faced by women living in slums. "In Brazil, the number of women being killed is high; we are working with men in ending gender based violence. The president of Brazil is also campaigning for women's rights."

Kathryn Travers, a policy specialist in ending violence against women at UN Women, added that matters of housing do not exist in isolation. 

"There's a need to connect with other agendas, including safety and quality public spaces. We are not starting from scratch; we can amplify because there are decades of work we can build on and amplify."

The main guest at the round table discussion, the Deputy Secretary-General of the United Nations, Amina J Mohammed, added that there are many unresolved issues in the urban agenda and at the same time, people should not forget the rural agenda.

"Too often, when we discuss poverty and inequality, we think too poorly of poor people. We say, this is good enough for them. It is a step up from what they had yesterday."

But why should they not have what we have? Why should their sanitation be any different? Why should children fear falling into unsafe toilets when our own children would never face such conditions?"

Amina talked about involving communities in decision-making solutions. "As architects and engineers, one of the most important things we can do is walk through our designs and ask whether they actually fit the lives of those who will use them."

For example, do they have a dining room? Do their traditions involve sitting in a circle rather than around a rectangular table?

Amina added that development should not force people to abandon their culture or traditions in order to fit someone else's idea of progress, but return to the concepts of agency, rights, and respect.

"This agenda matters deeply because more and more people will move into urban settlements. What will those settlements be like? Will they preserve our faiths, traditions, and cultures, or will people be forced to conform to designs created elsewhere? I worry because I do not think we are pushing hard enough."

While using an Abuja example, Amina added that they built houses for indigenous communities in Abuja, Nigeria, and they built without consulting them. e

"When the houses were completed, the community moved farther away instead of moving in. Eventually, the only people willing to occupy those homes were police officers. Even today, when I drive past those houses, I am reminded that we failed to involve the people who were meant to live there. We had good intentions, but we did not think the process through," she added

While addressing gender based violence, Amina said that when it comes to gender based violence, women should not be the ones leaving their households.

"When we talk about gender based violence, I don't want a safe house. I want the perpetrator that violence out of my home and my children, and that society knows that men don't like that.

They don't like to be taken out of their houses. It's a shame, men need to be held accountable."

Amina added that homes and communities should be built for families in all their forms. Housing should be developed in ways that reflect how people actually live, not according to someone else's assumptions. 

While addressing matters of mental health, Amina said building urban settlements should include places where people can gather, connect, and support one another. "Community gardens and shared spaces can strengthen mental well-being and reduce isolation."

On whether the next Secretary General of the United Nations should be a woman, she says: "We will by the grace of God have a woman Secretary General, I don't know who she is, but I do think we need to get behind it, civil society is too quite we are not hearing it everywhere you go talk about. It's not formal practice that we go region by region; it's Latin America and the Caribbean now. If they can produce a woman, then we should have an SG,"

Anaclaudia Rossbach, the Executive Director of UN-Habitat, emphasised that cities remain at the centre of efforts to improve housing, reduce inequality, and strengthen resilience against climate change.

Special attention was given to ensuring that women, children, youth, persons with disabilities, migrants, and vulnerable populations are included in future urban development plans.

Anaclaudia highlighted the importance of partnerships, local action, and integrating housing into global climate and development agendas, urging governments and stakeholders to place housing at the centre of human dignity and sustainability as momentum builds toward the next World Urban Forum in Mexico City in 2028.

"The solutions exist. The knowledge exists. The commitments exist. The challenge now is implementation and placing housing at the centre of human dignity and sustainability."

Speaking about affordable housing at the World Urban Forum in Baku, Azerbaijan, Kenyan President William Ruto said that the government launched an ambitious affordable housing program aimed at changing the future of its cities. The strategy focused on three major obstacles: land, construction costs, and financing.

Ruto also questioned how a Africa a continent of 1.5 billion people remains without permanent representation on the United Nations Security Council. Yet, despite this lack of representation, African issues account for nearly 60% of the Council’s agenda.