Adolfo Lujan | Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Mass demonstration in Madrid on International Women's Day
Multitudinaria manifestación en Madrid en el día internacional de la mujer

Priority Areas

Supporting feminist, women’s rights and gender justice movements to thrive, to be a driving force in challenging systems of oppression, and to co-create feminist realities.

Advancing Universal Rights and Justice

Uprooting Fascisms and Fundamentalisms

Across the globe, feminist, women’s rights and gender justice defenders are challenging the agendas of fascist and fundamentalist actors. These oppressive forces target women, persons who are non-conforming in their gender identity, expression and/or sexual orientation, and other oppressed communities.


Discriminatory ideologies are undermining and co-opting our human rights systems and standards,  with the aim of making rights the preserve of only certain groups. In the face of this, the Advancing Universal Rights and Justice (AURJ) initiative promotes the universality of rights - the foundational principle that human rights belong to everyone, no matter who they are, without exception.

We create space for feminist, women’s rights and gender justice movements and allies to recognize, strategize and take collective action to counter the influence and impact of anti-rights actors. We also seek to advance women’s rights and feminist frameworks, norms and proposals, and to protect and promote the universality of rights.


Our actions

Through this initiative, we:

  • Build knowledge: We support feminist, women’s rights and gender justice movements by disseminating and popularizing knowledge and key messages about anti-rights actors, their strategies, and impact in the international human rights systems through AWID’s leadership role in the collaborative platform, the Observatory on the Universality of Rights (OURs)*.
  • Advance feminist agendas: We ally ourselves with partners in international human rights spaces including, the Human Rights Council, the Commission on Population and Development, the Commission on the Status of Women and the UN General Assembly.
  • Create and amplify alternatives: We engage with our members to ensure that international commitments, resolutions and norms reflect and are fed back into organizing in other spaces locally, nationally and regionally.
  • Mobilize solidarity action: We take action alongside women human rights defenders (WHRDs) including trans and intersex defenders and young feminists, working to challenge fundamentalisms and fascisms and call attention to situations of risk.  

 

Related Content

It matters to have a seat at the table

It matters to have a seat at the table

The underrepresentation of women in politics is an issue all over the world.


AWID member, Angila Ashitua, a young woman from Vihiga county in Western Kenya plans to contribute to changing the dismal picture of politics by contesting in the country’s next general elections in August 2017 with the aim of representing the electorate at the county assembly level. "There is an urgent need for increased women’s participation in decision-making and political processes”.

“I seek to bring about change, I believe that change does not happen as a result of one person but all of us taking action.” – Angila Ashitua

Why politics

“It matters” Angila says, for women to sit at decision-making tables and to represent “our real communities”, push for an end to gender based violence and child abuse, and to improve “the number of women in not only political leadership and governance but in all other spheres of leadership”. 

Angila seeks to inspire young women and girls to take up dreams that will lead to better futures with diverse representations of people, including women, working to solve problems especially those of social injustice. As a feminist, Angila is “passionate and devoted to defending women’s rights, setting an example, reminding women of their power and voices, causing them to get up, get out and transform the world.” Speaking to young women and girls, she tries to remind them that:

“Yes, it’s not easy, but it gotta be done. If not me, who? If not today, when?” – Angila Ashitua

Being an aspiring woman politician is not an easy task, as women in these positions “are faced with issues like attacks on their character and sexuality, electoral violence and retrogressive cultures that keep them away from politics”. 

Source(s) of strength

Angila was the youngest in the family of five children. She was brought up by her older sister after their mother passed when Angila was barely two years old, which was followed by her father's tragic death when she was 11. Angila had to change schools, after her godfather, who supported her financially tragically died in an accident. Angila joined a Hairdressing and Beauty College after graduation, moved to Juba, South Sudan where she worked for two years. At the end of 2013, Angila moved back to Kenya to team up with “like-minded young women” and started Pangola, an outdoor spa. Unfortunately, the numerous terrorist attacks that Kenya faced during this period negatively affected tourism in the country after numerous countries issued travel advisories against the country to their citizens. As Angila puts it, “This affected our business, as international tourists were our target clients, which pushed us out of business”.

A change of path

In order to turn her life around Angila enrolled in online courses, which she completed successfully. She obtained a diploma in social work, leadership and human rights. Angila then volunteered and actively engaged in political parties and social reporting/blogging where she developed a passion for defending women’s and children’s rights, as well as those of other vulnerable community members. She received a volunteer assignment with Key Correspondence Network but was forced to leave. 

“My life was in danger for advocating for the health rights of members of the LGBTI community, considering that Kenya is extremely homophobic.” – Angila Ashitua

Currently, Angila volunteers in the role of Operations Officer/Social worker at the Genevieve Audrey Foundation, an organisation that seeks to end all forms of child abuse. She has also participated in transformational and political leadership, as well as governance training support from the Akili Dada organization and the She Should Run incubator. Similarly, with the support of the Young African Leaders Initiative (YALI), she completed courses relating to understanding elections and civic responsibility, servant leadership, and women’s and girls’ rights. 

“I am empowered, ready, committed and available to bring about the change I want to see.” – Angila Ashitua


Follow Angila on Twitter (@Angilaoluoch) and Instagram (#AngilaAshitua).

Source
AWID