A general view of participants at the 16th session of the Human Rights Council in Geneva, Switzerland.
Analyses Spéciales
L´AWID est une organisation féministe mondiale qui consacre ses efforts à la justice de genre, au développement durable et aux droits humains des femmes
Le Conseil des droits de l'homme (CDH) est un organe intergouvernemental clé du système des Nations Unies, responsable de la promotion et la protection des droits humains autour du globe. Il se réunit trois fois par an en session ordinaire, en Mars, Juin et Septembre. Le Bureau du Haut-Commissariat des Nations Unies aux Droits de l’Homme (HCDH) constitue le secrétariat pour le CDH.
Le CDH :
Débat et adopte des résolutions sur les questions globales des droits humains ainsi que sur la situation des droits humains dans des pays particuliers
Examine les plaintes des victimes de violations des droits humains et des organisations activistes, au nom des victimes de violations des droits humains
Nomme des experts indépendants (que l'on connaît sous le nom de « Procédures Spéciales ») pour réviser les cas de violation des droits humains dans des pays spécifiques, ainsi que pour examiner et suivre des questions globales relatives aux droits humains
Prend part à des discussions avec les experts et les gouvernements sur les questions de droits humains
Évalue les bilans des États membres de l'ONU en matière de droits humains tous les quatre ans et demi, dans le cadre de l'examen périodique universel.
La prochaine session du CDH a lieu à Genève, en Suisse, du 30 juin au 17 juillet 2020.
AWID travaille avec des partenaires féministes, progressistes et du domaine des droits humains pour partager nos connaissances clé, convoquer dialogues et évènements avec la société civile, et influencer les négociations et les résultats de la session.
Avec nos partenaires, notre travail consiste à :
◾️ Suivre, surveiller et analyser les acteurs, discours et stratégies anti-droits et leur impact sur les résolutions du CDH.
◾️ Co-développer un plaidoyer collectif pour contrer les acteurs anti-droits et discuter plus en détails les résultats du Rapport de tendances 2017 du OURs
◾️ Soutenir, coordoner et développer de manière collaborative le Caucus féministe qui émerge au CDH.
Sue was an artist, activist and teacher born in 1936 in Maryland, USA.
Sue created art for women, about women. As a lesbian feminist, and for a time, a separatist, she was committed to creating women-only spaces. In 1976 she purchased land that is still held by women who visit to make art. Sue took a fierce stand on the protection of women and girls.
With her groundbreaking futuristic, classical and anthropological approach, she filled any room she entered with intellect, authentic eccentricity, unforgiving wit, and humor. Her ideas about consciousness and creativity continue to inspire many people.
« La sexualité est fluide, et là mon vagin aussi. »
#FeministFestival #SextLikeAFeminist
Snippet - Intro WD2026_FR
Co-créer un espace politique pour les mouvements féministes
Du 27 au 30 avril 2026, l’AWID participera à la Conférence Women Deliver 2026, en co‑créant un espace politique avec les mouvements féministes et de justice de genre, ancré dans le care et la solidarité transnationaux.
À une époque où le fascisme et la militarisation continuent de progresser à l’échelle mondiale, la connexion féministe et la solidarité au‑delà des frontières sont plus que jamais essentielles. Nous organisons plusieurs espaces, à Women Deliver et en ligne, pour connecter les mouvements entre eux à travers des espaces de dialogue, afin de construire des agendas féministes de solidarité et d’action.
Ottilie fue una activista feminista, educadora y política de Namibia.
Fue una de las fundadoras de la Organización Popular del Sudoeste Africano (SWAPO), del Club Yu Chi Chan (un grupo armado revolucionario) y del Frente Nacional de Liberación del Sudoeste Africano (SWANLIF). También fue una de las fundadoras de la Asociación de Mujeres de Namibia y del Proyecto Niñas. A lo largo de su vida, Ottilie defendió el derecho a discutir, a pensar, a disputar y a exigir. Movilizó a las mujeres, organizó a estudiantes y docentes y criticó a otrxs camaradas por su elitismo y su corrupción.
Ottilie trabajó intensamente para desmantelar el patriarcado y para crear una democracia participativa concreta, feminista, transformadora y liberadora.
Es una gran satisfacción para AWID compartir contigo nuestro Informe Anual 2014.
En el año que pasó, nuestro trabajo abarcó desde la construcción de conocimientos en temáticas de derechos humanos de las mujeres hasta la amplificación de las respuestas a la violencia contra las defensoras de derechos humanos, y continuamos fortaleciendo a los movimientos feministas y por los derechos de las mujeres en todo el mundo.
Lee el informe para conocer mejor cómo desarrollamos las capacidades de nuestra membresía y de nuestras bases de apoyo en general, cómo presionamos con fuerza para que los derechos de las mujeres estuvieran en la agenda de los procesos internacionales más importantes de desarrollo y derechos humanos, y cómo ayudamos a incrementar la cobertura de las temáticas y los procesos organizativos por los derechos de las mujeres en distintos medios. En el informe encontrarás una muestra panorámica de nuestros proyectos y algunas cifras concretas que demuestran nuestro impacto.
La colaboración ocupa un lugar central en todo lo que hacemos y esperamos con entusiasmo continuar trabajando juntas el año próximo para llevar a nuestros movimientos al nivel que sigue.
Un adelanto del informe
A pesar de un panorama cada vez más problemático, existen importantes señales de esperanza para avanzar en las agendas de los derechos de las mujeres. Las activistas por los derechos de las mujeres continúan siendo vitales para abrir espacios que les permitan reclamar un cambio estructural, sostener a sus comunidades, oponerse a la violencia y mantener las conquistas fundamentales. Existen también oportunidades muy importantes para influir sobre nuevas/os actoras/es y movilizar mayores recursos para apoyar a las organizaciones por los derechos de las mujeres.
Es en este contexto que la acción colectiva firme y los procesos de organización entre activistas por los derechos de las mujeres siguen siendo decisivos.
Nuestro impacto
Construimos conocimientos sobre temas relacionados con los derechos de las mujeres
Fortalecimos nuestra comunidad en línea
Ayudamos a mejorar las respuestas a la violencia ejercida contra las defensoras de derechos humanos
Fortalecimos la construcción de movimientos a través de procesos de trabajo en colaboración
Trabajamos arduamente para mantener a los derechos humanos de las mujeres en la agenda de los principales procesos internacionales para el desarrollo
Ayudamos a las organizaciones por los derechos de las mujeres a incidir mejor sobre los donantes y, en la propia comunidad de donantes, hicimos que las organizaciones por los derechos de las mujeres se tornaran más visibles y mejor conocidas
Contribuimos a aumentar y mejorar la cobertura de los temas relacionados con los derechos de las mujeres y sus procesos organizativos en los medios tradicionales
Estoy sinceramente entusiasmada con los logros conseguidos por AWID desde 1982 y espero poder hacer aunque sea una modesta contribución a su ardua tarea en favor de las mujeres y de la igualdad de género.” — Aleksandra Miletic-Santic, Bosnia y Herzegovina
Host: We tend to think about communicating desire as something that is limited to the private intimacy of the bedroom and our personal relationships. But can we also think of this kind of communication as a structure, a praxis that informs our work, and how we are, how we do in the world?
Lindiwe
I believe that unfortunately in the past, expressing your sexuality has been limited. You were allowed to express it within the confines of your marriage, which was permitted, there have always been taboo and stigmas attached to expressing it any other way. When it comes to communicating, obviously the fact that certain stigmas are attached to expressing your sexuality or expressing your desire makes it a lot harder to communicate that in the bedroom or intimately with your partner. From my personal experience, I do believe that obviously if I feel more comfortable expressing myself outside of the bedroom on other matters or other topics, it’s easier for me to build that trust, because you understand conflict resolution with that particular person, you understand exactly how to make your communication special towards that particular person. It’s not easy. It’s something that is consistently done throughout whatever your engagement is, whether it’s your relationship or whether it’s casual and just in the moment. But I believe that confidence outside can definitely translate to how you communicate your desire.
Manal
Since childhood, a woman is raised with that, “you’re not allowed to talk about your body, you’re not allowed to talk about your desire,” which puts a heavy responsibility on women, especially girls in their teens when they need to express themselves and talk about these issues. So for me I think this is a big problem. You know, I have been married for more than 25 years, but still, until now, I cannot talk about my desires. I cannot say what I want or what I prefer, because it’s like I’m not allowed to go beyond this line. It’s like haram, despite it being my right. This is the case for all my friends, they just can’t express themselves in the right way.
Louise
Personally, I find that expressing our desires, my desires, however that expression comes in hand, has to do with the other, and the gaze that the other would have on me. So this is also something that we can link to cinema. And the gaze I would have on myself as well: what I think I am as an individual, but also what society expects of me and my sexuality. In the past, I somehow did the analogy between what happens in the bedroom and what happens in the workplace, because there is sometimes this dynamic of power, whether I want it or not. And oftentimes, verbal communication is harder than we think. But when it comes to representation in film, that’s a totally different game. We are very far away from what I guess all of us here would like to see on screen when it comes to just communicating sexual desires inside or outside the bedroom.
Online and Embodied
Host: We can think about the digital world as embodied: while it might be virtual, it is not less real. And this was made clear in the context of AWID’s feminist realities festival, which took place entirely online. What does it mean then to talk about sexuality, collectively, politically, in online spaces? Do we navigate virtual spaces with our bodies and affects, and in this case, what are the different considerations? What does it do to communication and representation?
Lindiwe
Social media makes you feel community-based. When you express what it is that you want or like, there is someone who’s either going to agree or disagree, but those who do agree make you feel that you belong to a community. So it’s easier to throw it out into the universe, or for others to see, and potentially not get as much judgment. And I say this very loosely because sometimes, depending on what it is that you’re expressing, it either will get you vilified or celebrated. But when it comes to the bedroom, there is an intimacy and almost a vulnerability that is exposing you and different parts of you that is not as easy to give your opinion on. When it comes to expressing your desire, speaking it and saying it and maybe putting a Tweet or a social media post, or even liking and reading other communities that are same-minded is a lot easier than telling your partner, “this is how I want to be pleasured” or “this is how what I want you to do next,” because of the fear of rejection. But not only that, just the vulnerability aspect – allowing yourself to be bare enough to let the other person see into what you are thinking, feeling, and wanting – I think this is where the difference would come in for me personally. I feel it is a lot more community-based on social media, and it’s easier to engage in discourse. Whereas in the bedroom, you don’t want to necessarily kill the moment. But I think that also kind of helps you understand going forward, depending on the relationship with the person, how you would engage thereafter. So I always know that if I try to communicate something and I fail to do so in the moment, I can always try to bring it up outside of that moment and see what the reaction would be so I know how to approach it going forward.
Louise
You know the question in films is, I don’t know if the male gaze is done intentionally or not. Like we don’t really know that. What we know is that the reason why sexuality in general has been so heternormative and focused on penetration and not giving any space for women to actually ask for anything in films, is because most of the people who have been working in this industry and making decisions in terms of, you know, storytelling and editing have been white men. So rape revenge is this very weird film genre that was birthed in the 70s, and half of the story would be that a woman is being raped by one or multiple people, and in the other half, she would get her revenge. So usually she would murder and kill the people who have raped her, and sometimes other people next to them. At the beginning of the birth of this genre and for 30 years at least, those films were written, produced, and directed by men. This is why we also want so much representation. A lot of feminists and pioneers in queer filmmaking also used the act of filming in order to do that and to reclaim their own sexuality. I’m thinking about Barbara Hammer, who’s a feminist and queer pioneer in experimental cinema in the U.S. where she decided to shoot women having sex on 16mm, and by doing so reclaimed a space within the narrative that was exposed in film at that time. And there is also then the question of invisibilization: we know now, because of the internet and sharing knowledge, that women and queer filmmakers have been trying and making films since the beginning of cinema. We only realize it now that we have access to databases and the work of activists and curators and filmmakers.
Resisting Colonization
Host: And this opens up the conversation on the importance of keeping our feminist histories alive. The online worlds have also played a crucial role in documenting protests and resistance. From Sudan to Palestine to Colombia, feminists have taken our screens by storm, challenging the realities of occupation, capitalism, and oppression. So could we speak of communicating desire – the desire for something else – as decolonization?
Manal
Maybe because my village is just 600 residents and the whole village is one family – Tamimi – there are no barriers between men and women. We do everything together. So when we began our non-violent resistance or when we joined the non-violent resistance in Palestine, there was no discussion whether women should participate or not. We took a very important role within the movement here in the village. But when other villages and other places began to join our weekly protests, some men thought that if these women participate or join the protests, they will fight with soldiers so it will be like they’re easy women. There were some men who were not from the village who tried to sexually harass the women. But a strong woman who is able to stand in front of a soldier can also stand against sexual harassment. Sometimes, when other women from other places join our protest, they are shy at first; they don’t want to come closer because there are many men. If you want to join the protest, if you want to be part of the non-violent movement, you have to remove all these restrictions and all these thoughts from your mind. You have to focus on just fighting for your rights. Unfortunately, the Israeli occupation realizes this issue. For example, the first time I was arrested, I wear the hijab so they tried to take it off; they tried to take off my clothes, in front of everybody. There were like 300-400 people and they tried to do it. When they took me to the interrogation, the interrogator said: “we did this because we want to punish other women through you. We know your culture.” So I told him: “I don’t care, I did something that I believe in. Even if you take all my clothes off, everybody knows that Manal is resisting.”
Lindiwe
I think even from a cultural perspective, which is very ironic, if you look at culture in Africa, prior to getting colonized, showing skin wasn’t a problem. Wearing animal skin and/or hides to protect you, that wasn’t an issue and people weren’t as sexualized unless it was within context. But we conditioned ourselves to say, “you should be covered up” and the moment you are not covered up you are exposed, and therefore it will be sexualized. Nudity gets sexualized as opposed to you just being naked; they don’t want a little girl to be seen naked. What kind of society have we conditioned ourselves to be if you’re going to be sexualizing someone who is naked outside of the context of a sexual engagement? But environment definitely plays a big role because your parents and your grannies and your aunts say “no, don’t dress inappropriately,” or “no, that’s too short.” So you hear that at home first, and then the moment you get exposed outside, depending on the environment, whether it’s a Eurocentric or more westernized environment to what you are used to, then you are kind of free to do so. And even then, as much as you are free, there’s still a lot that comes with it in terms of catcalling and people still sexualizing your body. You could be wearing a short skirt, and someone feels they have the right to touch you without your permission. There is so much that is associated with regulating and controlling women’s bodies, and that narrative starts at home. And then you go out into your community and society and the narrative gets perpetuated, and you realize that you get sexualized by society at large too, especially as a person of color.
Resistance as Pleasure
Host: And finally, in what ways can our resistance be more than what we are allowed? Is there a place for pleasure and joy, for us and our communities?
Louise
Finding pleasure as resistance and resistance in pleasure, first for me there is this idea of the guerrilla filmmaking or the action of filming when you’re not supposed to or when someone told you not to, which is the case for a lot of women and queer filmmakers in the world right now. For example, in Lebanon, which is a cinema scene that I know very well, most of the lesbian stories that I’ve seen were shot by students in very short formats with “no production value” as the west would say – meaning with no money, because of the censorship that happens on an institutional level, but also within the family and within the private sphere. I would think that filming whatever, but also filming pleasure and pleasure within lesbian storytelling is an act of resistance in itself. A lot of times, just taking a camera and getting someone to edit and someone to act is extremely hard and requires a lot of political stance.
Lindiwe
I have a rape support group. I’m trying to assist women to reintegrate themselves from a sexual perspective: wanting to be intimate again, wanting to not let their past traumas influence so much how they move forward. It’s not an easy thing, but it’s individual. So I always start with understanding your body. I feel the more you understand and love and are proud of it, the more you are able to allow someone else into that space. I call it sensuality training, where I get them to start seeing themselves as not sexual objects, but as objects of pleasure and desire that can be interchangeable. So you’re worthy of receiving as well as giving. But that’s not only from a psychological point of view; it is physical. When you get out of the shower, you get out of the bath, and you’re putting lotion on your body, look at every part of your body, feel every part of your body, know when there are changes, know your body so well that should you get a new pimple on your knee, you are so aware of it because just a few hours ago it wasn’t there. So things like that where I kind of get people to love themselves from within, so they feel they are worthy of being loved in a safe space, is how I gear them towards claiming their sexuality and their desire.
Manal
You know we began to see women coming from Nablus, from Jerusalem, from Ramallah, even from occupied 48, who have to drive for 3-4 hours just to come to join the protests. After that we tried to go to other places, talk with women, tell them that they don’t have to be shy, that they should just believe in themselves and that there is nothing wrong in what we are doing. You can protect yourself, so where is the wrong in participating or in joining? Once I asked some women, “why are you joining?” And they said, “if the Tamimi women can do it, we can do it also.” To be honest I was very happy to hear this because we were like a model for other women. If I have to stand for my rights, it should be all my rights, not just one or two. We can’t divide rights.
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Réception de l’AWID : Une soirée de communauté féministe
📅 Mardi 28 avril
🕒 6 18 h 30 – 21 h 30 🏢 Venue: River’s Edge, 18-31 Siddeley St (à 5 minutes à pied du Melbourne Convention and Exhibition Centre, de l’autre côté de la rivière)
Experte en développement social et anthropologue de formation, Mary était surtout connue pour être une pionnière de la lutte contre les mutilations génitales féminines (MGF).
Née au Caire en 1922, les travaux de Mary en matière de développement ont commencé tôt, dès son adhésion à la YWCA (Association chrétienne des jeunes femmes). Mary était membre du Conseil œcuménique des Églises et s'est progressivement intéressée aux questions relatives à la santé des femmes. Sa longue lutte contre les MGF a porté ses fruits en 2008, lorsque l'Egypte a finalement criminalisé cette pratique.
On se souvient d'elle comme d'une mentor pour de nombreuses féministes et militant-e-s égyptien-ne-s
L’AWID a commencé à préparer ce rapport annuel au moment même où la pandémie mondiale commençait à bouleverser nos modes de rassemblement, d’organisation et de vie. Nous ne pouvons donc passer en revue notre travail sans prendre en compte l’influence de la COVID-19 dans notre évaluation.
La cocréation de réalités féministes n’est plus seulement le thème du Forum l’AWID – elle est un cri de ralliement suite à une pandémie démontrant les failles des systèmes économiques, politiques et sociaux.
Elle est une affirmation urgente de l’existence d’autres façons, plus justes, d’organiser nos vies. En 2019, des centaines de groupes ont partagé avec nous leurs expériences et leurs propositions : des réseaux radicaux de soutien communautaire en Amérique latine, qui facilitent l’avortement autogéré, aux pratiques économiques centrées sur les communautés en Indonésie et aux systèmes alimentaires communautaires en Inde et aux États-Unis, en passant par une réinvention et une nouvelle pratique de rites de passage sans danger en Sierra Leone. Ce sont ces expériences qui traceront la voie d’une « nouvelle norme ».
Pour autant, les historiques d'oppression et de violence peuvent rendre l'imagination des possibles compliquée. Un élément clé de notre travail en 2019 a été d’initier ces pistes via la boîte à outils visant à soutenir les groupes qui cherchent à dénicher des histoires et des aspirations, piliers de propositions féministes.
Tandis que nous focalisons sur nos propositions pour un autre monde, nous reconnaissons le contexte difficile qui nous entoure.
Au sein de l'Observatoire de l'universalité des droits (OURs), de Feminists for a Bing Treaty (Féministes pour un traité contraignant), de Count Me In ! (Comptez sur moi!) et d’autres alliances, l’AWID n’a pas cessé de contrer le pouvoir débridé des entreprises et les agendas fascistes et fondamentalistes qui mettent à mal les droits des femmes et la justice de genre. Dans un contexte de perspectives sombres pour un changement transformateur par les processus multilatéraux et de capacités limitées à réagir pour la plupart des États, nous redoublons d'efforts pour nous assurer que les mouvements féministes, dans toute leur diversité, soient dotés de ressources adaptées aux rôles majeurs qu'ils jouent – en soutenant leurs communautés, en réclamant des droits et en répondant aux crises. En 2019, nous avons introduit des principes et des approches féministes aux fonds révolutionnaires tels que l'Initiative Spotlight et le Fonds Égalité. Nous avons de plus réussi à mobiliser des ressources via des aides à l’amorçage de réalités féministes, financées par des bailleurs féministes.
À l’heure où nous nous penchons vers l'avenir, le contexte appelle clairement à une transformation de nos stratégies d'organisation :
nous apprenons à naviguer dans un plaidoyer mondial se limitant aux canaux en ligne,
nous composons avec l'incertitude du moment et des modalités de réunions en face à face, et
nous utilisons les outils à notre disposition pour accentuer les connexions entre les sphères locales et mondiales.
L’AWID se lance dans un nouveau modèle d'adhésion qui permet un meilleur accès et met l'accent sur les opportunités d'engagement et de connexion entre membres. Nous continuerons d'expérimenter différents outils et processus en ligne pour renforcer notre communauté. Et l'engagement inter-mouvements restera au cœur de notre travail. Nos actions solidaires envers les mouvements et les identités opprimées, même et surtout lorsqu’ils sont marginalisés, sont importantes pour conduire le changement et soutenir des mouvements, inclusifs pour tou·te·s.
La crise n'est pas nouvelle pour les mouvements féministes et sociaux.
Nous sommes résilient·e·s, nous nous adaptons et nous sommes présent·e·s les un·e·s pour les autres. Nous devrons continuer à faire encore mieux. Merci à toutes les personnes qui nous accompagnent dans cette aventure.
Cette édition du journal, en partenariat avec Kohl : a Journal for Body and Gender Research (Kohl : une revue pour la recherche sur le corps et le genre) explorera les solutions, propositions et réalités féministes afin de transformer notre monde actuel, nos corps et nos sexualités.
From Nadi to Narrm is a two-day feminist organizing space connecting Pacific grassroots movements in Fiji to Women Deliver 2026. It brings together women, LBTQI+ people and communications in all our diversity to share lived realities and build power. Grounded in DIVA for Equality’s human rights and feminist approach, the 2-day sessions will focus on direct voices and advocacy on social, economic, ecological, gender and climate justice intersectional impacts on women and marginalized communities in Fiji.
Peni was a radical feminist philosopher, poet, writer, playwright and songwriter.
As the first coordinator for the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement, she left a legacy that was infused with her deep concern for women’s human rights, justice and peace. Peni’s commitment to social, economic and ecological justice and her outstanding work gained local and international respect. She was one of the first in mainstream feminist movements in Fiji to work with, and beside LGBTQI people as a real accomplice, and provided practical assistance to the early Fiji sex worker movement.
Her colleagues described her as a formidable individual and visionary leader for change. She inspired many by her creativity and courage. Her work provided platforms for people to be heard, attain new skills and forge new pathways both at the personal and community level.
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