Anit-Racism Movement (ARM) / Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
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.
Around the world, feminist, women’s rights, and allied movements are confronting power and reimagining a politics of liberation. The contributions that fuel this work come in many forms, from financial and political resources to daily acts of resistance and survival.
AWID’s Resourcing Feminist Movements (RFM) Initiative shines a light on the current funding ecosystem, which range from self-generated models of resourcing to more formal funding streams.
Through our research and analysis, we examine how funding practices can better serve our movements. We critically explore the contradictions in “funding” social transformation, especially in the face of increasing political repression, anti-rights agendas, and rising corporate power. Above all, we build collective strategies that support thriving, robust, and resilient movements.
Our Actions
Recognizing the richness of our movements and responding to the current moment, we:
Create and amplify alternatives: We amplify funding practices that center activists’ own priorities and engage a diverse range of funders and activists in crafting new, dynamic models for resourcing feminist movements, particularly in the context of closing civil society space.
Build knowledge: We explore, exchange, and strengthen knowledge about how movements are attracting, organizing, and using the resources they need to accomplish meaningful change.
Advocate: We work in partnerships, such as the Count Me In! Consortium, to influence funding agendas and open space for feminist movements to be in direct dialogue to shift power and money.
Related Content
Our Vision: Economic Justice in a Feminist World
As feminists struggling for gender, peace, economic, social and environmental justice, we know there is no single recipe for success but an array of possibilities that can and are making change happen. The menu of options is as diverse as our movements and the communities in which we live and struggle.
Before we dare to present some of the feminist imaginations for another world, here are the principles around which we base our propositions:
1. Self-determined development from the local to the global
We believe there is no one model for all and that everyone has a right to claim and contribute to building another world that is possible, as the World Social Forum motto puts it.
This includes the right to participate in democratic governance and to influence one’s future – politically, economically, socially and culturally.
Economic self-determination gives peoples the ability to take control over their natural resources and use those resources for their own ends or collective use. Furthermore, women’s economic agency is fundamental to mitigating the often cyclical nature of poverty, denial of education, safety, and security.
2. Rights, substantive equality and justice are at the core of the economy
The principle of substantive equality is laid out in the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) and other international human rights instruments. This principle is fundamental for development and achieving a just economy as it affirms that all human beings are born free and equal.
Non-discrimination is an integral part of the principle of equality that ensures that no one is denied their rights because of factors such as race, gender, language, religion, sexual orientation, gender identity, political or other opinion, national or social origin, property or birth.
The inherent dignity of all persons without distinction must be upheld and respected. While States are responsible for ensuring the use of maximum available resources for the fulfilment of human rights, reclaiming rights and dignity is fundamentally a key space for civil society struggle and popular mobilization.
3. Just distribution for all, without monopolization (the anti-greed principle)
This principle, exercised through organized efforts to transform unjust institutions, guides the restoration of balance between "participation" (input) and "distribution" (output) when either principle is violated.
It puts limits on monopolistic accumulations of capital and other abuses of property. This concept is founded on an economy model that is based on fairness, and justice.
4. Feminist and cross-movement solidarity is key
In order to make change happen, we need strong and diverse feminist networks. We need movements building solidarity from the personal to the political, from the local to the global and back.
Building collective power through movements helps convert the struggle for human rights, equality and justice into a political force for change that cannot be ignored.
“Only movements can create sustained change at the levels that policy and legislation alone cannot achieve.”
هنالك 47 سؤال في الاستطلاع، منها 27 سؤال اجباري* والعشرين الباقين هي أسئلة اختيارية. أغلب الأسئلة هي أسئلة متعددة الخيارات. ندعوكم/ن للإجابة على جميع الأسئلة.
TEST - MAP
WHRD Tribute - 2017
We can have an intro here
And maybe a little bit more text here
Как вы будете представлять и обрабатывать данные, собранные в ходе опроса?
Данные будут обработаны в статистических целях, чтобы осветить состояние ресурсного обеспечения феминистских движений во всем мире, и представлены будут только в обобщенном виде. AWID не будет публиковать информацию о конкретных организациях или отображать информацию, которая позволила бы идентифицировать организации по их местоположению или характеристикам, без их согласия.
Funding Ideas
This page provides ideas and inspiration for how you can fund your participation at the 14th AWID International Forum.
As you plan the activity you would like to do at the Forum, please also consider how you will fund your participation. Typical Costs include: accommodation, travel, visa, forum registration fees, etc.
It is important to note that this Forum will have many ‘open spaces’ and moments for movements to learn and exchange, but fewer formal sessions. (See “Ways to describe the Forum in your fundraising” below for language to use in your outreach.)
Work with your current funders:
Reach out to your current donors first : Your best option is always a current funder that you have.
Make sure to do it in advance : We recommend contacting them by early 2020 at the latest. Many funders who support feminist organizations have some budget allocated for Forum travel. Others may be able to include it in renewal grants or through other travel funds.
If your group has funders, tell them that you want to attend the AWID Forum to learn, experience, exchange and network- even if your activity does not get selected for the final program. In order to be able to support your participation, your donors will need to know about it well in advance so tell them right away! (they are already deciding which funds they will distribute in 2020).
Seeking new funders:
If you do not currently have donor support or are not able to secure grants for Forum travel, consider reaching out to new donors.
Deadlines and requirements vary by funder, and a grant review process can take many months. If you’re considering applying for new grants, do so as soon as possible.
Creative inspiration:
Feminist movements have long gotten creative with funding our own activism. Here are some ideas that we have gathered to inspire alternative ways of fundraising:
Mobilize your community to support participation: fundraise with small contributions from members through community dinners, dance parties, and local shows, events and tours
Mobilize your networks by organizing giving circles and crowdsourcing using various online tools like gofundme, indiegogo, plumfund, or kickstarter
Cultivate local sources of income, including from individual donors and membership dues
Consider co-funding through strategic partnerships with other community and social justice groups.
For more inspiration, see AWID’s ongoing series on autonomous resourcing, including specific ideas for conference raising participation funds.
Access Fund:
AWID strives to make the Forum a truly global gathering with participation from diverse movements, regions and generations. To this end, AWID mobilizes resources for a limited Access Fund (AF) to assist Forum participants with the costs of attending the Forum.
AWID’s Access Fund will provide support to a limited number of Forum participants and session/activity facilitators. You can indicate in your application if you would like to apply to the AWID Access Fund. This is not guaranteed, and we strongly encourage you to seek alternative funding for your participation and travel to the Forum.
Even if you apply for the AWID Access Fund, we encourage you to continue to explore other options to fund your participation in the Forum. Access Fund decisions will be confirmed by the end of June 2020. Please remember that these resources are very limited, and we will be unable to support all applicants.
Ways to describe the Forum in your fundraising:
As you reach out to funders or your own networks, here is some sample messaging that may be helpful. Feel free to adapt it in whatever way is useful for you!
The AWID Forum is a co-created feminist movement space that energizes participants in their own activism, and strengthens connections with others across multiple rights and justice movements. Participants get to draw from wells of hope, energy and radical imagination, as well as deepen shared analysis, learning, and build cross-movement solidarity to develop more integrated agendas and advance joint strategies.
Our organization is seeking funds to attend the Forum in order to connect with other activists and movements from around the world, strengthen our strategies, and share our work. We are inspired by past participants, who have described the power of this global feminist gathering:
“Over four days … voices weaved together into a global perspective on the state of gender equality. And when I say global, I mean simultaneous translation into seven languages kind of global ....”
“It was reminding us that we are not alone. The Forum provided a means of translating collectivity into our movements. Whether across ideologies, identities or borders, our strength is in our vision and our support of one another.”
It is important to note that this Forum will have many ‘open spaces’ and moments for movements to learn and exchange, but fewer formal sessions. While many attendees will not be presenting in formal sessions, there will be invaluable space to learn, strategize, and experience feminist movements’ collective power in action.
Budget considerations:
When calculating your costs and how much you need to raise, it is important to factor in costs that may come up. Here’s an example of key items to consider:
Airfare
Forum registration fees (please note that even if you are granted Access Funds by AWID, you will have to cover your registration fee yourself)
Visa costs
Travel health insurance
Local travel to and from the airport (taxis or other transportation)
Layover costs, such as hotels and meals if your plane travel requires a long layover
Accommodation, including giving yourself a day to recover on either end if you have traveled far
Technology, including WiFi access or fees for international communication as needed during travel (AWID will provide WiFi during the Forum)
Materials costs for any items (visuals, reports, artwork!) you want to bring, share, or exchange at the Forum
Incidentals and/or per diems to cover food and other items that come up (all lunches and coffee/tea breaks, plus one dinner will be provided by AWID during Forum days)
Accessibility, such as any additional support that may be important to make your travel more comfortable, safe, and secure
We look forward to seeing you at the Forum!
The Forum is a collaborative process
The AWID Forum will now take place 11-14 January 2021 in Taipei .
It is more than a four-day convening. It is one more stop on a movement strengthening journey around Feminist Realities that has already begun and will continue well beyond the Forum dates.
As realidades de financiamento para movimentos feministas mudam rapidamente. Este questionário é um ocorrência única?
Não. Tem por base a história de 20 anos da AWID de mobilizar mais financiamento de maior qualidade para mudanças sociais lideradas por feministas e é a terceira edição do nosso inquérito “Onde está o dinheiro para organização feminista?”. O nosso objetivo é repetir o inquérito WITM a cada 3 anos.
Our neighbourhood, our network, our strength
by Marta Plaza Fernández, Madrid, Spain (@gacela1980)
The feminist reality that I want to share is about weaving networks in which we uphold one another. Networks which come together in different ways, which emerge from our shared vulnerability, and which make all of us stronger.
The streets of Chamberí, my neighbourhood in Madrid, became much more of a home following the gatherings in the plazas organized by the citizens movement that originated in a rally on May 15, 2011. I think about how, during those years, we met each other and were able to associate faces, voices, smiles with so many neighbours who previously were only silhouettes without names or pasts, and who we passed by without seeing or hearing each other. I think about how we’ve become involved and dedicated; how we’ve woven a palpable, tangible community; how we’ve been advancing hand in hand towards building a new more inhabitable world, which we want and that we urgently need to create.
A group of activists and utopian neighbours, (in the best sense of the word utopian) – that moves us to action to do something real – that group for me was practically the first that reacted differently when I shared a part of my history and identity with them. With these women I shared my psychiatric diagnosis, my multiple hospital stays, the number of daily pills that accompanied me, my disability certificate, my difficulty in preserving that vital link that periodically disintegrates in my hands.
These neighbours, friends, comrades, links, loves –did not only not distance themselves from me once they got to know someone who many others had labelled as problematic, manipulator, egotistical – but became my principal network of affection and mutual support. They decided to navigate with me when the sea became agitated with storms. These people have given a different meaning to my days.
Building our feminist reality also encompasses carrying the “I believe you, sister” that we use when a friend has suffered a macho attack to the violence experienced by psychiatrized women at the hands of the very psychiatric system and institutions that are supposed to help us (and instead are often the new abuser who traumatizes and hurts us all over again). And this reality must include respect for our decisions, without taking away our agency and capacity to direct our own steps to one space or another; to listen to our narratives, desires, needs…without trying to impose others that are alien to us. It means not delegitimizing our discourse, not alluding to the label of our diagnosis, nor our madness.
With these transformation, each stay in the psychiatric institute did erase the ties that we had been able to build, but instead this network stayed by my side, its members took turns so that each day there would be no lull in calls, in visits, so that I could feel them as close as one can feel another person separated by locked doors (but unfortunately open for abuse) within the confines of the psychiatric ward. Through the warmth and kindness from my people I could rebuild that vital link that had once again been broken.
The even bigger leap happened when I was already aware of the numerous violent acts and abuse (where among other assaults, I spent days strapped to a bed, relieving myself where I lay), I decided that I would not go back to being interned.
This network of care, these women neighbours-friends-loves-comrades, they respected my refusal to return to the hospital and supported me through each crisis I’ve been through since then. Without being interned, without violence.
They took turns accompanying me when my link to life was so broken that I felt such a huge risk which I couldn’t handle on my own. They organized WhatsApp group check-ins. They coordinated care and responsibilities so that no one would feel overwhelmed - because when an individual feels overloaded, they make decisions based on fear and the need for control instead of prioritizing accompaniment and care.
That first crisis that we were able to surmount together in this way – without being admitted to the psychiatric institute, represented a dramatic change in my life. There were months when my life was at risk, of intense suffering and of so much fear for my people and for me. But we overcame it together, and all that I thought was that if we could get over that crisis, then we could also find ways to face all the difficulties and crises that may come.
These feminist realities that we’re building day by day keep expanding, growing and taking different forms. We’re learning together, we’re growing together. Distancing ourselves from a welfare mentality, one of the first lessons was that, in reality, there wouldn’t be anyone receiving care (because of a psychiatric label) or anyone helping, from the other side of the sanity/insanity line. We learnt – we’re learning – to move to a different key – that of mutual support, of providing care and being cared for, of caring for each other.
We’ve also explored the limits of self care and the strength of collectivizing care and redistributing it so it’s not a burden that paralyzes us; we learnt – and we keep learning today – about joy and enjoying care that is chosen.
Another recent learning is about how difficult it was to start integrating money as another component of mutual support that we all give and receive. It was hard for us to realize how internalized capitalism kept on reverberating in our relationship with money, and that even though no one expected any payment for the containers of lentils we cooked amongst us when eating and cooking were difficult tasks, our expectation regarding money was different. Phrases like “how much you have is how much you’re worth” become stuck inside of us without critically analyzing them. It’s easy to keep thinking that the money each one has is related to the effort made to earn it, and not due to other social conditioning distant from personal merit. In fact, within this well-established mutual support network – redistributing money based on needs without questioning – was still a remote reality for our day to day. That’s why this is something that we’ve recently started to work on and think through as a group.
We want to get closer to that anti-capitalist world where mutual support is the way that we have chosen to be in the world; and that entails deconstructing our personal and collective relationship with money and internalized capitalism.
In these feminist realities we also know that learning never stops, and that the road continues to be shaped as we travel upon it. There is still much to do to keep caring for ourselves, to keep expanding perspectives and to make ourselves more aware of the persistent power imbalances, of privileges that we hold and continue to exercise, without realizing the violence that they reproduce.
Though we’ve already travelled so far, we still have a long way to go to get closer to that new world that we hold in our hearts (and for some within our crazy little heads too). Racism, classism, adult-centrism, fat-phobia, and machismo that persists among our partners.
Among the pending lessons, we’ve needed for a long time already to build a liveable future in which feminism is really intersectional and in which we all have space, in which the realities and oppressions of other sisters are just as important as our own. We also need to move forward horizontally when we build collectively – getting rid of egos, of protagonisms, to live together and deal with the need for recognition in a different way. And to also keep making strides grounded in the awareness that the personal is always, always political.
How we relate to and link with each other cannot be relegated to the private domain, nor kept silent: other loves are possible, other connections and other families are necessary, and we are also inventing them as we go.
This new world which we want to create, and that we need to believe in – is this kind world – in which we can love, and feel pride in ourselves – and in which all worlds will fit. We’ll keep at it.
Looking at activists and feminists as healers and nourishers of the world, in the midst of battling growing right wing presence, white supremacy and climate change. This piece highlights how our feminist reality puts kindness, solidarity, and empathy into action by showing up and challenging the status quo to liberate us all.
Upasana Agarwal (@upasana_a)
هل يمكنني التواصل مع أي أحد إن كانت لدي أسئلة أو أمور تثير قلقي؟
إن كانت لديكم/ن أسئلة أو أمور تثير قلقكم/ن، الرجاء التوجه الينا عن طريق هذا النموذج وكتابة "استطلاع أين المال" في العنوان أو راسلنا على witm@awid.org
Understanding the Context of Anti-Rights Threats
Chapter 2
While fundamentalisms, fascisms and other systems of oppression shapeshift and find new tactics and strategies to consolidate power and influence, feminist movements continue to persevere and celebrate gains nationally and The rising power of anti-rights actors is not happening in a vacuum. Understanding the rise of ultra-nationalism, unchecked corporate power, growing repression, and diminishing civic space is key to contextualize the anti-rights threats we face today.
Today, considerably more than half of the world’s population is governed by far-right leaders. Against this backdrop, human rights defenders and feminists are working hard to “hold the line” and protect multilateralism and the international human rights system. They also face the risk that their engagement may bring with it violent reprisals. At the same time, these institutions are increasingly subject to private sector interests. Large businesses, particularly transnational corporations, are occupying seats at the negotiating table and leadership positions in a number of multilateral institutions, including the UN. This nexus of ultra-nationalism, closing civic space, and corporate capture is having a tremendous impact on whether human rights for all can ever be achieved.
Table of Contents
Nationalism and Ultra-nationalism
Corporate Capture: Untamed Corporate Power is Putting Rights at Risk
Reprisals and Closing Civic Spaces for Feminist Activists, and LGBTIQ+ and Women Human Rights Defenders
Movement Resistance Story: CEDAW’s Article 16: A Pathway for Reformation of Discriminatory Family Laws in Muslim Contexts
Learn more about upcoming CSW69 events that AWID is co-organizing
الفرح للعالم: ستّة أسئلة مع نايكي ليدان
أجرت المقابلة تشينيلو أونوالو
ترجمة فيفيان عقيقي
نايكي ليدان، مدافعة عن العدالة الاجتماعية وناشطة نسوية ملتزمة، تتمتع بـ 20 عامٍ من الخبرة في مجال الدفاع عن حقوق الإنسان والعدالة الصحية وتمكين المرأة، والنضال من أجل الوصول الشامل إلى الخدمات الأساسية والإدماج الاجتماعي، فضلاً عن بناء قدرات المجتمع المدني. قامت بعمل مكثف في كندا وغرب وجنوب إفريقيا وهايتي في مجال الدفاع عن الحقوق المدنية، وبناء القدرات لمنظمات المجتمع المدني، مع التأكيد على المحددات الاجتماعية للإقصاء الهيكلي. إنها تقدر مبادئ القيادة المشتركة والمساحات المعادية للاستعمار والقمع والأبوية.
السؤال الأوّل: تُعَدّين ناشطة في قضايا حقوق العابرين/ات جنسياً؛ أشعر بالفضول لمعرفة كيف عبّدتِ مسيرتك.
نشأتُ في هايتي حتّى بلغت سنّ الثامنة عشرة، ثمّ عشتُ في مونتريال لمدّة 19 عاماً. في العام 2016 عدتُ إلى هايتي معتقدة أنني سوف أعود إلى الوطن، لكن المكان تغيّر، وكان عليّ التكيّف مجدّداً. لم أُعِدْ ربط الصلات مع العائلة وأصدقاء الطفولة بالطريقة التي كنت أتوقّعها. عدت كمُغتربة مع ظروف عمل مريحة، وبقيت أشعر أنني غريبة لفترة طويلة جداً. لكن في الوقت نفسه، شعرت أنني في وطني بسبب اللغة، وحتى الصمت المألوف، وعدم اضطراري إلى تبرير غنائي لشارة إعلان تجارية – تعلمين... تلك الأمور التي نتشاركها، تلك الطاقة، تلك المساحة، وتلك الروح.
عودتي إلى حبّ الذات – أو ما أسمّيه "ولادة جديدة" – التي تتزامن مع ولادة طفلي الأوّل، وولادة نفسي، ووقوعي في حبّ حبيبتي الكويرية. (مصدر الصورة: نايكي ليدان)
ما ساعدني في ذلك هو حبّي للعمل في كافة أنحاء البلاد، وتوثيق معارف الناس. لذلك تركت مساحتى المريحة، وأصبحت مديرة قطرية لمنظّمة إقليمية كويرية. تركَّز معظم عملي على إيجاد الموارد وبناء قدرات المجتمع المدني. بنيتُ استراتيجيتي على الذهاب إلى الريف، والبحث عن كلّ المنظّمات الصغيرة، والمساعدة في بناء قدراتها وتمويلها. لم أكن مُهتمّة بالسياسيين وبمصافحتهم والتقاط الصور معهم <ضحكة>. كان لديّ حليف رائع: شارلوت جودي، الناشط الكويري الذي قُتِل قبل ثلاث سنوات في منزله. تقرّبنا كثيراً بعد حظر مهرجان أفلام أفرو كويرية في هايتي كنا نخطّط له. أحدث المهرجان ضجّة كبيرة، وأثار نقاشات عن الكويرية في كلّ مكان، لذلك قدّمني شارلوت إلى منظّمات المجتمع المدني الصغيرة، المُنتشرة في كلّ ركن من البلاد. كان عليّ أن أكون هناك لمساعدة المنظّمة (المنظّمات)، على التسجيل بشكل قانوني أو بناء خطّتها الاستراتيجية. جعلتني هذه الأعمال ناشطة كويرية، وبالتالي ناشطة في قضايا المتحوّلين/ات جنسياً. مع ذلك لا أسمّي نفسي ناشطة. إنّها كلمة ثقيلة كما تعلمين. لكنّها الصفة التي يناديك بها الناس. أعتقد أنني مجرّد عاشقة ومقاتلة <ضحكة>.
السؤال الأوّل: أخبريني عن ورشة العمل التي نظّمتها للمهرجان مع AWID. ما هو مضمونها وسياقها؟
وعيي الذاتي العميق خلال سنوات طفولتي، وانخراطي في البحث عن أسباب انعدام المساواة والظلم في سنّ مُبكرة جدّاً (في الرابعة من عمري تقريباً). (مصدر الصورة: نايكي ليدان))
ا تتحدّث وسائل الإعلام الدولية عن هايتي، لكن مع وجود بيئة سياسية سيّئة فإن البيئة الاقتصادية تكون أكثر كارثية. نظراً لانتمائي إلى الطبقة الوسطى في هايتي، وتحدّثي بلغات عدّة، وامتلاكي جوازات سفر مختلفة، تردّدت بدايةً في أخذ هذه المساحة. غالباً ما أرى نفسي كجسر، لا شخص يتحدّث عن نفسه. لذلك دعوت سيمي، شابّة لامعة متحوّلة جنسياً من خارج بورت أو برنس، لتأخذ المساحة وتتحدّث عن نفسها، وترشدنا إلى واقع النساء المتحوّلات في هايتي. انتهى بنا الأمر بعقد جلسة عن النسوية غير الشمولية – أو كما أسمّيها المساحات النسوية الرسمية – وكيف أن الفتيات المتحوّلات في هايتي لا يملكن مساحات للمساهمة في التعريف عن المرأة ومشاركة واقعها. من هنا، كان مهرجان AWID فرصة لي لإعطاء مساحة للنساء اللواتي يجب أن يحصلن على فرص. أمضينا وقتاً رائعاً؛ احتسينا النبيذ أثناء جلستنا عبر الإنترنت، وشاركتنا سيمي، التي ساعدتني في إدارة الجلسة، بما يعنيه أن تكوني طفلة/ فتاة/ امرأة متحوّلة في مراحل مختلفة من حياتها، وتحدّثت عن أخطار الشارع والفقر والإقصاء والفشل في ظهورها كامرأة بعد التحوّل، وأيضاً عن انتصاراتها.
السؤال الأوّل: ما علاقة النساء المتحوّلات بالمنظّمات النسوية في هايتي؟ كيف كانت تجربتك في هذا السياق؟
لقد كانت تجربة النساء المتحوّلات صعبة، وفي الواقع مفجعة. من عدم الاعتراف بوجودهن إلى التعامل معهنّ بأسلوب جنسي مُتطرّف، فضلاً عن تعرّضهن للقتل من دون حتّى الإعلان عن هذه الحالات في الإعلام. وهو ما يعبّر عن مدى عدم الاعتراف بوجودهن، وعن كيفيّة محوهن. إنهنّ موجودات في كلّ مكان، لكن ليس في أماكن العمل، ولا في البيئات النسوية، ولا في بيئات المؤسّساتية. ولا حتّى في منظّمات مجتمع الميم. في الآونة الأخيرة فقط، ونتيجة حملات المناصرة، صحّحت بعض المنظّمات نوعاً ما هذه الوضعيّة. لكن لا يزال الأمر غير وارد في المساحات النسوية. ما زلنا مضطرّات للتعامل مع الخطاب الإقصائي القديم بـ»إنهنّ لسنا نساء. بالطبع، إذا نجحن في الظهور كنساء بعد عمليّات التحوّل...». إن ثقافة الفشل أو النجاح في التحوّل ليست إلّا محادثة عن إدارة المخاطر – إلى أي درجة ينجح التحوّل، وما الذي يعنيه لجسمكِ، والعنف الذي يلحق به. في الواقع الإقصائي للمتحوّلين/ات الذي نعيش فيه، ويُعاد إنتاجه في الكثير من المساحات النسوية، قد تُعتبر فتيات، وإلى حدّ معيّن، أولئلك اللواتي ينجحن في الظهور بما يتوافق مع الجنس الذي تحوّلن إليه. لكن ماذا عن الوقوع في الحبّ، وإجراء محادثة، وإخفاء الهوية الجنسية، والرغبة في الحصول على مظهر معيّن، أو مهنة معيّنة؟ في الحقيقة، أصبح العلاج بالهرمونات حديثاً عن الحدّ من المخاطر كما عبّرت سيمي في ورشة العمل. لكن ليس لدينا خيار العلاج الهرموني، ولا الإطار الطبي أو النظام لدعم أولئك الذين يرغبون في متابعته.
السؤال الأوّل: عندما تتحدّثين عن الطريقة التي يُنظر بها إلى الأشخاص المتحوّلين/ا جنسياً والكويريين/ات في المجتمع، يبدو أنها مشابهة لنظرة المجتمع في نيجيريا، حيث يبرز رهاب المثلية بعمق.
هايتي بلد مُعقّد للغاية وبطريقة جميلة جداً. لا يوجد شيء بسيط، كما تعلمين، لا يوجد شيء يُمكن القيام به بطريقة واحدة فقط. الهايتيون متسامحون للغاية – لكنّهم وفي الوقت نفسه يعانون من رهاب المثلية. سوف تجد مناطق في الريف، لا يعاني المقيمون فيها من رهاب المثلية على الإطلاق نظراً لوجود معابد فودو فيها، وهذه ديانة تحترم الحياة. أحد المبادئ الأساسية لديانة فودو هو عدم وجود ما هو صحيح أو خطأ. لفترة طويلة، كان الناس يعتقدون أن هايتي ملاذ ومكان حيث يعيش أناس متسامحون – نحن نتحدّث عن السبعينيات والثمانينيات وقبل انتشار فيروس نقص المناعة البشريّة، وحتّى التسعينيات. من ثمّ وقع زلزال العام 2010 وقتل نحو 300 ألف شخص، وبعدها تدفّقت كلّ هذه الأموال من جنوب الولايات المتّحدة عبر الإنجيليين لإعادة بناء البلاد والعثور على يسوع. لذلك، يُعدّ رهاب المثلية حديث النشأة في هايتي. في العمق، في روحية الثقافة، لا أستطيع القول إنّ هايتي معادية للمثليين. لكن في الحياة اليومية، من المؤكّد أن هناك عنفاً يقع على المثليين، وكذلك على النساء، والنساء الفقيرات، والنساء داكنات البشرة أيضاً، خصوصاً أنّ التمييز العرقيّ بارز جداً في منطقة الكاريبي.
السؤال الأوّل: كيف تمكّنت من إدارة الأمر؟ ما كانت استراتيجيّتك
عودتي إلى هايتي كان جزءاً من مساري الهادف نحو التخلّص من الاستعمار، وكان محاولةً منّي لموضعة حواسي وحواس عائلتي ضمن فضاءٍ يحتوي قصص التمرّد على المعيارية وعلى واقع العنصرية ضد السود. (مصدر الصورة: نايكي ليدان)
أنا أحبّ عملي حقّاً. أحبّ العمل بشكل عام. عندما وصلت، عملت بداية مع تلك المنظّمة غير الحكومية الرهيبة لكنني قمت بعمل رائع. كنت موجودة دائماً في الريف، وأتحدّث وأتعلّم من الناس والنساء. وهو ما أسعدَ قلبي لفترة طويلة لأنني أحبّ ثقافتي بشدّة، وأحبّ الأشخاص السود، والنساء السود – النساء السود المُسنّات، والأطفال السود. يملأني الأمر بروحانية. عندما كنّا في كندا، ارتاد أطفالي مدارس البيض المرموقة. لم يتحدّثوا بلغة شعب الكريول ولا الفرنسية. أمّا الآن فإنّهم يركضون بحرّية في حديقة المنزل، ويتقاتلون بلغة الكريول. أيضاً وجدت مع الأشخاص الذين قابلتهم محاور للبقاء. خلقت روابط مع الكويريين/ات وغيرهم من غريبي الأطوار مثلي. كان الأمر رائعاً حقاً. لكنّي أعاني الآن. لم أعد أشعر بالأمان في هايتي. أسبوعياً تُسجّل نحو 40 عملية خطف في بورت أو برنس – وهو وضع مستمرّ منذ العام 2018. أصبت بنوبات من القلق والذعر. لقد حان وقت الذهاب، فيما أسأل نفسي: «أين هو الوطن؟». قضيت 19 عاماً في مونتريال لكنّني لم أشعر مطلقاً بأنني في وطني. عندما غادرت، لم أفتقدها أبداً، لذلك لا أريد العودة إليها. أيضاً بكيت كثيراً مؤخّراً كوني أشعر بأنني دخلت إلى منفى ثاني.
السؤال الأوّل: كيف هي علاقتك مع المتعة والترفيه والراحة؟
علاقتي مع المتعة والترفيه والراحة مماثلة وواحدة. إنها لحظة أعيشها عندما أدلّل نفسي بحرارة الشمس على وجهي على سبيل المثال. هي المتعة والترفيه والراحة في الوقت نفسه.
المتعة: مساحتى المُفضّلة، ملاذ للاحتفال بنفسي، حيث أحفظ لنفسي القوّة والحقّ في أن أكون هادئة أو صاخبة خلال لحظات المتعة التي أختبرها. أنغمس بكلّ لحظة متعة، بما في ذلك، متعة الوحدة والصمت.
الترفيه: ركوب الدرّاجة، والمهرجانات الموسيقية، والأكل، وتذوّق النبيذ، المشاركة في رقصات الفودو الهايتية التقليدية. كلّها من ضمن الأنشطة العديدة التي أشارك فيها حالياً.
الراحة: هو ما أعيش من أجله. بما أنني شخص متفوّق وأحبّ العمل، فمن المفارقة أن أكون كسولة أيضاً. لا أحد يعلم بالأمر، لأن ما يرونه هو أنني أعمل بجدّ وبأكثر من طاقتي. إنهم لا يعرفون كيف يمكنني الانغماس في الكسل بشكل عميق وبلا تردّد.
ExploreTransnational Embodiments
This journal edition in partnership with Kohl: a Journal for Body and Gender Research, will explore feminist solutions, proposals and realities for transforming our current world, our bodies and our sexualities.
نصدر النسخة هذه من المجلة بالشراكة مع «كحل: مجلة لأبحاث الجسد والجندر»، وسنستكشف عبرها الحلول والاقتراحات وأنواع الواقع النسوية لتغيير عالمنا الحالي وكذلك أجسادنا وجنسانياتنا.
📅 Friday, March 14, 2025
🕒 2.30pm EST
🏢 Blue Gallery, The Blue Building, 222 East 46th Street
🎙️Facilitated by: Anissa Daboussi, Manager, Advancing Universal Rights and Justice team
Organizer: SRI, AWID
Nominate bold feminists to join AWID's Board of Directors
Every year, AWID seeks to renew and enrich the perspectives and experience reflected in our Board of Directors by bringing in new members.
Currently, we are looking for individuals to serve 3-year terms on AWID’s Board, starting in early 2023. This is an opportunity to contribute to our organisation’s governance and to be part of an amazing group of feminists from around the world.
Please help us to identify thoughtful and bold feminists to nominate for election by July 29, 2022.
Please also share this invitation to nominate with your networks!
Who are we looking for?
First and foremost, we are looking for candidates who are committed to AWID’s mission, who can make connections between local and global struggles, and who can help us to be thoughtful about how to best leverage AWID's positioning and strengths in a constantly evolving context. Candidates must be willing to uphold the legal duties and responsibilities of the AWID Board in the best interests of the organization.
This is a voluntary role that requires commitment and engagement throughout the year. Board members are expected to commit a minimum of 10-15 days per year to attend in-person and virtual meetings, and contribute to other communications.
We aspire for our Board to reflect diversity in all its forms, particularly in terms of gender identity, sexual orientation, age, geography and background. Additionally, we seek Board members with experience relevant to AWID’s priority areas of work.
While we will consider all candidates, in light of the current composition of the board, priority consideration will be given to:
Candidates with experience working at the intersections of women’s rights/gender justice and :
Finance
Climate justice
Disability justice, and/or
Technology
Candidates from the following regions:
Africa
South America
What Board members bring to AWID
The Board of Directors is key to inform AWID’s strategic direction and support our organisation to fulfill its mission in coherence with the world we live in and the needs of our movements.
Board members contribute to the organization in many ways: bringing governance experience from other spaces, perspectives from diverse sectors of feminist movements, and substantive expertise in areas relevant to AWID’s strategy.
The candidates who are ultimately elected will be joining the AWID Board in 2023, accompanying us for the launch of our new strategic plan led by AWID’s new Co-Executive Directors, and the planning of our next international Forum.
Boil them down to communications language preferences
Love letter to Feminist Movements #9
The body is a powerful entity. As women, our bodies are controlled, oppressed and policed from the womb. The way we look, move, dress, walk, speak, gesture, laugh. I often wondered at what drives patriarchal fears around the power of female bodies. Where I come from sex work and sex workers were whispered of with simultaneous contempt, disgust, fascination, pity and condemnation.
Where I come from sex work and sex workers were whispered of with simultaneous contempt, disgust, fascination, pity and condemnation.
I first encountered sex work and sex workers at age 22. Simple conversations, sitting in circles, chatting over coffee and tea, we explored each other’s lives, experiences, thoughts and feelings.
For sex workers, sex work was the most worthwhile choice out of all other options to pay bills, to support family, to have more flexible working hours, to have sex. Just as I chose my job as the most worthwhile, to pay bills, to support family, to have more flexible working hours.
These individuals, women and men, taught me that I made my own decisions about my body… where I focus its life and energy, whether I use it for pleasure or pain, whether I trade it in or give it freely, and how I want to feel about my body. The awareness was as exciting as it was empowering.
Crear | Résister | Transform: a festival for feminist movements – 2021… you accompanied me through a series of life-changing moments (!!!)
We call these ‘events,’ though in truth, to me, your feminist learning spaces are, where I take a little of what’s inside me, a little of what your speakers say and some from the discussions to go deeper into our understanding.
Sharing… Partaking… Immersing…
in strength, in vulnerability, in pleasure.
Simply being the transformative feminist that I am, without pretentions, without misgivings…
Welcoming the transformative feminist that I have always been, without even knowing the term or acknowledging it in such a manner or in such terms…
Finding home for the fiercely transformative feminist living within me…
Despite the anger, rage and frustration of not being treated as equals and being treated with ‘less __ than,’
I did not always consider myself a feminist nor did I recognise myself within the feminist movement or discourse… Truly, I appreciate doors being held open, chairs being pulled out to be seated, acknowledgement as a woman, of my femininity.
At times I dismissed the patriarchy with annoyance, at times, I responded with frustration and anger but I did not address it… I did not notice its sinister, insidious toxicity… I was privileged enough to be able to work through it, to survive it, to overcome it, to excel in spite of it… I did not question enough, challenge enough, push my boundaries enough… I did not do enough…
connecting with sex workers, exploring sexuality, and the women for peace and security...
Until I became fully aware and understood the implications of both privilege and oppression that was intersectional.
Until I realised what it meant to fight for gender justice and not simply ‘equality for all.’
Practitioner and facilitator no longer, I am a transformative feminist practitioner and facilitator.
Being a feminist means that I will act
– through my daily activities: the way I live, the work that I do, the processes that I am invited to lead, the workshops and lectures that I am invited to give –
to push back against patriarchal toxicity, to dismantle patriarchal structures and systems,
to work to decolonise values, beliefs, thoughts, to smash the myths of gender norms and expectations,
to address power imbalances imposed by patriarchal beliefs and socialisation,
to foster relationships built on inclusion, holism, equity, care, reciprocity, accountability and justice,
to stand and act in solidarity in the frontlines of the fight towards inclusion, equity and justice.
Plunging into uncertain, fragile, complex (and possibly quite violent) future…
I want to discover myself and be myself more intimately, authentically and deeply through the movement…
I want to be more actively involved in and interconnected through this love relationship.
I am deeply grateful for you and I promise to remain fierce in addressing and redressing problematic issues around gender, race, ethnicity, social class, sexual orientation and ability, and remain present and faithful to the struggle for inclusion, equity and justice.
As feminist and labour movements, together in solidarity, we articulate the following points as a collective vision for care economies with domestic workers rights at the centre. We call on feminist and social movements to join the call to rethink the economy with care at its centre recognising the rights, agency and leadership of domestic worker movements.
Our manifesto is a response to a complex context.
Domestic and care work is in the limelight after the COVID-19 global pandemic as it provided the means to carry the world through multiple intersecting crises at the global scale. The World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and other multilateral institutions also acknowledge the importance of care and domestic work in sustaining the world’s economy. However, it is our analysis that this recognition most often takes an instrumentalist approach (i.e. care work sustains the ‘productive’ economy) focused on profiteering from care work without recognizing care as a human right and public good, or providing recognition and rights to the workers undertaking the bulk of this labour.
Radical Democracy and Climate Justice - the missing debate of COP30
As the world struggles with multiple intersecting crises, local communities and collectives of various kinds are resisting as also creating constructive alternatives.
📅 Wednesday, November 12, 2025
📍 Seminario Mar Nossa Sra Da Assunção, Pará, Brazil
A hands-on deckgame for collectives to explore feminist economic alternatives and systems of care as crisis response. This deckgame is for all movements navigating global climate crises through play and strategy based on real-life scenarios. A creative avenue to strategize in meetings, workshops, and community gatherings!
Organizing creatively, facing an increasing threat
Young feminist activists play a critical role in women’s rights organizations and movements worldwide by bringing up new issues that feminists face today. Their strength, creativity and adaptability are vital to the sustainability of feminist organizing.
At the same time, they face specific impediments to their activism such as limited access to funding and support, lack of capacity-building opportunities, and a significant increase of attacks on young women human rights defenders. This creates a lack of visibility that makes more difficult their inclusion and effective participation within women’s rights movements.
A multigenerational approach
AWID’s young feminist activism program was created to make sure the voices of young women are heard and reflected in feminist discourse. We want to ensure that young feminists have better access to funding, capacity-building opportunities and international processes. In addition to supporting young feminists directly, we are also working with women’s rights activists of all ages on practical models and strategies for effective multigenerational organizing.
Our Actions
We want young feminist activists to play a role in decision-making affecting their rights by:
Fostering community and sharing information through the Young Feminist Wire. Recognizing the importance of online media for the work of young feminists, our team launched the Young Feminist Wire in May 2010 to share information, build capacity through online webinars and e-discussions, and encourage community building.
Researching and building knowledge on young feminist activism, to increase the visibility and impact of young feminist activism within and across women’s rights movements and other key actors such as donors.
Promoting more effective multigenerational organizing, exploring better ways to work together.
Supporting young feminists to engage in global development processes such as those within the United Nations
Collaboration across all of AWID’s priority areas, including the Forum, to ensure young feminists’ key contributions, perspectives, needs and activism are reflected in debates, policies and programs affecting them.
Four Decades of Campaigning for the Safety and Rights of Sex Workers
Since 1975, the English Collective of Prostitutes (ECP) has worked nationally and internationally for the decriminalisation of sex work and towards safer working conditions for sex workers. ECP has supported women and other sex workers against charges of soliciting, closure orders, Anti-social behaviour orders (ASBOs), and brothel keeping.
Not criminals
The UK based ECP campaigns for the abolition of laws which criminalize sex workers and their families, for the expunging of criminal records, as well as for housing, economic alternatives and higher benefits and wages and in ECP's words, so that "any of us can leave prostitution if and when we want."
Standing up to state power
The struggle for sex workers’ rights is a continued and decade long struggle. It takes courage to fight against criminalising laws passed by state authorities and enforced by police power. ECP’s courage has often paid off in its many years of advocacy and resistance.
For 12 days in 1982, 50 women from the Collective occupied a church in London to protest against illegal police action, violence and racism against street workers. In 1995, ECP, with the support of Women against Rape, won a landmark case (and first-ever private prosecution for rape) after the authorities declined to prosecute a serial rapist who targeted sex workers. And ten years ago, after the murder of five women in Ipswich, ECP launched the Safety First Coalition, spearheading a campaign against the Policing and Crime Act which gave police greater powers to “arrest us for soliciting, force us into “rehabilitation”, raid our flats, get us evicted, and steal our earnings and property. It also criminalised clients."
Currently the English Collective of Prostitutes is opposing the new Welfare Reform law which abolishes income support as this is the only benefit that mothers and victims of domestic violence rely on. As ECP tells AWID, “Most sex workers are mothers trying to do our best for our children. Mothers should be supported not attacked.”
“We are in touch with sex workers all over the world. The situation of those of us in the Global South and those of us who work the streets, often black women, other women of colour and/or immigrant women, has always been our starting point.”
ECP, an AWID institutional member since 2014, is also part of the International Prostitutes Collective.
Watch Niki Adams of ECP talk about decriminalisation of sex work in Soho.
Cuatro décadas haciendo campaña por la seguridad y los derechos de lxs trabajadorxs sexuales
Desde 1975 el English Collective of Prostitutes [Colectivo Inglés de Prostitutas, ECP] viene trabajando a nivel nacional e internacional contra la criminalización del trabajo sexual y para lograr condiciones de trabajo más seguras para lxs trabajadorxs sexuales. ECP ha respaldado a mujeres y otrxs trabajadorxs sexuales que enfrentaban cargos por prostitución, órdenes de clausura, órdenes civiles por comportamiento antisocial (ASBO por sus siglas en inglés) y por el mantenimiento de burdeles.
No somos criminales
«Somos mujeres que trabajamos o hemos trabajado en diferentes áreas de la industria del sexo - tanto en las calles como en locales.»
ECP tiene sede en el Reino Unido y hace incidencia por la abolición de las leyes que criminalizan a lxs trabajadorxs sexuales y a sus familias y por la eliminación de sus antecedentes penales. También trabaja para lograr viviendas, alternativas económicas y beneficios y sueldos más altos para que lxs trabajadorxs sexuales tengan la posibilidad de dejar ese trabajo si así lo desean.
Haciendo frente al poder del estado
La lucha por los derechos de lxs trabajadorxs sexuales ha sido continua y ya lleva varias décadas. Se requiere valentía para luchar contra leyes criminalizadoras aprobadas por autoridades estatales y aplicadas por el poder policial. La valentía que ha demostrado ECP en sus muchos años de defensa y resistencia a menudo ha dado buenos resultados.
En 1982, durante 12 días, 50 mujeres del Colectivo ocuparon una iglesia en Londres para protestar contra las acciones ilegales de la policía, y también contra la violencia y el racismo hacia lxs trabajadorxs sexuales. En 1995 y con el apoyo de Women Against Rape [Mujeres Contra la Violación], ECP ganó un caso que sentó precedente (y que fue el primer juicio por violación iniciado por una organización a título particular) después de que las autoridades declinaron procesar a un violador en serie que atentaba específicamente contra trabajadorxs sexuales. Y hace diez años, luego del asesinato de cinco mujeres en Ipswich, el colectivo lanzó la Safety First Coalition [Coalición por la Seguridad Ante Todo], una campaña en contra de la Ley sobre Delito y Vigilancia Policial que daba mayor poder a la policía para «arrestarnos por prostitución, obligarnos a ir a ‘rehabilitación’, hacer redadas en nuestros apartamentos, conseguir que nos desalojaran y robar nuestros ingresos y bienes. También criminalizaba a los clientes».
Actualmente, el Colectivo Inglés de Prostitutas se opone a la nueva Ley de Reforma de la Asistencia Social que suprime el apoyo a la renta, porque las madres y víctimas de violencia doméstica dependen de esta única prestación. Según lo que explicaron a AWID, «La mayoría de lxs trabajadorxs sexuales somos madres intentando hacer lo mejor para nuestrxs hijxs. A las madres se las debe apoyar y no atacar.»
«Estamos en contacto con trabajadorxs sexuales de todo el mundo. Nuestro punto de partida siempre ha sido la situación de aquellxs de nosotrxs que estamos en el Sur Global y de las que trabajamos en las calles, a menudo mujeres negras, otras mujeres de color y/o inmigrantes».
ECP, afiliada institucional de AWID desde 2014, también es parte del International Prostitutes Collective [Colectivo Internacional de Prostitutas].
Mira un video en el que Niki Adams del ECP habla (en inglés) sobre la despenalización del trabajo sexual en Soho.
Conéctate:
Ponte en contacto con el Colectivo Inglés de Prostitutas a través de nuestro directorio en línea o por correo electrónico a membership@awid.org.
Quarante ans de campagne pour les droits et la sécurité des travailleuses du sexe
Depuis 1975, l’English Collective of Prostitutes (ECP, le Collectif anglais des prostituées) lutte pour obtenir la décriminalisation du travail du sexe et des conditions de travail plus sûres pour les travailleuses du sexe, tant au niveau national qu’au niveau international.
L’ECP apporte son soutien à toutes les personnes vivant du travail du sexe, indépendamment de leur genre, lorsqu’elles sont poursuivies pour racolage ou pour des faits de tenue de maison close, quand elles se voient contraintes de fermer leur lieu de travail ou qu’elles sont soumises à une ordonnance pour comportement antisocial (Anti-social behaviour orders, ASBOs) .
Nous ne sommes pas des criminelles
« Nous sommes des femmes qui travaillons ou avons travaillé dans différents domaines de l’industrie du sexe, que ce soit dans la rue ou dans des établissements. »
Basé au Royaume-Uni, l’ECP milite pour que les lois qui criminalisent les travailleuses du sexe et leurs familles soient abolies, pour que les faits relatfs au travail du sexe soient supprimés du casier juduciaire et enfin pour que les travailleuses du sexe se voient offrir des alternatives en matière de logement et de développement économique ainsi que des salaires et dans les mots d'ECP, de sorte que "chacune de nous peut sortir de la prostitution si et quand nous le voulons."
Tenir tête au pouvoir de l’État
La lutte en faveur des droits des personnes qui vivent du travail du sexe est permanente et dure depuis des décennies. Il faut du courage pour résister aux lois criminalisantes adoptées par les autorités publiques et à la mise en application de celles-ci par les forces de police. Le courage de l’ECP a souvent été récompensé au cours de ces longues années de lutte et de résistance.
En 1982, 50 femmes du collectif ont occupé une église londonnienne pendant 12 jours pour protester contre les interventions illégales de la police mais aussi contre la violence et le racisme dont sont victimes des travailleurs-euses du sexe qui exercent leurs activités dans la rue. En 1995, avec le soutien de l’organisation Women against Rape (Femmes contre le viol), l’ECP a remporté une victoire qui a fait date. Cette toute première poursuite au privé pour viol avait été lancée parce que les autorités publiques avaient auparavant refusé de poursuivre un violeur en série qui ciblait les travailleuses du sexe.
Il y a dix ans, après le meurtre de cinq femmes à Ipswich, l’ECP a lancé la « Safety First Coalition » (la coalition pour la sécurité avant tout). Cette coalition a été le fer de lance d’une campagne contre la loi relative au maintien de l’ordre et à la prévention de la criminalité (le « Policing and Crime Act »), qui octroyaient des pouvoirs étendus aux policiers pour « nous arrêter pour racolage, nous contraindre à suivre des programme de réhabilitation, rafler nos appartements, nous faire expulser, voler notre argent et nos biens. Cette loi criminalisait également les clients. »
Actuellement, l’ECP fait campagne contre la loi de réforme de la protection sociale qui abolit certaines aides sociales, qui étaient les seules sources de revenu sur lesquelles les mères et les victimes de violence domestique pouvaient compter. Comme l’ECP l’a expliqué à l’AWID, « la plupart des travailleuses du sexe sont des mères qui tentent de faire de leur mieux pour leurs enfants. Il faut les protéger plutôt que les agresser ».
« Nous sommes en contact avec destravailleurs-euses du sexe dans le monde entier. Notre point de départ est toujours la situation que nous vivons dans les pays du Sud, celle que nous vivons dans les rues, alors que beaucoup d’entre nous sont des femmes noires, métisses et/ou des immigrées. »
Membre institutionnel de l’AWID depuis 2014, l’ECP fait également partie de l’International Prostitutes Collective.
Regardez une vidéo dans laquelle Niki Adams, de l’ECP, parle de la décriminalisation du travail du sexe à Soho (en anglais)
Feminism, motherhood and the struggle for gender equality
“In our struggle for equality, we tend to forget that women are also mothers (if they chose to be). We should not be ashamed of our ability to give birth to a human being. The rights of mothers are also women's rights. Being a mother and a feminist is not a contradiction” says Aleksandra Miletić-Šantić, a lawyer and single mother of three children.
Aleksandra is originally from Mostar in Bosnia and Herzegovina (BH). She currently lives and works in Sarajevo as a BH focal point person for the Council of Europe’s Human Education for Legal Professionals Programme. She is also a specialist in the Monitoring and Evaluation of Development Programmes.
The years 1992-1995 was a tumultuous period in war torn Bosnia and Herzegovina when Aleksandra worked as a War Studio of Mostar correspondent for the Sarajevo-based Radio-Television BH. The multi-ethnic Studio had been created with the goal of being a source of optimism to citizens and as part of an attempt to preserve cultural and artistic life under abnormal conditions. This studio was attacked and subsequently closed. In 1993 it was permanently destroyed when the building it occupied with the Headquarters of the BH Army was set on fire.
Aleksandra’s journalistic background and experience of living through armed conflict as a young woman has made her a passionate advocate for peace building.
In her current professional capacity she works on the implementation of the United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace and Security. She has designed and facilitated training programs on gender and security, and also engages with the UN Women Office in BH to support national gender mechanisms in the implementation of the Resolution 1325.
“In the ideal world, being a feminist would be a matter of decency as it would be considered normal that all people have the same rights and liberties. That would include all rights - civil, social, economic and political.”
For the past 15 years, Aleksandra has been working on the improvement of human rights in BH, and was one of the pioneer gender advisors for the Common Security and Defence Policy missions of the European Union (EU).
In her role as gender advisor for the EU Police Mission (EUPM) in BH she introduced the action plan for gender mainstreaming as a tool that focuses on improving the internal position of women staff members, while integrating gender in the EUPM mandate activities in BH.
Aleksandra’s dream of a better world drives her in the work she does:
“My dream is a world where everybody will be able to achieve their full potential, where not a single person will know about poverty or insecurity. Sadly, so many years after the adoption of basic human rights instruments, a way of life is still not a matter of individual choice.”
Aleksandra has been an AWID member since February 2014.
“I have become an AWID member as its mission and the way it is implemented strongly correspondents to my ideals. I also cherish the way AWID treats its members by paying due attention to every single member regardless of any basis. It makes every member feel as an important actor of change.”
Feminismo, maternidad y la lucha por la igualdad de género
«En nuestra lucha por la igualdad, tendemos a olvidar que las mujeres también son madres (si así lo deciden). No deberíamos sentirnos avergonzadas por tener la capacidad de dar a luz a un ser humano. Los derechos de las madres son también parte de los derechos de las mujeres. Ser madre y feminista no es una contradicción», dice Aleksandra Miletić-Šantić, abogada y madre soltera de tres hijas/os.
Aleksandra es oriunda de Mostar, Bosnia y Herzegovina (BH). Actualmente vive y trabaja en Sarajevo como la persona de contacto en BH para el programa Human Rights Education for Legal Professionals [Formación en Derechos Humanos para Profesionales del Derecho] del Consejo de Europa. Aleksandra también es especialista en el seguimiento y evaluación de programas de desarrollo.
El período que va de 1992 a 1995 fue tumultuoso en una Bosnia y Herzegovina devastada por la guerra. Aleksandra trabajó en la estación de radio War Studio [Estudio de Guerra] de Mostar como corresponsal para la Radio-Televisión BH de Sarajevo. Era una estación de radio multiétnica que había sido creada con el objetivo de ser una fuente de optimismo para la ciudadanía y de preservar la vida cultural y artística en una situación anormal, pero que fue atacada y posteriormente cerrada. En 1993, la estación fue destruida para siempre cuando incendiaron el edificio que ocupaba junto al Cuartel General del Ejército de BH.
Su experiencia como periodista y como mujer joven que vivió durante un conflicto armado ha hecho que hoy día Aleksandra sea una ferviente defensora de la consolidación de la paz. En su actual rol como profesional, trabaja en la implementación de la Resolución 1325 del Consejo de Seguridad de las Naciones Unidas (ONU) sobre Mujeres, Paz y Seguridad. Aleksandra ha diseñado y facilitado programas de capacitación sobre género y seguridad y colabora con la Oficina de ONU Mujeres en BH para apoyar a los organismos estatales que se ocupan del género en la implementación de la Resolución 1325 a nivel nacional.
«En un mundo ideal, ser feminista sería simplemente una cuestión de decencia, ya que sería considerado normal que todas las personas tuvieran los mismos derechos y libertades. Esto incluiría todos los derechos—civiles, sociales, económicos y políticos.»
Durante los últimos quince años, Aleksandra ha trabajado para mejorar los derechos humanos en BH y ha sido una de las asesoras pioneras en temas de género para las misiones de la Política Común de Seguridad y Defensa de la Unión Europea (UE). En su rol como asesora en género para la Misión de Policía de la UE en BH, Aleksandra introdujo el plan de acción para la transversalización de género como una herramienta enfocada a mejorar la situación del personal femenino al interno de la organización, al mismo tiempo que incorporaba temas de género en el mandato de la Misión para sus actividades en BH.
El sueño de Aleksandra por lograr un mundo mejor es lo que la impulsa a hacer el trabajo que hace:
«Mi sueño es un mundo donde todas las personas puedan alcanzar su máximo potencial y donde nadie sepa lo que son la pobreza o la inseguridad. Lamentablemente, tantos años después de haber adoptado las herramientas básicas de derechos humanos todavía hay personas que no tienen la libertad de elegir de qué forma quieren vivir.»
Aleksandra es afiliada a AWID desde febrero de 2014.
«Me afilié a AWID porque su misión y la forma en que la implementan coinciden totalmente con mis ideales. También valoro la forma como AWID trata a su membresía, prestando la debida atención a cada una/o, independientemente de quienes sean. Eso hace todas/os sientan que son agentes de cambio importantes.”
Féminisme, maternité et combat pour l’égalité de genre
« Dans notre combat pour l’égalité, nous avons tendance à oublier que les femmes sont aussi des mères (si elles ont choisi de l’être). Nous ne devons pas avoir honte de notre capacité à donner naissance à un être humain. Les droits des mères font aussi partie des droits des femmes. Être une mère et être une féministe n’est pas contradictoire », affirme Aleksandra Miletić-Šantić, une avocate qui élève seule ses trois enfants.
Aleksandra est originaire de Mostar en Bosnie-Herzégovine. Elle vit actuellement à Sarajevo, où elle exerce en tant que point focal du Programme de formation aux droits de l’homme pour les professionnels du droit du Conseil de l’Europe. Elle est aussi spécialiste du suivi et de l’évaluation des programmes de développement.
Lors de la tourmente des années 1992-1995, pendant lesquelles la Bosnie-Herzégovine était déchirée par la guerre, Aleksandra était correspondante au War Studio de Mostar pour la Radio-télévision nationale basée à Sarajevo. Ce studio pluriethnique avait été créé dans l’objectif de redonner espoir aux habitants de la ville et il contribuait aux efforts pour préserver une vie culturelle et artistique malgré les conditions anormales. Le studio a dû fermer suite à un attentat, et en 1993 il a été complètement détruit lorsque l’immeuble dans lequel il se trouvait, qui abritait également le quartier général de l’armée de Bosnie-Herzégovine, a été incendié.
Son passé de journaliste et le conflit armé qu’elle a vécu alors qu’elle était une jeune femme ont fait d’elle une militante passionnée de la construction de la paix. De par ses fonctions actuelles elle participe activement à la mise en œuvre de la Résolution 1325 du Conseil de Sécurité de l’ONU sur les femmes, la paix et la sécurité. Elle a conçu et organisé des programmes de formation sur le genre et la sécurité, et elle collabore avec le Bureau de ONU Femmes en Bosnie-Herzégovine pour que soient créés des mécanismes de genre au niveau national favorisant la mise en œuvre de la Résolution 1325.
« Dans un monde idéal, être féministe serait la moindre des corrections car il serait considéré comme normal que toutes et tous aient les mêmes droits et les mêmes libertés. Tous les droits - civils, sociaux, économiques et politiques. »
Ces 15 dernières années, Aleksandra a œuvré à l’amélioration des droits humains en Bosnie-Herzégovine, et elle a été l’une des toutes premières conseillères en matière de genre auprès des missions de la Politique de sécurité et de défense commune (PSDC) de l’Union Européenne (UE). En tant que conseillère en matière de genre auprès de la Mission de police de l’Union européenne (MPUE) en Bosnie-Herzégovine, elle a mis en place un plan d’action pour l’intégration de la dimension du genre ; un outil axé sur l’amélioration du statut du personnel féminin, et qui visait aussi à intégrer la question du genre dans les activités entreprises par la MPUE au titre de son mandat en Bosnie-Herzégovine.
Aleksandra rêve d’un monde meilleur et c’est ce qui la motive dans sa vie professionnelle :
« Je rêve d’un monde où chacune et chacun pourra réaliser pleinement son potentiel, où personne ne connaîtra la pauvreté et l’insécurité. Malheureusement, alors qu’il y tant d’années que les instruments des droits humains fondamentaux ont été mis en place, le mode de vie n’est toujours pas une affaire de choix personnel. »
Aleksandra est membre de l’AWID depuis février 2014.
« Je suis devenue membre de l’AWID car sa mission et la façon dont elle la met en œuvre correspondent en tout point à mon idéal. J’apprécie aussi la façon dont l’AWID traite ses membres, en accordant la même attention à chacun d’entre eux sans aucun préjugé. Grâce à cela, chaque membre se sent un acteur/une actrice important-e du changement. »
WE-Change: Las voces de las mujeres LBT* en el Caribe se escuchan más fuerte
En todo el Caribe, la incidencia por el reconocimiento y la realización de los derechos de lesbianas, gays, personas bisexuales y trans* (LGBT*) tiene lugar en un contexto excluyente, homofóbico y transfóbico.
Women’s Empowerment for Change [Empoderamiento de las Mujeres para el Cambio, WE-Change], afiliada a AWID desde su creación en mayo de 2015, crea conciencia acerca de los derechos de las mujeres lesbianas, bisexuales y trans* (LBT*) en Jamaica y el Caribe y los defiende. Es una organización de base comunitaria, liderada por mujeres. Veinte mujeres LBT* crearon WE-Change con el objetivo de fortalecer el movimiento de mujeres dentro de la comunidad LGBT* e incrementar la participación de las mujeres LBT* en la promoción y defensa de la justicia social en Jamaica y la región, reconociendo que en el Caribe los espacios de incidencia LGBT* en general están dominados por los hombres, se centran en ellos y suelen marginar a las mujeres.
“Las personas LGBT* cada vez defienden más sus derechos, la igualdad ante la ley, la equidad en los servicios sociales y la protección, y exigen ser tratadas con la dignidad intrínseca con la que nacieron. Yo soy una de esas personas LGBT*. Y tengo un compromiso permanente con la eliminación de todas las formas de estigma y discriminación contra mi comunidad en general y contra las mujeres de mi comunidad en particular”. – Latoya Nugent, Cofundadora y Directora Adjunta de WE-Change
A los pocos meses de haber sido creado, este grupo organizó sesiones de capacitación en nociones básicas de derecho aplicado a la violencia doméstica y sobre la Ley de Violencia Doméstica, además de preparar a facilitadoras para que supieran cómo dar respuesta a y abordar la violencia de género y la causada por la pareja. Para esta actividad se asoció con el Jamaica Forum of Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays [Foro Jamaiquino de Lesbianas, Pansexuales y Gays, J-FLAG]; aquí podrás escuchar lo que dijeron las participantes (en inglés).
“WE-Change quiere una sociedad en la que se reconozcan, respeten y protejan los derechos de cada persona, y en la que garantes de obligaciones y proveedores de cuidados se comprometan a crear un ambiente que permita a todas las personas aportar al desarrollo sostenible de Jamaica”.
Al mismo tiempo que procura crear espacios alternativos y seguros en los que la comunidad LBT* pueda expresarse y reducir la homofobia y la transfobia, WE-Change también promueve el autocuidado y el bienestar a través de clases de danza, el yoga y entrenamiento físico (fitness boot camp). Por ejemplo: en la ‘danza aeróbica’, a las participantes se les enseñan “distintos pasos de danza al ritmo de los últimos éxitos de la soca y el dancehall (géneros musicales caribeños)”. Y para celebrar el amor durante #Pride2015 [Orgullo 2015], las mujeres de WE-Change hicieron el video siguiente (en inglés) porque ¡#LoveWins [El amor triunfa]!
WE-Change: faire entendre les voix des femmes LBT dans les Caraïbes
Dans les Caraïbes, le plaidoyer en faveur de la reconnaissance et du respect des droits des personnes lesbiennes, gaies, bisexuelles et trans* (LGBT) s’effectue dans un climat homophobe, transphobe et non-inclusif.
L’organisation Women’s Empowerment for Change - WE-Change (l’autonomisation des femmes pour le changement), membre de l’AWID depuis sa création en mai 2015, œuvre pour sensibiliser et défendre les droits des femmes lesbiennes, bisexuelles et trans* (LBT) en Jamaïque et dans les Caraïbes. Cette organisation communautaire est dirigée par des femmes. Sur la base du constat que la majorité des espaces dédiés à la sensibilisation en faveur des personnes lesbiennes, gaies, bisexuelles et trans* (LGBT) sont dominés par et centrés sur les hommes et que les femmes y sont souvent marginalisées, une vingtaine de femmes LBT ont créé WE-Change, avec l’objectif de renforcer le mouvement des femmes au sein de la communauté LGBT et d’augmenter la participation des femmes LBT aux actions de plaidoyer et de sensibilisation en faveur de la justice sociale en Jamaïque et dans la région.
« De plus en plus de personnes lesbiennes, gaies, bisexuelles et trans* (LGBT) se mobilisent pour faire valoir leurs droits, pour l’égalité devant la loi, pour l’équité en matière de services et de protection sociale et exigent d’être traitées avec la dignité qui leur est due. Je suis une de ces personnes LGBT et je m’engage en faveur de l’élimination de tout forme de stigmatisation et de discrimination contre ma communauté en général et contre les femmes de ma communauté en particulier. » Latoya Nugent, Co-fondatrice et Directrice associée de WE-Change
Deux mois à peine après sa création, le groupe a déjà organisé des ateliers de formation sur les aspects juridiques de la violence domestique, une formation de formatrices sur la manière de traiter et de répondre à la violence basée sur le genre et à la violence dans les relations intimes, ainsi qu’une formation sur la loi relative à la violence domestique. Ces sessions ont été co-organisée avec le Jamaica Forum of Lesbians, All-Sexuals and Gays ou J-FLAG (forum jamaïcain des personnes lesbiennes, bisexuelles et gaies). Découvrez ce que les participantes en ont pensé. (en anglais)
« WE-Change envisage une société où les droits de chaque personne sont reconnus, respectés, et protégés et où les responsables et le personnel soignant s’engagent à créer un environnement propice dans lequel chaque personne peut contribuer au développement durable de la Jamaïque. »
En parallèle de la création d’espaces alternatifs et sécurisants pour que la communauté LBT puisse s’exprimer et pour faire reculer l’homophobie et la transphobie, WE-Change promeut également le souci de soi et le bien-être grâce à des cours de danse, de yoga et des sessions de fitness intensives. Pendant les ‘dancerobics’ par exemple, les participantes ont pu apprendre « des mouvements de danse sur les nouveaux tubes de soca et de dancehall ». Pour célébrer l’amour pendant la #Pride2015, les femmes de WE-Change ont réalisé cette vidéo (en anglais) car #LoveWins (l’amour triomphe) !
