Over the past few years, a troubling new trend at the international human rights level is being observed, where discourses on ‘protecting the family’ are being employed to defend violations committed against family members, to bolster and justify impunity, and to restrict equal rights within and to family life.
The campaign to "Protect the Family" is driven by ultra-conservative efforts to impose "traditional" and patriarchal interpretations of the family, and to move rights out of the hands of family members and into the institution of ‘the family’.
“Protection of the Family” efforts stem from:
rising traditionalism,
rising cultural, social and religious conservatism and
sentiment hostile to women’s human rights, sexual rights, child rights and the rights of persons with non-normative gender identities and sexual orientations.
Since 2014, a group of states have been operating as a bloc in human rights spaces under the name “Group of Friends of the Family”, and resolutions on “Protection of the Family” have been successfully passed every year since 2014.
This agenda has spread beyond the Human Rights Council. We have seen regressive language on “the family” being introduced at the Commission on the Status of Women, and attempts made to introduce it in negotiations on the Sustainable Development Goals.
Our Approach
AWID works with partners and allies to jointly resist “Protection of the Family” and other regressive agendas, and to uphold the universality of human rights.
In response to the increased influence of regressive actors in human rights spaces, AWID joined allies to form the Observatory on the Universality of Rights (OURs). OURs is a collaborative project that monitors, analyzes, and shares information on anti-rights initiatives like “Protection of the Family”.
Rights at Risk, the first OURs report, charts a map of the actors making up the global anti-rights lobby, identifies their key discourses and strategies, and the effect they are having on our human rights.
The report outlines “Protection of the Family” as an agenda that has fostered collaboration across a broad range of regressive actors at the UN. It describes it as: “a strategic framework that houses “multiple patriarchal and anti-rights positions, where the framework, in turn, aims to justify and institutionalize these positions.”
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Crear | Résister | Transform: A Walkthrough of the Festival! - smaller snippet EN
Crear | Résister | Transform: A Walkthrough of the Festival!
As heteropatriarchal capitalism continues to force us into consumerism and compliance, we are finding that our struggles are being siloed and separated by physical as well as virtual borders.
The Forum theme––Rising Together––is an invitation to engage with our whole selves, to connect with each other in focused, caring and brave ways, so that we can feel the heartbeat of global movements and rise together to meet the challenges of these times.
Feminist, women’s rights, gender justice, LBTQI+ and allied movements around the world are at a critical juncture, facing a powerful backlash on previously-won rights and freedoms. Recent years have brought the rapid rise of authoritarianisms, the violent repression of civil society and criminalization of women and gender-diverse human rights defenders, escalating war and conflict in many parts of our world, the continued perpetuation of economic injustices, and the intersecting health, ecological and climate crises.
Our movements are reeling and, at the same time, seeking to build and maintain the strength and fortitude required for the work ahead. We can't do this work alone, in our silos. Connection and healing are essential to transforming persistent power imbalances and fault lines within our own movements. We must work and strategize in interconnected ways, so that we can thrive together. The AWID Forum fosters that vital ingredient of interconnectedness in the staying power, growth and transformative influence of feminist organizing globally.
Faire son coming out au moment le plus fort de ma vie : le forum des féminismes noirs
De nombreuses participantes vivent les Forums de l’AWID comme un espace de liberté unique où elles sont accueillies et célébrées, telles qu’elles sont. Dans un monde où même les féministes les plus privilégiées ont souvent du mal à s’intégrer, pour celles dont l’identité est criminalisée ou condamnée dans leur contexte quotidien, cette expérience de liberté et de célébration peut être profondément transformatrice (et réparatrice). L’histoire de la façon dont OluTimehin Kukoyi - qui participait pour la première fois - a vécu le Forum des féminismes noirs et le Forum de l’AWID à Bahia (2016) illustre bien cela.
Sexting Like a Feminist: Humor in the Digital Feminist Revolution | Content Snippet
Sexting Like a Feminist: Humor in the Digital Feminist Revolution
On September 2nd, 2021, the amazing feminist and social justice activists of AWID’s Crear | Résister | Transform festival came together not only to share resistance strategies, co-create, and transform the world, but also to talk dirty on Twitter.
The exercise was led by Nana Darkoa Sekyiamah, co-founder of the blog Adventures From The Bedrooms of African Women and author of The Sex Lives of African Women, who paired up with the Pan-Africanist digital queer womanist platform AfroFemHub, to ask the question: How can we safely and consensually explore our pleasure, desires, and fantasies via text?
Basically: How would a feminist sext?
I believe this is a critically important question because it looks at the larger issue of how one navigates the online world with a feminist understanding. Under capitalism, discourse around bodies and sex can be dehumanizing and distorting, and navigating sexual pleasure in virtual spaces can feel performative. So seeking out avenues where we can explore how we share our desire in ways that are affirming and enthusiastic can push back against dominant models of presentation and consumption to reclaim these spaces as sites for authentic engagement, proving that all sexting should be just that: feminist.
Plus, allowing feminist discourse to embody its playful side in online discourse helps reframe a popular narrative that feminist engagement is joyless and dour. But as we know, having fun is part of our politics, and an inherent part of what it means to be feminist.
Using the hashtag #SextLikeAFeminist, scholars and activists from all over the world chimed in with their thirstiest feminist tweets, and here are my top ten.
As these tweets show, it turns out that sexting like a feminist is sexy, funny – and horny. Yet, it never loses sight of its commitment to equity and justice.
Priority will be given to activities that facilitate and encourage connection and interaction among participants. If your activity can be held online or hybrid (connecting participants on-site and online), please consider how to generate genuine engagement and active participation from online participants.
We encourage cross-movement, cross-regional and inter-generational encounters, dialogues and exchanges.
Please design your activity in a way that allows flexibility in the number of participants. While a few activities may be limited to smaller groups, the majority will need to accommodate larger numbers.
If your activity fits a number of formats or none, you will be able to indicate as such on the application form.
Languages in which you can submit your activity
Languages for Applications: Applications will be accepted in English, French, Spanish, Thai and Arabic.
Languages at the Forum: Simultaneous interpretation will be provided at the Forum Plenary Sessions in English, French, Spanish, Thai, and Arabic as well as ISL (International Sign Language) and possibly more. For all other activities, interpretation will be offered in some––but not all––of these languages, and possibly others, such as Swahili and Portuguese.
Nomina a feministas que nos inspiren para formar parte de la Junta Directiva de AWID.
Cada año, AWID busca renovar y enriquecer las perspectivas y experiencias reflejadas en nuestra Junta Directiva mediante la incorporación de nuevxs integrantes.
Actualmente, estamos buscando personas para integrar la Junta Directiva de AWID por períodos de 3 años, a partir de principios de 2024. Esta es una oportunidad para contribuir a la gobernanza de nuestra organización y formar parte de un increíble grupo de feministas de todo el mundo.
Por favor, ayúdanos a identificar feministas conscientes y comprometidas para nominarlxs a la elección antes del 10 de agosto de 2023.
Por favor, también comparte esta invitación a candidaturas entre tus redes.
¿A quién estamos buscando?
Ante todo, buscamos candidatxs que estén comprometidxs con la misión de AWID, que puedan establecer conexiones entre las luchas locales y globales, y que puedan ayudarnos a reflexionar sobre cómo aprovechar mejor el posicionamiento y las fortalezas de AWID en un contexto en constante transformación. Lxs candidatxs deben estar dispuestxs a cumplir con los deberes y responsabilidades legales de la Junta Directiva de AWID en el mejor interés de la organización.
Este es un cargo voluntario que requiere compromiso y participación a lo largo del año. Se espera que lxs integrantes de la Junta Directiva dediquen un mínimo de diez a quince días al año para asistir a reuniones presenciales y virtuales, y que contribuyan con su tiempo y experiencia según sea necesario.
Aspiramos a que nuestra Junta Directiva refleje la diversidad de los movimientos feministas en todo el mundo, en términos de nuestras identidades, geografías, orígenes y afiliaciones a los movimientos. Además, buscamos personas con experiencia relevante para las áreas de trabajo de AWID.
Aunque tendremos en cuenta a todxs lxs candidatxs, basándonos en la composición actual del Consejo, se considerará principalmente a:
Candidatxs con una sólida experiencia en las siguientes áreas:
Derechos y justicia para personas con discapacidad.
Derechos LGBTQI+, y particularmente movimientos de derechos trans
Candidatxs de las siguientes regiones:
Sudamérica
Caribe
¿Qué aporta la Junta a AWID?
La Junta Directiva es clave para configurar la dirección estratégica de AWID y apoyar a nuestra organización para que cumpla su misión en consonancia con el mundo en el que vivimos y las necesidades de nuestros movimientos.
Lxs integrantes de la Junta Directiva contribuyen a la organización de diversas maneras: aportando experiencia en gobernanza desde otros ámbitos, perspectivas de diversos movimientos feministas y conocimientos especializados en áreas relevantes para la estrategia de AWID.
Lxs candidatxs que sean finalmente elegidxs se unirán a la Junta Directiva de AWID en 2024, acompañándonos en el esperado Foro Internacional de AWID y en la implementación de nuestro plan estratégico.
(Puedes nominarte a ti mismx o a alguien que conozcas, con su consentimiento
Por favor, comparte esta invitación a nominar a través de tus redes.
Si bien cualquier persona puede nominar a alguien para la Junta Directiva de AWID, solamente quienes sean afiliadxs pueden votar en nuestra elección de Junta Directiva - ¡Únete a AWID hoy mismo!
Gracias, de antemano, por ayudarnos a encontrar a nuestrxs próximxs y maravillosxs integrantes de la Junta Directiva que respaldarán a AWID en su camino hacia el futuro.
Considérez ceci comme un cadeau, que nous vous faisons à vous, et aux 9 500 membres de notre communauté féministe mondiale. Un cadeau porteur d’espoir, de renouveau, d’action collective et de solidarité, en ces temps marqués par d’immenses injustices et violences.
Que ses récits vous rappellent qu’au-delà des frontières et des combats, nous sommes nombreux·ses, nous sommes puissant·es et, qu’ensemble, nous bâtissons les mondes que nous méritons.
Téléchargez-le ici, dans la langue de votre choix.
Les vrai·e·s féministes n’humilient pas les désirs des autres.
La révolution dans ton froc ne passera pas à la télé… sauf si ce genre de truc t’excite, ce dont on peut parler… en personne [emoji visage avec des larmes de joie].
Lindiwe Rasekoala is a life coach who specializes in intimacy and relationship wellness coaching. She is a sexual health enthusiast and online contributor. Through her own experiences and unconventional methods of research, she believes she can bridge the education gap and lack of access to information around sexual wellness. She is a contributor on various radio and television shows, and has completed her coach training with the Certified Coaches Alliance. Lindiwe’s mission is to break down the barriers to conversations around sexual wellness and to empower her clients to achieve greater understanding of themselves so that they can experience a more healthy and holistic lifestyle and relationships.
Nuestro informe anual 2012 destaca los momentos clave de nuestro trabajo durante el año para contribuir al avance de los derechos de las mujeres y la igualdad de género de manera audaz, creativa y efectiva en todo el mundo.
¡Disfruta mirando videos, fotografías y relatos sobre nuestras contribuciones!
