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.
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"Women Human Rights Defenders confronting extractive industries: an overview of critical risks and Human Rights obligations" is a policy report with a gender perspective. It analyses forms of violations and types of perpetrators, quotes relevant human rights obligations and includes policy recommendations to states, corporations, civil society and donors.
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"Weaving resistance through action: Strategies of Women Human Rights Defenders confronting extractive industries" is a practical guide outlining creative and deliberate forms of action, successful tactics and inspiring stories of resistance.
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The video “Defending people and planet: Women confronting extractive industries” puts courageous WHRDs from Africa, Asia, and Latin America in the spotlight. They share their struggles for land and life, and speak to the risks and challenges they face in their activism.
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Challenging corporate power: Struggles for women’s rights, economic and gender justice is a research paper outlining the impacts of corporate power and offering insights into strategies of resistance.
Share your experience and questions!
◾️ 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?
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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Snippet FEA Sopo Japaridze (EN)
Meet Sopo Japaridze, fierce feminist, union leader and chair of the independent service trade union at the Solidarity Network.
She left the country when she was very young to go to the United States where she first became very politically active as a labor organizer. She kept Georgia in the back of her mind all that time, until one day, two decades later, she decided to return.
The existing Georgian union confederation back then was less than ideal. So, equipped with her skills, knowledge and labor organizing experience, Sopo went back to Georgia and built her own union.
Sopo is a passionate researcher and writer. She studies labor and social relations, writes for various publications and is the contributing editor of LeftEast, an Eastern European analytical platform. She also co-founded the political history initiative and podcast, Reimagining Soviet Georgia, where she explores the complexities and nuances of the country's experiences under the Soviet Union, to better understand its past in order to shed light on how to build a better future.
Reason to join 4
Think big! With our international reach, we combine analytical work with political and practical tools for advocacy and transformation to advance the cause of feminist movements at all levels.
Quanto tempo demora a preencher o inquérito?
O tempo estimado para preencher o inquérito é 30 minutos.
2005: se celebra el segundo Diálogo de Alto Nivel
Segundo Diálogo de Alto Nivel sobre la Financiación para el Desarrollo
- El tema general del Segundo Diálogo de Alto Nivel sobre la Financiación para el Desarrollo, que tuvo lugar el 27 y 28 de junio de 2005, fue El Consenso de Monterrey: estado de aplicación y labor futura.
- Además de las seis mesas redondas tradicionales, cada una centrada en uno de los capítulos del Consenso de Monterrey, se produjo un diálogo interactivo informal en el que participaron muchos actores, incluyendo a grupos por los derechos de las mujeres.
Las naciones ‘en desarrollo’ exhortaron a que se tuvieran en cuenta los desafíos globales así como las necesidades y posibilidades locales en la interacción con diferentes grupos (mujeres, jóvenes, personas con discapacidad, etc.) para abordar las temáticas identificadas en el Consenso de Monterrey.
Efua Dorkenoo
Affectueusement connue sous le nom de « Mama Efua », Efua a lutté contre les mutilations génitales féminines (MGF) pendant trois décennies et a contribué à attirer l'attention et l'action de la communauté internationale pour mettre fin à cette pratique néfaste.
En 1983, Efua a cofondé FORWARD (fondation pour la santé, la recherche et le développement des femmes), qui est devenue une organisation de premier plan dans la lutte contre les MGF. Son livre intitulé « Cutting the Rose: Female Genital Mutilation » (couper la rose), publié en 1994, est considéré comme le premier ouvrage sur les mutilations génitales féminines. Il figure parmi « Les 100 meilleurs livres africains du XXe siècle » de l’Université de Columbia.
Originaire du Ghana et infirmière de formation, Efua a rejoint l'OMS en 1995 et a réussi à faire en sorte que les mutilations génitales féminines fassent partie des agendas politiques des États membres de l'OMS. Elle a également travaillé en étroite collaboration avec le gouvernement nigérian pour élaborer une politique nationale globale qui servirait de base légale aux lois nigérianes contre les mutilations et qui est toujours en vigueur à ce jour.
Son travail de pionnière a abouti à une campagne menée par l'Afrique intitulée « The Girl Generation », qui s'est engagée à mettre fin aux MGF en une génération. Efua a montré comment une seule personne peut devenir la voix unificatrice d'un mouvement : « Une identité partagée peut aider à rassembler des activistes d'horizons différents dans un but commun ». Ces mots, emplis de sagesse, sont plus pertinents que jamais.
Snippet FEA Criminalization of sex workers (ES)
La mayoría de los Estados miembros de la Unión Europea tienen leyes y prácticas que penalizan o controlan a las trabajadoras sexuales de formas inaceptables para ellas. La criminalización de las trabajadoras sexuales y/o sus clientes solo contribuye a aumentar la vulnerabilidad de las trabajadoras sexuales, que ya enfrentan el estigma, la discriminación y la exclusión por parte del Estado y de la sociedad a diario, especialmente las mujeres trabajadoras, lxs trabajadorxs trans, migrantes y/o racializadxs. En España por ejemplo, el gobierno esta actualmente intentando pasar una Ley Orgánica para la Abolición de la Prostitución, que resultara en mas clandestinidad y violencia. Ven a conocer las historias de trabajadoras sexuales y organizadores sindicales que luchan para decriminilizar el trabajo sexual y promover derechos laborales y condiciones de trabajo digno para lxs trabajadxs sexuales.
Hanifa Safi
Our values - Human Rights
Derechos humanos
Sostenemos la completa aplicación del principio de derechos, incluidos aquellos consagrados en leyes internacionales, y afirmamos la convicción de que todos los derechos humanos están interrelacionados y son interdependientes e indivisibles. Estamos comprometidxs a trabajar por la erradicación de todas las discriminaciones basadas en el género, la sexualidad, la religión, la edad, la capacidad, la etnia, la raza, la nacionalidad, la clase, u otros factores.
لا أشعر بالراحة لمشاركة اسمي او اسم مجموعتي، منظمتي و\ أو حركتي مع AWID, هل أستطيع مع ذلك تعبئة الاستطلاع؟
طبعاً! هذه الأسئلة اختيارية. نقدّر جداً حقكم بالسرية. الرجاء تعبئة الاستطلاع دون علاقة بقراركم/ن بمشاركة اسم المجموعة، المنظمة أو الحركة أو تفاصيل التواصل معكم/ن.
2011: le cinquième Dialogue de haut niveau lance les discussions sur l´agenda de développement de l´après-2015
Le cinquième Dialogue de haut niveau sur le financement du développement, organisé les 7 et 8 décembre 2011, a marqué le début des discussions relatives au programme de développement de l’après-2015 et aux liens entre ce programme et le financement du développement. La conférence a accordé une attention particulière à la question de l’accroissement de l’aide au financement des OMD. Dans ses observations finales, le Secrétaire général a appelé les membres à commencer à réfléchir sur le cadre de développement de l’après-2015.
Su’ad Al-Ali
Su’ad was a strong advocate of women’s and children’s rights, and was the head of Al-Weed Al-Alaiami - an Iraqi human rights organisation.
She participated in the July 2018 demonstrations that took place in Basra and several other Iraqi cities protesting unemployment and demanding jobs and proper public services for citizens, as well as calling for the elimination of rampant corruption.
On 25 September 2018, Su’ad was assassinated in the Al-Abbasiyah district in downtown Basra. A video of the incident showed a person approaching her as she was getting into her car, firing a bullet at the back of her head and pointing another bullet at her driver Hussain Hassan, who was injured in the shoulder. Al-Ali was 46 and the mother of four children.
Snippet FEA Unio Otras Photo 3 (FR)

Juana Olivia Hernández Pérez
Membership why page - Kirthi Jayakumar quote
En participant à une activité exclusive pour les membres, j'ai été particulièrement touchée de voir que chacun·e y avait sa place et qu’il n’y avait pas le moindre jugement. Toute la session a été dynamique et vivante.- Kirthi Jayakumar, Fondatrice, The Gender Security Project, Inde
Могу ли я поделиться информацией об опросе с другими?
Да, пожалуйста! Мы просим распространить ссылку на опрос среди своих коллег по сети. Чем больше различных точек зрения мы соберем, тем более полным будет наше понимание финансового положения феминистских организаций.
May 2015: Consultations on the Draft Outcome document are held
Additional consultation sessions on the Draft Outcome Document
- On 7 May, the revised outcome document for the 3rd FfD conference in Addis was released by the co-facilitators
- In support of continued progress on the Outcome Document, ad hoc additional sessions for consultations on the Draft Outcome Document took place from 12-15 May 2015 and 26-29 May 2015 at UN headquarters in New York
Fahmida Riaz
“Afterwards
After love the first time,
Our naked bodies and minds
A hall of mirrors,
Wholly unarmed, utterly fragile,
We lie in one another's arms
Breathing with care,
Afraid to break
These crystal figurines.” - Fahmida Riaz
Fahmida Riaz broke social taboos by writing about female desire in her poetry, creating alternative narratives about women’s bodies and sexuality, and setting new standards in Urdu literature.
Her work faced harsh criticism from conservatives, who accused her of using erotic and “pornographic” expressions in her poetic language.
Fahimida was eventually blacklisted and charged with sedition under Section 124A of the Pakistan Penal Code) during the dictatorship of Zia Ul Haq. Forced into exile in 1981, she spent almost seven years in India before returning to Pakistan.
As part of the preface to “Badan Dareeda” ('The Torn-Bodied'), a collection of poetry published in 1974, she wrote:
The brilliance of Fahmida was in defying any singular logic or categories of gender, nation, religion or culture. She refused to be put in the role of a ‘woman poet’, breaking with traditional definitions of feminine poetry and concepts and themes (ranging from political consciousness, body, culture, desire, religion, home) and knocking down inhibitions put on her gender.
“You have to understand that culture can have no essence. Cultures move, flowing into one another, forming new cultures. Culture is born this way. There is no clash of cultures.”
Fahmida authored more than 15 books on poetry and fiction including her poem ‘Taaziyati Qaraardaaden’ (‘Condolence Resolutions’) that might serve as an appropriate tribute to her life and legacy and a collection of poems (Apna Jurm To Saabit He ‘My Crime Stands Proven’) published in 1988 during her time in exile.
Fahmida Riaz was born in Meerut, India on 28 July 1946 and passed away on 21 November 2018 in Lahore, Pakistan.