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.
Related Content
The Feminist Realities Magazine
The Feminist Realities Magazine
We bring you an inspiring curated collection of powerful stories and images of transformation and resistance created by feminist activists, writers and artists from all over the world.
English title
This is a French article
- created from the French site
Snippet FEA HEALTH CONDITIONS (ES)

BUENAS CONDICIONES DE SALUD
Olivia Arévalo Lomas
Olivia était la cheffe spirituelle des peuples autochtones Shipibo Konibo.
Sage femme et grand-mère autochtone, elle était connue pour sa préservation de la médecine traditionnelle et des chants sacrés de son peuple (les íkaros). Olivia Arévalo était une défenseure engagée en faveur des droits culturels et environnementaux de son peuple. L’assassinat d’Olivia s’est produit dans un contexte de conflit territorial entre la communauté Shipibo et les entreprises qui souhaitent s’accaparer leurs terres pour cultiver de l’huile de palme.
Les membres de sa communauté ont déclaré: « Sa mort est une agression contre toute la communauté Shipibo. Elle était la mémoire vivante de son peuple ».
Reason to join 3
Comparte tus historias y conoce las de otrxs. Al conectar nuestras experiencias, relatos y propuestas ayudamos a crear en conjunto y amplificar las Realidades Feministas.
Anja Nedringhous
هل استطلاع "أين المال" متاح للأشخاص ذوي/ات الإعاقات؟
نعم، انه متاح للأشخاص أصحاب/ صاحبات الإعاقات السمعية، البصرية، النظرية والفكرية المختلفة.
L’activisme au Moyen-Orient et en Afrique du Nord
Notre hommage en ligne met à l’honneur cinq défenseuses des droits humains assassinées au Moyen-Orient ou en Afrique du Nord. Ces défenseuses étaient avocates ou militantes et ont œuvré pour les droits des femmes ou pour les droits civils. Leur mort met en évidence les conditions de travail souvent difficiles et dangereuses dans leurs pays respectifs. Nous vous invitons à vous joindre à nous pour commémorer la vie, le travail et l’activisme de ces femmes. Faites circuler ces mèmes auprès de vos collègues et amis ainsi que dans vos réseaux et twittez en utilisant les hashtags #WHRDTribute et #16Jours.
S'il vous plaît cliquez sur chaque image ci-dessous pour voir une version plus grande et pour télécharger comme un fichier




Snippet FEA WE ARE LEGAL AND ALWAYS WERE (FR)
Espagne
Syndicat OTRAS
NOUS SOMMES LÉGAL·ES
ET L’AVONS TOUJOURS ÉTÉ
Carmen Griffiths
Carmen was the Head of the Construction Resource and Development Collective (CRDC) and was instrumental in supporting women’s involvement in the construction industry in Jamaica.
She also worked on issues of disaster preparedness for rural and urban women. She worked closely with women (especially single mothers) teaching them how to use hurricane straps and other technology to secure their homes. She worked in the area of water and sanitation and was a strong advocate for sustainable environmental management and development.
She was a part of the Huairou Commission and advocated for grassroots women on such issues as shelter, energy, and sustainable livelihoods.
Values - intersectionality
Intersectionnalité
nous estimons que pour être transformateurs et forts, les mouvements féministes doivent continuer à travailler au-delà de leurs similitudes et de leurs différences. Nous devons également interroger le pouvoir et les privilèges, tant au sein qu'à l'extérieur de nos mouvements.
Leonor Zamora
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WHRDs from Sub-Saharan Africa
In our 2015 Online Tribute to Women Human Rights Defenders No Longer With Us we are commemorating four women from Sub-Saharan Africa, three of whom were murdered due to their work and/or who they were in their gender identity and sexual orientation. Their deaths highlight the violence LGBT persons often face in the region and across the globe. Please join AWID in honoring these women, their activism and legacy by sharing the memes below with your colleagues, networks and friends and by using the hashtags #WHRDTribute and #16Days.
Please click on each image below to see a larger version and download as a file




Snippet FEA Unio Otras Photo 3 (EN)

Kate McInturff
Desde su paso por Peacebuild hasta la Canadian Feminist Alliance for International Action [alianza feminista canadiense para la acción internacional], Amnistía Internacional y el Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (CCPA, centro canadiense para las alternativas políticas), Kate tuvo durante toda su vida una pasión por los derechos de las mujeres y la igualdad de género y dedicó su carrera a luchar contra la desigualdad y a hacer del mundo un lugar más compasivo.
Fue integrante del Comité Coordinador de Social Watch [observatorio social] y colaboró con los informes del Observatorio Social Nacional canadiense. Como investigadora senior en el CCPA, Kate fue aclamada a nivel nacional por hacer la investigación, escribir y producir el informe anual «Los mejores y los peores lugares para ser mujer en Canadá».
Murió tranquilamente, rodeada de su familia, luego de una batalla de tres años con el cáncer de colon. Sus seres queridos la describen como «una feminista divertida, valiente y sin remordimientos».
Membership why page - Kirthi Jayakumar quote
"I participated in a member-only activity and I was particularly moved to see how there was space for everyone to share and that there was no judgment whatsoever. The entire session was energetic and vibrant."
- Kirthi Jayakumar, Founder, The Gender Security Project, India