Guatemala - Rural Women Diversify Incomes and Build Resilience
Left
Half
Left
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.
Building Feminist Economies is about creating a world with clean air to breath and water to drink, with meaningful labour and care for ourselves and our communities, where we can all enjoy our economic, sexual and political autonomy.
In the world we live in today, the economy continues to rely on women’s unpaid and undervalued care work for the profit of others. The pursuit of “growth” only expands extractivism - a model of development based on massive extraction and exploitation of natural resources that keeps destroying people and planet while concentrating wealth in the hands of global elites. Meanwhile, access to healthcare, education, a decent wage and social security is becoming a privilege to few. This economic model sits upon white supremacy, colonialism and patriarchy.
Adopting solely a “women’s economic empowerment approach” is merely to integrate women deeper into this system. It may be a temporary means of survival. We need to plant the seeds to make another world possible while we tear down the walls of the existing one.
We believe in the ability of feminist movements to work for change with broad alliances across social movements. By amplifying feminist proposals and visions, we aim to build new paradigms of just economies.
Our approach must be interconnected and intersectional, because sexual and bodily autonomy will not be possible until each and every one of us enjoys economic rights and independence. We aim to work with those who resist and counter the global rise of the conservative right and religious fundamentalisms as no just economy is possible until we shake the foundations of the current system.
Our Actions
Our work challenges the system from within and exposes its fundamental injustices:
Advance feminist agendas: We counter corporate power and impunity for human rights abuses by working with allies to ensure that we put forward feminist, women’s rights and gender justice perspectives in policy spaces. For example, learn more about our work on the future international legally binding instrument on “transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights” at the United Nations Human Rights Council.
Mobilize solidarity actions: We work to strengthen the links between feminist and tax justice movements, including reclaiming the public resources lost through illicit financial flows (IFFs) to ensure social and gender justice.
Build knowledge: We provide women human rights defenders (WHRDs) with strategic information vital to challenge corporate power and extractivism. We will contribute to build the knowledge about local and global financing and investment mechanisms fuelling extractivism.
Create and amplify alternatives: We engage and mobilize our members and movements in visioning feminist economies and sharing feminist knowledges, practices and agendas for economic justice.
“The corporate revolution will collapse if we refuse to buy what they are selling – their ideas, their version of history, their wars, their weapons, their notion of inevitability. Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing”.
Arundhati Roy, War Talk
Related Content
Love letter to Feminist Movements #7
Dearest Feminist community,
I am pleased to share with you one of my remarkable dates as feminist with disability. It was May 30, 2014 when we (the Nationwide Organization of Visually-Impaired Empowered Ladies NOVEL) participated in the Philippine Fashion Week Holiday 2014 for our white cane advocacy campaign. Two ladies who are blind walked down the catwalk to promote the white cane as one of the symbols of gender equality, empowerment, full inclusion and equal participation of women and girls with visual impairment in society.
Their walk in front of the crowd were extremely a nerve-wracking experience for me, as the proponent of our project with the Runway Productions (I enduringly waited for a year for its approval), knowing that they were not models, they were the crowned Ms. Philippines Vision and 1st Runner Up of 2013 Ms. Philippines on Wheels, Signs and Vision by Tahanang Walang Hagdanan, Inc. (House with No Steps). Also, they fell on their orientation and practiced the evening before the event and they didn’t have practice with professional models. Before the show started, I talked to them via mobile phone to boost their confidence and to pray together for God’s guidance. When they exited the catwalk, I breathed deeply while my tears were flowing. I was feeling euphoric because we did it despite the challenges we’ve been through! Our message to the world that women and girls with visual impairment can walk with dignity, freedom and independence on an equal basis with others, with the use of our assistive device - white canes was successfully delivered! We trended in social media and we were featured by television networks.
My life as a feminist with disability started as a means to mend my broken spirit and to see a different path towards finding my life’s purpose after I became victim-survivor to a vicious acid attack in 2007 while I was waiting for a ride going home from office. My eyes were severely damaged, to the point that I became a woman with low vision.
I never knew how joyful and purposeful my life could be again until I met women leaders in the gender and disability movement who influenced me to keep going. Their words of encouragement attracted me and became the sweetest music to my ears. My broken heart leaped like a hummingbird in flight every time I think of them and feminism which stimulated me to partake in making difference for our invisible sisters with disabilities and to those who continue to experience discrimination. To date, I am consumed by the desire to be with the movement. I cannot hide my excitement whenever I submit project proposals to different stakeholders for our sisters with disabilities' empowerment, development and advancement; and to make representations in local, national and international conversations to amplify our voices even at my expense.
Unexpectedly, I was selected as our country’s female representative in the 2012 World Blind Union (WBU) General Assembly in Thailand even though I was a newcomer in the disability movement. In the same year, I was elected as the only woman officer of the Philippine Blind Union (PBU) in its assembly. I was inspired to reach out, gather and empower our sisters with visual impairment on their rights and to know their intersecting issues. In 2013, we officially launched the Nationwide Organization of Visually-Impaired Empowered Ladies (NOVEL) to support the empowerment of our sisters with disabilities, build coalitions with cross-disability and women’s movements and promote gender and disability-inclusive development.
My participation as co-focal person of women with disabilities in our 2016 CEDAW Shadow Report submission convened by Women’s Legal and Human Rights Bureau (WLB) with the marginalized groups of women, opened many doors such as working with various women’s organizations and attending the 2017 Inclusion Days International in Berlin, Germany together with 3 Filipino women leaders with disabilities to share our good practices, mainly our engagement with the women’s movement in our country.
My journey as feminist with disability has been an emotional roller coaster for me. It gave me happiness and a sense of worth when I participated in promoting for our sisters with disabilities full inclusion, equal and effective participation in society, yet I felt frustrated and upset when I gave my all but I received negative remarks. Nevertheless, I feel that way because I am in love with the movement.
I see my future working in solidarity with the movement to ensure that our sisters with and without disabilities can equally and fully enjoy and participate in society.
Love lots,
Gina Rose P. Balanlay
Feminist with disability
Philippines
Magaly Quintana was known by many in Nicaragua as ‘La Maga’ (meaning wizard). She was a feminist historian, activist, and an unyielding defender of women’s rights demanding justice for the victims of femicide.
Magaly was committed to documenting and building statistics on women and girls who were killed as a result of sexual violence in the country.
“She rebuilt the life of each one, of their families, to show those lives that had been torn away.” - Dora María Téllez
Magaly also criticized the government for reforming Law 779 addressing violence against women. A product of the hard work of Nicaraguan women’s movements, this law included important provisions to criminalize femicide before its reform. She argued that legislative reforms weakened the law and limited the definition of femicides to homicides, as a result invisibilizing violent crimes against women.
Magaly’s feminist organizing began in the early 1980s. She was the director of Catholic Women for the Right to Choose, advocating for the right to therapeutic abortion after it was banned in 2006. In 2018, she supported the protests against Daniel Ortega’s government.
Magaly was born in May 1952 and passed away in May 2019.
“See you later, my dearest Magaly Quintana. Thanks so much, thanks for your legacy. We’ll see you again, as strong and powerful as ever.”- Erika Guevara Rosas (American Director of Amnesty International)
ويخطط عدد من الأشخاص من منظمتي لحضور المنتدى. هل يوجد خصم جماعي للمنتدى؟
لا تقدم جمعية حقوق المرأة في التنمية خصومات جماعية، ولكننا نقدم خصومات التسجيل للأعضاء/ العضوات. (انقر هنا لمعرفة المزيد عن كيفية الانضمام)
A Strategy, a Market and New Voices: Indigenous Women and the AWID Forums
The Forum was a key space for the Indigenous Women’s Movement (IWM) in its relationship to feminism. At AWID Forums, they developed engagement strategies that would then apply at other spaces like the United Nations. In that process, both indigenous women and feminists movements were transformed: new voices and issues emerged and feminists started to change their discourses and practices around land rights and spirituality, they understood collective rights better, and included the IWM in their events and agendas. Mónica Alemán and María Manuela Sequeira, from the IWM, shared this story of change.
“I want to tell all Tunisians: We have to unite to say no to censorship and opinion trials.” - Lina Ben Mhenni (2013 interview)
Lina Ben Mhenni was a Tunisian blogger, activist and linguistics lecturer. She was vocal against internet censorship, defended the freedom of expression and was an advocate for women’s and human rights. Lina also fought for the release of students arrested under former President Zine El Abidine.
“It’s true that information and the internet are important but being on the ground is crucial for a revolution. Some people here in Tunisia think that change can occur just by clicking like on the internet. I believe you have to be active on the ground. And of course, join actions on the field with the action on the web.” - Lina Ben Mhenni (Interview in POCIT)
In 2010, she co-organized a protest that challenged the government suppression of media and internet censorship. Lina was widely known for her blog “A Tunisian Girl” and recognized for her work during the Tunisian revolution in 2011. In her blog, she reported on the news from the uprising, shared images documenting protests and was among the few voices who spoke about the killings and crackdown on protesters in Sidi Bouzid. Lina blogged using her real name instead of a pseudonym to protect her identity, one of only a few bloggers to do so.
“Our freedom of expression is in real danger. I am afraid that we are losing the unique fruits of the revolution: the disappearance of fear and our freedom of speech. We have to keep on fighting to protect and preserve this right.” — Lina Ben Mhenni (2013 interview)
Lina was only 36 years old when she passed away on 27 January 2020, as a result of complications from an autoimmune disease.
"Freedom, better education and health - that's all we wanted. When we failed, she pushed us." Lina’s school teacher Hala.
ما هي المعايير اختيار الأنشطة؟
يرجى الرجوع إلى فتح باب التقديم للحصول على هذه المعلومات، بما في ذلك قسم "ما تحتاج/ين إلى معرفته".
Rosane Santiago Silveira was affectionately known as Rô Conceição. A Brazilian environmental and human rights activist, she fervently fought to protect the environment where it was most threatened.
This included defending it on the island of Barra Velha, where it was endangered by oil exploration, as well as safeguarding it by campaigning against land-grabbing and expansion of eucalyptus plantations in Bahia State, where Rosane was a member of the Cassurubá Extractivist Reserve Council.
“Extractive Reserve is a protected area where resident families make their living off natural products extracted from the forest. These activities help maintain the forest integrity.” - Global Justice Ecology Project (original source: Rede Brasil Atual)
She was part of trade union activities, human rights and cultural movements. Rosane dedicated much of herself to causes that were not only close to her but are also of concern to land, forests, rivers, and communities whose rights and lives are continuously at risk.
She was tortured and murdered on 29 January 2019 in Nova Viçosa, a city in southern Bahia.
“Unfortunately, today there is a feeling of total insecurity, because of the State’s absence in prosecuting these crimes. We were with her at Christmas, and everyone realised that she was worried and now we know that she had received three death threats,” - Tuian, Rosane’s son in an interview with Rádio Brasil Atual (original source: Rede Brasil Atual)
The survey is available in: Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish!
Who should participate in the survey?
Groups, organizations and/or movements working specifically or primarily for women, girls, gender justice, LBTQI+ and allied people’s rights in all regions and at all levels, both newly formed and long-standing.
Our group did not receive external funding between 2021 and 2023, should we still fill out the survey?
Yes, we still want to hear from you regardless of whether you received funding in all three, two or only one of the years between 2021 and 2023.
Snippet - Intro WITM - AR
نكمل مشوار بناء الحشد الذي بدأناه قبل 20 عاماً لموارد أفضل وأكبر لحركات التغيير الاجتماعي بقيادة نسوية، تدعوكم/ن جمعية حقوق المرأة في التنمية لاستكمال استطلاعنا
الرجاء اختيار لغتك في الزاوية اليمنى الرجاء اختيار اللغة المفضلة للإجابة على الاستطلاع في أقصى يمين الصفحة
ذا كنت ترغب في معرفة المزيد، انضم إلى لقاء للأعضاء/ العضوات: أين المال؟ يوم الاثنين 27 مايو (أيار) الساعة 9:00 بالتوقيت العالمي - مع ترجمة
فورية باللغتين الفرنسية والإنجليزية.
14:00 بالتوقيت العالمي - مع ترجمة فورية باللغتين الإسبانية والإنجليزية
سنستمع إلى فريق الحركات النسوية لتوفير الموارد التابع لجمعية حقوق المرأة في التنمية (جمعية حقوق المرأة في التنمية) حول خصوصيات وعموميات تمويل التنظيمات النسوية.
Sou uma ativista individual, não colaboro com qualquer grupo, organização e/ou movimento neste momento. Devo participar no inquérito mesmo assim?
Não, apreciamos o seu trabalho, mas, de momento, não solicitamos respostas de indivídues.
كيف يمكنني الوصول للاستطلاع؟
الاستطلاع متواجد في KOBO وهي منصة برمجيات مفتوحة المصدر لجمع وإدارة المعطيات. لتعبئة الاستطلاع، يمكنكم/ن الضغط على هذا الرابط. اتبعوا/ن التعليمات لتكملة الاستطلاع.
Сколько вопросов содержится в опросе?
Всего 47 вопросов, из которых 27 являются обязательными*, а остальные 20 – дополнительными. Большинство вопросов – это вопросы с множественным выбором. Мы надеемся, что вы ответите на все вопросы.
