Memory as Resistance: A Tribute to WHRDs no longer with us
AWID’s Tribute is an art exhibition honouring feminists, women’s rights and social justice activists from around the world who are no longer with us.
In 2020, we are taking a turn
This year’s tribute tells stories and shares narratives about those who co-created feminist realities, have offered visions of alternatives to systems and actors that oppress us, and have proposed new ways of organising, mobilising, fighting, working, living, and learning.
49 new portraits of feminists and Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) are added to the gallery. While many of those we honour have passed away due to old age or illness, too many have been killed as a result of their work and who they are.
This increasing violence (by states, corporations, organized crime, unknown gunmen...) is not only aimed at individual activists but at our joint work and feminist realities.
The stories of activists we honour keep their legacy alive and carry their inspiration forward into our movements’ future work.
The portraits of the 2020 edition are designed by award winning illustrator and animator, Louisa Bertman.
AWID would like to thank the families and organizations who shared their personal stories and contributed to this memorial. We join them in continuing the remarkable work of these activists and WHRDs and forging efforts to ensure justice is achieved in cases that remain in impunity.
“They tried to bury us. They didn’t know we were seeds.” - Mexican Proverb
The Tribute was first launched in 2012
It took shape with a physical exhibit of portraits and biographies of feminists and activists who passed away at AWID’s 12th International Forum, in Turkey. It now lives as an online gallery, updated every year.
To date, 467 feminists and WHRDs are featured.
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Snippet - WITM FAQ - EN
Frequently Asked Questions
Elisa Badayos
She also served as an organiser of urban poor communities in Cebu Province, and worked with Desaparecidos, an organization of families of the disappeared.
Elisa and two of her colleagues were killed on November 28, 2017 by two unidentified men at Barangay San Ramon, Bayawan city in the Negros Oriental province during a mission to investigate alleged land rights abuses in the area.
She is survived by four children.
2022: Transitions, Inspiration & Collective Power
Our strategic plan “Feminist Realities” completed its final year at the end of 2022. For the past five years, this bold framework pushed us to go beyond feminist futures and to recognize the feminist solutions and ways of life that already exist in the here and now. Realities that must be uplifted, celebrated, and popularized. The Feminist Economies We Love multimedia story project and Our:Resource knowledge hub on autonomous ways to resource feminist activism are just two examples of this visionary work, always deeply collective with diverse feminist movements.
Download the full 2022 Annual review

2022 was a year of transitions in AWID.
With this reflection on the year, we invite you to celebrate with us beautiful closures and promising beginnings. Change and transitions are an inseparable part of life and movements, which we seek to embrace with intention and care.
Snippet FEA FEMINIST COOPERATIVISM (EN)
FEMINIST
COOPERATIVISM
When work and
solidarity go together
Denis Ramirez Meza
Snippet - WITM To build - PT

Para recolher testemunhos centrados na realidade feminista sobre como o dinheiro circula e os bolsos em que entra;
Guadalupe Campanur Tapia
Guadalupe fue una activista ambiental comprometida en la lucha contra el crimen en Cherán, México.
En abril de 2011 ayudó a derrocar el gobierno local, y participó en patrullas locales de seguridad, que abarcaban los bosques municipales. Era unx de lxs líderes indígenas de Cherán que llamaban a la población a defender sus bosques contra la tala forestal ilegal y despiadada. Su trabajo en defensa de adultxs mayores, niñxs y trabajadorxs la convirtió en un ícono de su comunidad.
Fue asesinada en Chilchota, México, aproximadamente 30 kilómetros al norte de su ciudad natal de Cherán.
Ritu
Ritu est une technologue féministe qui apporte son expérience au secteur non lucratif, animée par une passion pour l'utilisation d'approches innovantes pour trouver des solutions technologiques féministes. Titulaire d'un master en technologie des applications informatiques de l'Institut indien de technologie, son rôle au sein de l'AWID couvre un large spectre de responsabilités. De la supervision de la sécurité numérique et gestion des serveurs à l'administration des bases de données, en passant par le renforcement des capacités, l'évaluation technologique, la mise en œuvre de logiciels et de solutions cloud, Ritu veille à ce que l'infrastructure informatique de l'AWID soit résiliente et efficace. Avant de rejoindre l'AWID, elle a joué un rôle central dans l'avancement des initiatives technologiques des secteurs de la promotion de la santé et de l'environnement, alimentée par son engagement à tirer parti de la technologie pour le bien social.
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EN CIFRAS
Emilia Quan
Snippet - WITM Why now_col 2 - AR
توفير الموارد للحركات النسوية هو أمر أساسي لتوفير حاضر أكثر سلماً وعدالة ومستقبل أكثر تحرراً.
في العقد الأخير، خصّص الممولون/ات أموال أكبر للمساواة الجندرية، لكن فقط 1% من التمويل الخيري والتنموي تحرك بشكل مباشر لتمويل حركات التغيير الاجتماعي بقيادة نسوية.
كي نسعى إلى الوفرة، والخروج من هذه الندرة المزمنة، يدعو استطلاع "أين المال" المناصرات/ين النسويات/ين ومناصرات/ين العدالة الجندرية بمشاركتنا في مشوار جمع الإفادات وبناء القضايا لحشد أموال أكثر وأفضل كي نغيرّ موازين القوى في المناخ التمويلي القائم اليوم. يتضامن استطلاع "أين المال" مع الحركات التي يستمر إخفاءها وتهميشها والتي لا يتاح لها تمويلا أساسيا، مرن وطويل الأمد مبن على الثقة. ويسلّط استطلاع "أين المال؟" الضوء على وضع التمويل، يتحدّى الحلول الزائفة ويُظهر كيف تحتاج نماذج التمويل أن تتغير كي تزدهر الحركات وتتعامل مع تحديات الزمن المركبة.
Winnie Madikizela- Mandela
Winnie a été décrite comme une « militante enflammée » qui a combattu le régime de l’apartheid en Afrique du Sud.
Son engagement lui a valu d’être emprisonnée et placée en cellule d’isolement de nombreuses fois.
Affectueusement surnommée Ma’Winnie, elle était connue pour être quelqu’un qui parlait ouvertement des défis auxquels les femmes noires étaient confrontées pendant et après l’apartheid et cela, après avoir elle-même subi ces brutalités en tant que mère, épouse et militante pendant la lutte. Elle a su transcender l'idée couramment répandue selon laquelle le leadership est fondé sur le genre, la classe ou la race. Bien qu’étant une personnalité controversée, elle était connue par son nom xhosa, « Nomzamo », qui signifie « celle qui supporte les épreuves ».
Ma’Winnie continue d’être une source d’inspiration pour de nombreuses personnes, en particulier des jeunes femmes sud-africaines.
Sa mort a impulsé la naissance d’un mouvement qui a pour mantra : « Elle n’est pas morte, elle s’est multipliée ».
Marianne Mesfin Asfaw
Marianne Mesfin Asfaw is a Pan-African feminist who is dedicated to social justice and building community. She has a BA in Gender Studies and International Relations from the University of British Columbia (UBC), and an MA in Gender Studies and Law from SOAS University of London. She has previously worked in academic administration and international student support, and has worked as a researcher and facilitator in feminist and non-profit spaces. She has also worked and volunteered at non-governmental organizations including Plan International in administrative roles. Prior to taking up her current role she worked in logistics and administrative support at AWID. She is from Ethiopia, was raised in Rwanda and is currently based in Tkaronto/Toronto, Canada. She enjoys reading, traveling and spending time with her family and friends. In the warmer months she can be found strolling around familiar neighborhoods in search of obscure cafés and bookstores to wander into.
Snippet Intro The Feminist Realities Magazine (FR)
Magazine des Réalités Féministes
À l’AWID, nous concevons ces réalités féministes comme les exemples vivants des mondes que nous savons possibles. Nous concevons ces diverses réalités féministes comme des revendications et des incarnations d’espoir et de pouvoir. Elles sont ancrées dans les multiples manières de vivre, de penser et de faire autrement, que ce soit au niveau des expressions quotidiennes de nos modes de vie ou nos manières d'être en relations les un.e.s avec les autres ou au niveau de systèmes alternatifs de gouvernance et de justice.
Les Réalités féministes combattent les systèmes de pouvoir dominants tels que le patriarcat, le capitalisme et la suprématie blanche.
Télécharger le magazine complet (PDF)
Feuilleter le magazine
Florentina Gomez Miranda
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Recursos
(Disponível em inglês)
Liliana Bodoc
Liliana was a teacher, a weaver, and a well recognized writer from Argentina.
Her trilogy La saga de los confines received several awards and is unique in the fantasy genre for its use and re-imagining of South American Indigenous mythology.
Liliana’s commitment to feminism was expressed in the diverse, rich and strong women voices in her writing, and particularly in her extensive work for young readers. She also took public positions in favour of abortion, economic justice and gender parity.
Umyra Ahmad
Umyra Ahmad es una feminista de Malasia con antecedentes en incidencia política internacional y regional y educación en derechos humanos. En AWID, trabaja en la incidencia de los derechos asociados con el género y la sexualidad en las Naciones Unidas. Antes de incorporarse, se desempeñaba como oficial de programa en International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia y el Pacífico (IWRAW, Observatorio Internacional de los Derechos de las Mujeres), donde colaboró con organizaciones regionales, nacionales y de base en el uso de mecanismos de los órganos de tratados de las Naciones Unidas como herramientas para la rendición de cuentas de los Estados y el acceso a la justicia. En Malasia, trabaja con colectivos queer y de personas refugiadas y brinda apoyo en las tareas de coordinación de diferentes iniciativas de ayuda mutua.
Snippet FEA Nadia Echazu (EN)
The Nadia Echazú Textile Cooperative carries the name of a pioneer in the struggle for trans rights in Argentina. In many ways, the work of the cooperative celebrates her life and legacy.
Nadia Echazú had a remarkable activist trajectory: she was one of the co-founders of "El Teje", the first trans newspaper in Latin America, alongside Lohana Berkins, Diana Sacayán and Marlene Wayar. Nadia was part of the Argentinian Association of Travestis, Transexual and Transgender people (Asociación de Travestis y Transexuales de Argentina, ATTA) and founded The Organization of Travestis and Transgender People of Argentina (Organización de Travestis y Transexuales de Argentina, OTTRA).
Shortly after her death, her fellow activists founded the cooperative in her name, to honor the deep mark she left on trans and travesti activism in Argentina.