Gender inequality remains woven into the social and economic fabric of Mozambique, shaping who has access to opportunities and who is pushed to the margins of the city. About 68 per cent of women live below the poverty line, compared with 60.9 per cent of men. These disparities influence how cities are planned, built and governed, often limiting women’s participation in decisions that shape their communities and restricting their role in inclusive urban development.

In response to this situation, UN-Habitat has been working with women and girls in Mozambique to transform not only urban spaces but also the roles women have access to – shifting them from the sidelines to positions where they contribute as planners, co-designers and leaders of more resilient cities and inclusive communities. 

Bringing women’s perspectives into urban planning

In Pemba, a coastal city marked by conflict and internal displacement, this shift became visible in neighbourhoods where women had previously rarely been invited to participate in shaping public infrastructure and urban planning processes. With support from UN-Habitat, women from both displaced and host communities walked the streets of their neighbourhoods alongside planners, mapping urban safety concerns, identifying barriers to basic services and prioritizing the improvements that mattered most for them and their families.

These activities were supported through the HerCity methodology, which focuses on gender-responsive urban planning and ensures that women’s participation in city planning becomes meaningful and impactful. Through this approach, 182 community members – many of them women and girls – joined neighbourhood walks to analyse urban safety, mobility and access to basic services.

Empowering women and girls to shape their city

For many participants, the process was a powerful experience of women’s empowerment and community participation. As women and girls worked alongside planners and community members, they not only identified infrastructure priorities but also strengthened their confidence and leadership within their communities.

Their insights fed directly into local urban action plans while strengthening women’s leadership and building cohesion between displaced and host communities. These processes did more than identify infrastructure needs; they created space for women and girls to reshape their city with greater authority and agency.

As one participant, Mwahe, explained: “This project taught us to live together without discrimination. Our resilience became stronger than anything else.”

Embedding gender equality in planning

Recognizing the importance of sustaining these gains, stakeholders across Mozambique contributed to the development of a Gender-Inclusive Urban Transformation Planning Guide. The guide has since been promoted among 175 planners, municipal authorities and civil society actors. By equipping institutions across Mozambique with tools to integrate gender equality into everyday planning decisions and responses to displacement, the guide helps ensure that women’s voices are not limited to a single project cycle but become a permanent part of shaping their cities. 

Strengthening women’s economic resilience

Economic empowerment has also become a key pillar of this transformation. In the province of Cabo Delgado, women participated equally in developing resilient and gender-responsive housing models. They contributed to needs assessments, informed four new sustainable housing designs and gained construction skills that can support sustainable livelihoods. 

In central Mozambique, the Women’s Development Centre provides skill development training in arts and crafts, helping women diversify their income sources and strengthen their economic resilience. 

Women’s perspectives have also informed improvements to health infrastructure. In the same region, 5 upgraded maternal health facilities near Gorongosa National Park now support approximately 1,700 safe deliveries each year, thanks to improved maternity wards, maternal waiting homes and postpartum care spaces shaped by women’s perspectives.

Women leading the future of cities

Together, these initiatives illustrate three interconnected transformations: bringing women’s perspectives into urban planning, empowering women and girls to actively shape decisions about their communities, while expanding opportunities for economic resilience.

These transformations demonstrate what becomes possible when women’s leadership is not an afterthought but a foundation of inclusive urban development. They show that gender equality is not only a principle but also a practical pathway to stronger and more inclusive cities – cities where women shape decisions, influence investments, and help build futures grounded in urban safety, dignity, and opportunity.

 Cover photo: © UN-Habitat