Angy Ferreira
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!
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?
◾️ 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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Hevrin Khalaf
Hevrin Khalaf was a prominent Syrian Kurdish political leader in the autonomous region of Rojava where Kurdish women are risking their lives to resist the Turkish offensive and build a feminist system.
She was Secretary-General of the Future Syria Party (FSP), a group that aimed to build bridges, reconcile different ethnic groups and work towards a “democratic, pluralistic, and decentralized Syria.”
Hevrin was a symbol of this reconciliation effort. She also worked to promote equality between women and men and was a representative for visiting journalists, aid workers, and diplomats.
Hevrin was also a civil engineer from Derik, and was one of the founders of the Foundation for Science and Free Thought in 2012.
On 12 October 2019 she was tortured and murdered by the Turkish-backed militia, Ahrar al-Sharqiya during a military operation against Syrian Democratic Forces in Rojava.
“The killing of Khalaf is a turning point in Syria’s modern history. It once again demonstrated the old Kurdish proverb “no friends but the mountains.” I will always be a friend of Khalaf and her vision of a better world.” - Ahed Al Hendi
Quand pourrai-je m'inscrire au Forum ? Combien coûte l'inscription ? Que comprennent les frais d'inscription ?
Les inscriptions commenceront début 2024. Nous annoncerons bientôt la date exacte et les tarifs d'inscription. L'inscription comprendra la participation au Forum, et inclura le déjeuner et les collations (le petit-déjeuner sera fourni par les hôtels), ainsi qu’un dîner sur place.
Snippet - COP30 Intro
Join the feminist movement reclaiming climate action from corporate capture
With 1,773 fossil fuel lobbyists at last year's COP29, we're heading alongside other feminists to Belém, Brazil for COP30, from 10 November – 21 November 2025, where we will continue to denounce false solutions, call out corporate capture, demand that States uphold their commitments under the Common but Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities and push for feminist economic alternatives.
$2.7 trillion for the military. $300 billion for climate justice. We're here to flip the script.
ours chapter 4 es
Capítulo 4
Actores anti-derechos
Una red compleja de actores anti-derechos, en constante evolución, está ejerciendo cada vez más influencia en los espacios internacionales y en las políticas nacionales. Respaldados a menudo por financiaciones poco transparentes, estos actores construyen alianzas tácticas sobre distintos temas y cruzando diferentes regiones y credos para aumentar su impacto.
Carta de amor a los movimientos feministas #6
Sobre el amor por un movimiento
¿Cómo comienza un movimiento?
los fantasmas nos expulsan de una casa, una familia, y una nación
llegamos fatigadas a un espacio (a veces un domicilio real) pero fundamentalmente a un estado de ser
precedidas por una estrella fugaz
quizás nuestra llegada no está acompañada por la fatiga,
quizás está acompañada por el miedo
quizás nuestra llegada no está acompañada por el miedo
quizás está acompañada por la rabia
ante cuestiones que siguen repitiéndose:
una puñalada en el corazón (léase pena)
una bala en la espalda (léase traición)
desapariciones forzadas
cuerpos sentenciados por el matrimonio, la desfiguración y la fatiga crónica,
sin embargo, llegamos, nos reunimos, susurramos, hablamos y lloramos.
Así es como nuestros movimientos comienzan cuando llegamos unas a otras
Nos convertimos en semillas,
Así es como nuestros movimientos comienzan cuando nos plantamos unas a otras
Convirtiéndonos en flores, a veces solo espinas, a veces frutas,
somos el oasis de las otras
para cantar por las batallas
para preparar remedios
para ubicar los rostros de nuestras amantes, la forma de sus sonrisas, el sonido de su risa
el secreto de convertir los silencios en lenguaje
las detalladas instrucciones de las brujas
nuestro movimiento es para todas nosotras,
cuando llegamos como semillas con el propósito de florecer.
Sara AbuGhazal
www.badiya.blog
Dr. Nuzhat Amin
Diana Isabel Hernández Juárez
Diana Isabel Hernández Juárez fue una maestra guatemalteca, defensora de los derechos humanos y activista comunitaria y del medioambiente. Fue la coordinadora del programa ambiental de la parroquia de Nuestra Señora de Guadalupe, en la costa sur del país.
Diana dedicó su vida a co-crear conciencia ambiental, y trabajó de modo particularmente estrecho con comunidades locales para abordar problemas ambientales y proteger los recursos naturales. Inició proyectos tales como viveros forestales, granjas municipales, huertas familiares y campañas de limpieza. Participó activamente en programas de reforestación, tratando de recuperar especies nativas y paliar la falta de agua, en más de 32 comunidades rurales.
El 7 de septiembre de 2019, Diana recibió disparos y fue asesinada por dos hombres armados desconocidos mientras se encontraba participando de una procesión en su comunidad. Diana tenía solamente 35 años en el momento de su muerte.
What about the visas?
We are acutely aware of the practical hurdles and emotional distress associated with international travel, particularly from the Global South. AWID is working with TCEB (the Thailand Convention and Exhibition Bureau) to support Forum participants with acquiring visas. More information about this visa assistance will be available upon registration, including contact information for where and how to apply.
Snippet - COP30 - International Eco-Socialist Encounter - EN
International Eco-Socialist Encounter
Panels, workshops, plenaries and spaces for exchange between collectives, activists and organizations in struggle to collectively walk the path towards an agenda and a program of struggle for ecosocialism.
📅 November 8 - November 11, 2025
📍 Buenos Aires, Argentina
Nos droits en danger : Il est temps d’agir (Rapport OURS 2021)
Rapport
Nos droits en danger : Il est temps d’agir – Rapport sur les tendances 2021 de l’Observatoire sur l’universalité des droits
Le tout dernier rapport de l’Observatoire sur l’universalité des droits (OURs) détricote les discours de « l’idéologie du genre », du « génocide prénatal » et de « l’impérialisme culturel ». Il creuse également la réalité de CitizenGo, de l’Alliance Defending Freedom et des flux de financement antidroits. Vous y trouverez, en outre, une analyse des systèmes régionaux des droits humains et des stratégies féministes victorieuses !
We Are the Ones We Have been Waiting For!
We’re beginning a new year--2023. COVID-19 continues to infect and re-infect many, many people around the world. We are witnessing the resurgence of right-wing and fascist governments, even in places we may not have expected like Sweden. War, armed conflict, and dramatic increase in militarization, militarism, and military spending are enabling the unbridled capital accumulation by the few, with participation of seemingly “strange” alliances locking arms, both visibly and invisibly, where economic and political elites of the Global North and Global South are benefitting beyond our wildest imagination. In the meanwhile, our people and the natural environment pay enormous costs and suffer all the expected and unexpected consequences.
As all of you and all of us at AWID know, feminists in multiple movements around the world are resisting and organizing against multiple faces of tyranny, creating alternative structures, implementing grassroots strategies, and building transnational alliances. We are generating joy, inspiring one another, singing, and dancing within and against the prevailing culture of killing and cynicism that seems to have engulfed so much of the world.
We--Staff and Board--of AWID are prepared and inspired more than ever before to face challenges by strengthening our relationships with our members and organizational partners, meeting and getting to know those who we are yet to meet and do what we do best: support the global feminist movements. Although we were sad facing the departures of our beloved former Co-Eds Cindy and Hakima, our wonderful new Co-EDS Faye and Inna along with committed and creative staff have embraced the moment that encapsulates both opportunities and threats.
For sure, all of us at AWID and all our movement folks know: As the Caribbean US poet and activist June Jordan wrote to the South African women activists during the height of the apartheid regime, “We are the ones we have been waiting for”!
Teresita Navacilla
Jaitun
Jaitun, souvent appelée « Amma », œuvrait à la protection des droits reproductifs des femmes et des filles en Inde. Son travail s’est particulièrement centré sur la défense des personnes pauvres et marginalisées, dont les filles et femmes dalits et musulmanes.
Jaitun était la force vitale derrière l’affaire Jaitun contre Janpura Maternity Home & Ors. Sa persévérance à obtenir justice a permis d’aboutir à un jugement sans précédent rendu par la Cour Suprême de Delhi. Le gouvernement indien a ainsi été tenu responsable de n’avoir pas rempli plusieurs de ses obligations juridiques, telles que les soins de santé reproductive et le droit à l’alimentation.
Sa fille Fatema, qui vivait sous le seuil de pauvreté, s’était vu refuser l’accès à des services de santé reproductive et avait dû accoucher en public, sous un arbre. Jaitun et Fatema étaient à cette époque sans domicile, car le gouvernement avait démoli leur maison dans le cadre d’un projet de réaménagement et de gentrification à New Delhi.
« Depuis, le jugement a fait jurisprudence pour de nombreux·euses avocat·e·s et activistes du monde entier, et notamment l’ancien Rapporteur spécial des Nations Unies sur le droit à la santé, non seulement comme source d’inspiration, mais comme solide tremplin pour obtenir la justice. » - Jameen Kaur
Jaitun a inspiré de très nombreuses autres femmes vivant dans la pauvreté à réclamer leurs droits. Elle s’est éteinte en 2017.
« Avec le décès de Jaitun, nous venons de perdre une inimitable guerrière pour la justice, mais son esprit de résistance perdure. » - Jameen Kaur
« Je n’ai, au cours de mes 18 années de plaidoyer pour les droits humains, jamais rencontré de femme qui m’ait tant inspirée et émue qu’Amma. Son courage féroce, son humour inimitable - nous la comparions à l’actrice de Bollywood Hema Malini -, ses colères lorsque l’on passait trop de temps sans venir la voir : elle nous disait, une étincelle dans le regard, « Tu as oublié Amma, Amma ne te parle plus », puis faisait volte-face de manière mélodramatique, pour se retourner en riant et tendre les bras pour une embrassade. Sa gentillesse, et en fin de compte son amour, sa joie d’aimer et sa volonté que chacun·e ait le droit de vivre dignement en faisaient un être à part . Elle me manque terriblement. » - Jameen Kaur
Mi grupo o yo íbamos a participar en el Foro que fue cancelado debido a la pandemia, ¿cómo puedo participar en este Foro?
Volveremos a ponernos en contacto con contrapartes que hayan colaborado en el pasado, para asegurarnos de que se respetan los esfuerzos realizados.Si tus datos de contacto han cambiado desde el último proceso del Foro, por favor, actualízalos para que podamos contactarte.
Snippet - COP30 - Resistance Hubs Section Column 2 - ES
La organización de los nodos para la COP30 está a cargo de los siguientes aliados:
- Caribbean Feminist Climate Justice Movement, Barbados
- Gender Interactive Alliance (GIA)*, Pakistán
- Women’s Initiative for Sustainable Environment (WISE)*, Nigeria
- Réseau des Acteurs du Développement Durable (RADD)**, Camerún
- MASIPAG*, Filipinas
*Sitios web en inglés
**Sitio web en francés
Editor's Note | Lost For Words
Editor's Note
Lost For Words
When our embodied labor becomes profit in the hands of the systems we seek to dismantle, it is no wonder that our sexualities and pleasures are once again relegated to the sidelines – especially when they are not profitable enough. In many instances during the production of this issue, we asked ourselves what would happen if we refused to accommodate the essential services of capitalism.
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Beyond Investing in Women and Girls
Olabisi Olateru-Olagbebi
Rosa Candida Mayorga Muñoz
Rosa Candida Mayorga Muñoz was a Guatemalan social worker, union leader and labor rights defender. She was affectionately called Rosita and she inspired change.
In the 1980’s, Rosa became the first female member of the Executive Committee of the Union of Workers of the Institute of National Electrification (STINDE), a union she first joined to advocate for women’s labor rights. For her, this meant fighting for equal opportunities in a company where many women faced a discriminatory and violent system created by company authorities. Rosa had also suffered sexual harassment in her workplace, both by co-workers and managers. She was not to be kept quiet though.
Rosa continued fighting and was part of the effort to mould the struggle into a more specific form, that of the INDE-STINDE Collective Pact of Working conditions. This pact was a pioneer, the first in Guatemala to typify the concept of (sexual) harassment. It serves as a reference for the Guatemalan legislation on labor matters and is an encouragement for other unions.
“She had no fighting tools other than her own ideals... Many times she was intimidated, harassed to put the fight aside, but her courage generated the image of hope for grassroots unionists. Rosita created an image of respect, not only within her union, but before the authorities of the institution, before the women's movement; she was recognized as a pioneer of the trade union women's movement, in a space that had been more dominated by men.” - Maritza Velasquez, ATRAHDOM
Rosa passed away on 4 April 2018 at the age of 77.
