FRIDAY FILE – Last July, a high court sentenced the Namibian state for the forced sterilization of three HIV-positive women. In Uzbekistan, authorities continue to deny reported cases. AWID looks into forced sterilizations in both countries and what it means for women’s reproductive rights.
AWID's Friday Files
A Women’s Perspective on the Violent and Oppressive Bahraini Regime
31 May 2013
FRIDAY FILE - AWID interviewed pro-democracy activist and lecturer Dr Ala’a Shehabi* about the current violence and persecution against Bahraini citizens and how women are contributing to the fight for democracy and rights.
Illegal Detention of Women Human Rights Defenders in the Midst of the Border Conflict of Sudan
24 May 2013
FRIDAY FILE - Sudanese people inspired by the Arab spring, and led by women and youth, took the streets of Sudan demanding regime change in 2011. Authorities violently cracked down on these demonstrations, detaining more than 150 women, who were sexually abused or tortured, injured and beaten in the protests.
Urgent Actions
India: Arbitrary arrest and judicial harassment of 13 women human rights defenders in Kolkata
17 June 2013
The Observatory has been informed by Banglar Manabadhikar Suraksha Mancha (MASUM) about the arbitrary arrest and judicial harassment of 13 women human rights defenders, all members of Maitree, a Kolkata based women’s network, in West Bengal.
Saudi Arabia: Women human rights defenders sentenced to imprisonment and receive travel bans
07 June 2013
On 15 June 2013, human rights defenders Ms Wajeha Al-Huwaider and Ms Fawzia Al-Oyouni were sentenced to ten months imprisonment to be followed by a two year travel ban by the District Court in Al-Khobar.
Turkey: End violent repression of protests
17 June 2013
What began as a demonstration to save in Istanbul has turned into a violent wave of repression against protestors throughout Turkey.
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Special Focus: UN Women Executive Director
On 15 March 2013, Michelle Bachelet, the first head of UN Women, stepped down as Executive Director of the United Nations entity mandated to promote gender equality, creating a vacancy for this high level position. We hope that by sharing the views of three of the candidates for this key position, we can contribute to making the process more transparent and to ensuring that feminist and women’s rights organizations and movements and other interested parties, are sufficiently informed to send letters of support for their preferred candidate to the UN Secretary General.
Resource and learning Hub: Transforming Economic Power to Advance Women’s Rights and Justice
Visit this new website from AWID to explore key issues and debates from the 2012 Forum and learn more about economic power and the connections with diverse women’s rights issues and agendas.
Women's Rights in the News
Jordan: Coalition Reaffirms Goal to Ensure Women Can Pass on Nationality to Children
17 June 2013
Women's rights activists on Saturday reaffirmed their goal to “remove all gender discrimination from the Constitution” during a conference held by the "My nationality is my family's right” coalition.
Islamic states frown on Islam-opposing paragraphs of UNHCR violence against women resolution
17 June 2013
Islamic member states of the United Nations Council for Human Rights (UNHCR) rejected on Friday paragraphs violating the Islamic law in the council's resolution on the elimination of all forms of violence against women, noting that the member states must make sure that their laws and national policies are consistent with the rejected demands.
Supreme Court Rules Human Genes May Not Be Patented
13 June 2013
Isolated human genes may not be patented, the Supreme Court ruled unanimously on Thursday. The case concerned patents held by Myriad Genetics, a Utah company, on genes that correlate with increased risk of hereditary breast and ovarian cancer.
Member Profiles
Each week we profile a different institutional and individual AWID member. This week we are featuring members: NGO Estrategia and Runzun Dagliya! If you are an AWID member and would like to be profiled, please write to membership@awid.org
Read more Institutional member profiles here
Read more Individual member profiles here
Issues & Analysis
#FBrape campaign and the necessary debate
18 June 2013
The Take action to end gender-based violence on Facebook, or #FBrape campaign, co-signed by the APC Women´s Rights Programme, triggered interesting, timely and necessary debates around freedom of expression, censorship, privacy and intermediary liability. Read the collection of GenderIT.org Feminist Talk posts that reflect some of the discussion around these hot topics.
Putting women on the disaster risk reduction agenda
17 June 2013
Every year, approximately 200 million people around the world are affected by disasters. Of these, 100 million are women or girls, according to the UN’s Office for Disaster Risk Reduction (UNISDR).
Gender equality funds must go to women's groups in poor countries
17 June 2013
A report urging the UK to increase funding to women's rights groups is welcome, but the money must reach the right people.
What's new at AWID?
AWID Launches French and Spanish Versions of the Online Directory of Responses for WHRDs at Risk
In solidarity with Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) everywhere, the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) and the Urgent Responses Working Group of the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition is pleased to launch the Online Directory of Responses for Women Human Rights Defender at risk in French and Spanish.
New global development agenda must have human rights at its core
World leaders must reject an aid-based model of development and instead pursue an approach that puts human rights and justice at its core, 19 non-governmental organizations urged ahead of a High-Level Panel report to the UN on the future of sustainable development.
Getting at the roots: Reintegrating human rights & gender equality in post-2015 development agenda
The following paper was submitted by AWID to the UNICEF/UN Women Global Thematic Consultation on post-2015 agenda "Addressing Inequalities" (October 2012)
Primer 12: The United Nations Development Cooperation Forum Through a Women's Rights Lens
By Julia Miller and Anne Schoenstein
Primer 12 provides an overview of the UN Development Cooperation Forum (DCF). It focuses in on the DCF origins and strategic plans for the future, while emphasizing the importance of the DCF for women's rights and gender equality advocates.