Special Focus

AWID is an international, feminist, membership organisation committed to achieving gender equality, sustainable development and women’s human rights

Confronting Extractivism & Corporate Power

Women human rights defenders (WHRDs) worldwide defend their lands, livelihoods and communities from extractive industries and corporate power. They stand against powerful economic and political interests driving land theft, displacement of communities, loss of livelihoods, and environmental degradation.


Why resist extractive industries?

Extractivism is an economic and political model of development that commodifies nature and prioritizes profit over human rights and the environment. Rooted in colonial history, it reinforces social and economic inequalities locally and globally. Often, Black, rural and Indigenous women are the most affected by extractivism, and are largely excluded from decision-making. Defying these patriarchal and neo-colonial forces, women rise in defense of rights, lands, people and nature.

Critical risks and gender-specific violence

WHRDs confronting extractive industries experience a range of risks, threats and violations, including criminalization, stigmatization, violence and intimidation.  Their stories reveal a strong aspect of gendered and sexualized violence. Perpetrators include state and local authorities, corporations, police, military, paramilitary and private security forces, and at times their own communities.

Acting together

AWID and the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (WHRD-IC) are pleased to announce “Women Human Rights Defenders Confronting Extractivism and Corporate Power”; a cross-regional research project documenting the lived experiences of WHRDs from Asia, Africa and Latin America.

We encourage activists, members of social movements, organized civil society, donors and policy makers to read and use these products for advocacy, education and inspiration.

Share your experience and questions!

Tell us how you are using the resources on WHRDs Confronting extractivism and corporate power.

◾️ How can these resources support your activism and advocacy?

◾️ What additional information or knowledge do you need to make the best use of these resources?

Share your feedback


Thank you!

AWID acknowledges with gratitude the invaluable input of every Woman Human Rights Defender who participated in this project. This project was made possible thanks to your willingness to generously and openly share your experiences and learnings. Your courage, creativity and resilience is an inspiration for us all. Thank you!

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Rachel Mabaudi

Biography

Rachel es una profesional financiera con más de dos décadas de experiencia. Ha supervisado negocios y proyectos financieros para entidades privadas y públicas, organizaciones sin fines de lucro y organizaciones internacionales no gubernamentales. Es una contadora pública con una maestría global en administración de empresas, e integra el instituto sudafricano de contadores públicos. En su tiempo libre, Rachel diseña arte tipográfico, y disfruta de viajar y de pasar tiempo con familia y amigues con una botella de vino.

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Finance Manager
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Merci d'avoir téléchargé la Boîte à outils des réalités féministes

مجموعتنا، منظمتنا و\أو حركتنا غير مسجلة. هل علينا تعبئة الاستطلاع؟

نعم! نريد أن نسمع منكم/ن عن تجربتكم/ن بالتمويل.

Marceline Loridan-Ivens

Née en 1928, Marceline était actrice, scénariste et réalisatrice.

En 2003, elle avait réalisé « La petite prairie aux bouleaux », mettant en vedette Anouk Aimée, ainsi que plusieurs autres documentaires. Survivante de l'holocauste, elle n'avait que quinze ans lorsque son père et elle furent arrêtés et envoyés dans des camps de concentration nazis. Les trois kilomètres qui la séparaient de son père à Auschwitz alors qu’elle-même était à Birkenau furent une distance insurmontable, décrite dans l’un de ses romans majeurs « Et tu n’es pas revenu ».

En parlant de son travail, elle a un jour déclaré: « Tout ce que je peux dire c’est que tout ce que je peux écrire, tout ce que je peux dévoiler, c’est à moi de le faire. »


 

Marceline Loridan-Ivens, France

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LES VIOLATIONS DES DROITS DU TRAVAIL

Que fait l’AWID ?

Disclaimer: Communications with AWID staff

If you have received emails from any staff members at AWID, we would like you to understand the following:

  • The information contained in this communication is confidential and is intended solely for the addressee. 

  • This communication may contain information proprietary to the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID), and may not be reproduced or disseminated in whole or in part without AWID's written consent. 

  • AWID does not warrant that any information contained herein is complete or correct. This communication is not an offer to enter into any agreement and is not a confirmation of any agreement described herein unless the context clearly indicates the contrary. 

  • AWID is not acting as your adviser in any agreement that may be proposed herein, and this communication does not constitute a recommendation, guidance or proposal to enter into any agreement. 

  • AWID does not guarantee or otherwise assure the expected results of any agreement. This communication may contain views or opinions that are not necessarily those of AWID. 

  • You shall not be entitled to place any reliance on the information contained in this communication for the purposes of entering into any proposed agreement or otherwise.

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Опрос доступен на KOBO – открытой платформе для сбора, управления и визуализации данных. Чтобы принять участие, просто перейдите по ссылке здесь. Следуйте инструкциям, чтобы пройти опрос.

Dilma Ferreira Silva

Dilma Ferreira Silva était une activiste de premier plan des droits amazoniens qui s’est battue durant plusieurs décennies pour les droits des personnes affectées par les barrages.

Elle faisait elle-même partie des 32 000 personnes déplacées par Tucuruí, un imposant barrage hydroélectrique, construit au Brésil sous la dictature militaire de 1964-1985. 

En 2005, Dilma a été invitée à rejoindre le Mouvement des personnes affectées par les barrages (MAB) au Brésil et, en 2006, elle y a formé un collectif de femmes pour finir ensuite par devenir coordonatrice régionale du mouvement.

Évoquant son activisme, ses collègues racontent :

« Elle se distinguait très rapidement car elle n’avait jamais peur dans la lutte. » 

Dilma vivait dans la localité rurale de Salvador Allenda, à 50 kilomètres de Tucuru. Elle a dédié sa vie à mieux protéger les communautés et les territoires affectés par la construction d’énormes projets. Elle était particulièrement préoccupée par l’impact de genre de ce type de projets et plaidait pour les droits des femmes.

Lors d’une réunion d’ordre national du MAB en 2011, Dilma évoqua les femmes affectées par les barrages, soulignant :

« Nous sommes les réelles Marias, guerrières, combattantes ici, nous nous confrontons au défi de la lutte quotidienne. »    

Au cours des années suivantes, Dilma a organisé des groupes de terrain du MAB et travaillé avec les communautés pour former des coopératives paysannes qui permirent de mieux distribuer la nourriture au sein des communautés. Ensemble, elles ont amélioré la commercialisation de la pêche et développé un projet de citerne pour un accès à l’eau potable. Elle défendait aussi les agriculteurs·rices dont les terres étaient convoitées par les « grileiros » (personnes qui s’approprient les terres).

Le 22 mars 2019, à l’âge de 48 ans, Dilma, son mari et leur ami·e furent violemment assassiné·e·s. Ces trois meurtres s’inscrivirent dans une vague de violences en Amazonie contre les Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem (mouvements des travailleurs·ses sans terre) et les activistes écologistes et autochtones.

    

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HEALTH CONDITIONS

Are you a Northern or a Southern organization?

AWID is a global organization.

The main focus of our work is global. We also work closely with members and other women’s rights organizations and allies at the local, national and regional levels so that their realities inform our work.

  • We have offices in Mexico and Canada
  • Our staff are located in 15 countries around the world
  • Ten of our 13 Board members are from the global South.

Find out more about us

Reason to join 3

Share your stories and hear from others. By connecting our experiences, narratives and proposals we help co-create and amplify Feminist Realities.

Calling all artists & creative activists to come together in a new Slack community!

Our thoughts are with the many people all around the world who are most affected by the repercussions of the global COVID-19 pandemic, especially marginalised communities that are historically oppressed.

This is an invitation for artists and creative activists to join a virtual space to connect, build community, and support each other through these challenging times. For this we have created a new Slack community to safely share insights, learnings, life-hacks, resources, advice, fears and anxieties, hopeful and joyful reminders, and in general chat about how we’re doing.

Join us on Slack

After filling out the form, we will send you a personal invitation to the community.


About this community:

For those who are new to Slack, we’ll have orientation sessions and materials available after you sign up.

Since we are working in three languages (English, Spanish, French) we invite you to write in the language you are the most comfortable with and use online translation tools (Google Translate or others) to participate in discussions.

Co-creating welcoming and safe spaces:

Please refer to the Community Guidelines

The co-creation of our feminist realities starts with ourselves and how we treat each other. We are dedicated to creating and protecting safe and supportive spaces for our communities both online and in person.  We also consider that safe and welcoming spaces are co-owned and co-created. We expect our members to act in a manner that is ethical, responsible and consistent with the values of AWID and assume collective responsibility to ensure an atmosphere of mutual respect and solidarity.

Weekly Prompts: 

As part of our ongoing discussions, we will offer weekly prompts in Slack with the intention to gently facilitate dialogue and inspire art-making processes. This can be an introspective process, but to make the most out of this community, we welcome you to interact with other community members and share thoughts as part of our discussions. The intention is to invite folks to respond freely and gradually by writing or making art in whatever way feels best. 

We hope to have relevant and timely discussions with you, so we invite your suggestions and feedback. In general, the themes will center the experiences and perspectives of artists, writers, and creators -- and they will make space for folks to vision into and beyond the current global climate through the lens of feminist realities.


Join us on Slack

O inquérito WITM é acessível para pessoas com deficiência?

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Carol Thomas

Carol Thomas was a trailblazer for women’s sexual and reproductive rights in South Africa. A gifted gynecologist and founder of the WomenSpace, she practiced and advocated for non-traditional ways of delivering healthcare to women, offering services that were high quality, empathetic and accessible.

“She entered into not only the joy of pregnancies and new babies, but the anxieties of infertility and premature deliveries and female cancers, the heartbreak of miscarriages and stillbirths.” Helen Moffett

Carol thought in new paradigms that centered the needs of women with the least access to services and rights in society:

“The prevailing socio-economic environment that we find ourselves in means that women bear a disproportionate burden of disease and unemployment…As a black, previously disadvantaged woman I have a good sense of what is happening in our communities.” - Carol Thomas

Carol’s innovative and multi-award-winning social venture “iMobiMaMa” used mobile kiosks and interactive technology to connect women directly with antenatal and reproductive health services, information and support in communities all over South Africa.

Carol supported women both in wanted and unwanted pregnancies, mentoring many nurses and doctors during her lifetime.

She was also described as the go-to gynecologist “for trans folks who could have affirming care. She got it right when so many did not have the language or pronouns. Her warm blankets, listening and saying just what you needed to hear was so comforting.” -Marion Lynn Stevens

Carol Thomas was described as being at the height of her professional career when she died on 12 April 2019 of complications following a double lung transplant.

The tributes that poured in following her unexpected death referred to her as many things:

“a role model, warrior woman, innovator, dynamic leader, mould-breaker, dynamo, brilliant scientist, compassionate doctor.”

Undoubtedly, Carol Thomas will be remembered and honored for being all of this and much more.