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Special Focus

AWID is an international, feminist, membership organisation committed to achieving gender equality, sustainable development and women’s human rights

Women Human Rights Defenders

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WHRDs are self-identified women and lesbian, bisexual, transgender, queer and intersex (LBTQI) people and others who defend rights and are subject to gender-specific risks and threats due to their human rights work and/or as a direct consequence of their gender identity or sexual orientation.

WHRDs are subject to systematic violence and discrimination due to their identities and unyielding struggles for rights, equality and justice.

The WHRD Program collaborates with international and regional partners as well as the AWID membership to raise awareness about these risks and threats, advocate for feminist and holistic measures of protection and safety, and actively promote a culture of self-care and collective well being in our movements.

Risks and threats targeting WHRDs  

WHRDs are exposed to the same types of risks that all other defenders who defend human rights, communities, and the environment face. However, they are also exposed to gender-based violence and gender-specific risks because they challenge existing gender norms within their communities and societies.

By defending rights, WHRDs are at risk of:

  • Physical assault and death
  • Intimidation and harassment, including in online spaces
  • Judicial harassment and criminalization
  • Burnout

A collaborative, holistic approach to safety

We work collaboratively with international and regional networks and our membership

  • to raise awareness about human rights abuses and violations against WHRDs and the systemic violence and discrimination they experience
  • to strengthen protection mechanisms and ensure more effective and timely responses to WHRDs at risk

We work to promote a holistic approach to protection which includes:

  • emphasizing the importance of self-care and collective well being, and recognizing that what care and wellbeing mean may differ across cultures
  • documenting the violations targeting WHRDs using a feminist intersectional perspective;
  • promoting the social recognition and celebration of the work and resilience of WHRDs ; and
  • building civic spaces that are conducive to dismantling structural inequalities without restrictions or obstacles

Our Actions

We aim to contribute to a safer world for WHRDs, their families and communities. We believe that action for rights and justice should not put WHRDs at risk; it should be appreciated and celebrated.

  • Promoting collaboration and coordination among human rights and women’s rights organizations at the international level to  strengthen  responses concerning safety and wellbeing of WHRDs.

  • Supporting regional networks of WHRDs and their organizations, such as the Mesoamerican Initiative for WHRDs and the WHRD Middle East and North Africa  Coalition, in promoting and strengthening collective action for protection - emphasizing the establishment of solidarity and protection networks, the promotion of self-care, and advocacy and mobilization for the safety of WHRDs;

  • Increasing the visibility and recognition of  WHRDs and their struggles, as well as the risks that they encounter by documenting the attacks that they face, and researching, producing, and disseminating information on their struggles, strategies, and challenges:

  • Mobilizing urgent responses of international solidarity for WHRDs at risk through our international and regional networks, and our active membership.

Related Content

Type

Notre groupe, organisation et/ou mouvement n’a pas accepté ou demandé de fonds de financeurs extérieurs, pouvons-nous quand même participer à l’enquête?

Oui, tout à fait! Nous reconnaissons et comprenons les différentes raisons pour lesquelles les féministes de tous contextes ne recourent pas au financement extérieur, pouvant aller de ne pas être éligibles à demander des subventions et/ou recevoir de l’argent de l’étranger, à compter sur des ressources générées de manière autonome (ressource en anglais) en tant que stratégie politique à part entière. Nous vous invitons à participer, peu importe votre expérience du financement extérieur.

Elisa Badayos

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Category
Droits civils et politiques
Region
Asie
Asie du Sud-Est et du Sud
Date of death / disappearance
Cause of death / disappearance

Assassinée

Elisa était la coordinatrice de l'organisation de défense des droits humains Karapatan, dans la province de Negros Oriental aux Philippines.

Elle organisait également les communautés urbaines pauvres dans la province de Cebu et travaillait avec Desaparecidos, une organisation de familles de disparu-e-s.

Le 28 novembre 2017, lors d'une mission d'enquête sur des violations des droits fonciers dans la région, Elisa et deux de ses collègues ont été abattu-e-s par deux hommes non identifiés à Barangay San Ramon, ville de Bayawan, dans la province de Negros Oriental.

Elle laisse quatre enfants derrière elle.

 

 

Elisa Badayos, Philippines

2022: Transitions, Inspiration & Collective Power

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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

Cover for AWID's 2022 Annual Report. The cover is light blue and shows a group of people joining hands. Over the text "Transitions, Inspiration and Collective Power" there is a semi circle formed by little moons, representing the transtions.

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.

Download the full 2022 Annual review

Snippet FEA Agroecology And Food (ES)

AGROECOLOGÍA Y SOBERANÍA ALIMENTARIA COMO RESISTENCIA

Hoy en día, la producción industrial de alimentos a gran escala utiliza plantaciones de monocultivo, organismos genéticamente modificados y otros pesticidas que destruyen la tierra y el conocimiento de las comunidades locales.

La agroecología es una resistencia a la agricultura hiper-industrializada utilizada por las multinacionales. La agroecología prioriza la agricultura a pequeña escala, los cultivos múltiples y la producción de alimentos diversificados, al tiempo que se centra en el conocimiento y las prácticas tradicionales locales. La agroecología va de la mano con los reclamos de soberanía alimentaria, o el "derecho de los pueblos a alimentos sanos y culturalmente apropiados producidos por métodos ecológicamente racionales y sostenibles, y su derecho a definir sus propios sistemas alimentarios y agrícolas" (Vía Campesina, Declaración de Nyéléni).

El papel de las mujeres, las comunidades indígenas y rurales y las personas racializadas en los países del Sur Global es fundamental para mantener los sistemas alimentarios. Lxs agroecologistxs feministas trabajan para desmantelar los roles de género opresivos y los sistemas patriarcales arraigados en la producción de alimentos. Como lo muestran las heroínas de Nous Sommes la Solution, generan una agroecología liberadora al fortalecer la resiliencia de las comunidades, empoderar a las mujeres campesinas y agricultoras mientras preservan las tradiciones locales, los territorios y los conocimientos de las comunidades productoras de alimentos.

My language is not one of the official survey languages and I am struggling to complete it, what can I do?

AWID is committed to language justice and we regret that, at this point, having the WITM survey available in more languages is not feasible. However, if you need support with translations or want to fill the survey in any other language, please reach out to us at witm@awid.org.

Mona Chemali Khalaf

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Category
Economic, Social and Cultural Rights
Region
West Asia
Date of death / disappearance

Mona was an economist and an independent consultant on gender and development issues.

She was  a former Professor of Economics and Director of the Institute for Women's Studies in the Arab World at the Lebanese American University. 

She passed away suddenly on January 6, 2018. 

Friends and former colleagues say of Mona: “When we celebrate her life, the best thing we can do is commit to continuing what she started: gender equality no matter what.”

 

 

Mona Chemali Khalaf, Lebanon

Inna Michaeli

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Biography

Inna is a feminist queer activist and sociologist with many years of deep engagement in feminist and LGBTQI+ struggles, political education and organizing by and for migrant women, and Palestine liberation and solidarity. She joined AWID in 2016 and served in different roles, most recently as Director of Programs. She is based in Berlin, Germany, grew up in Haifa, Palestine/Israel, was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, and carries these political geographies and resistance to colonial past and present into her feminism and transnational solidarity.

Inna is the author of “Women's Economic Empowerment: Feminism, Neoliberalism, and the State” (Palgrave Macmillan, 2022), based on the dissertation which earned her a doctoral degree from the Humboldt University of Berlin. As an academic, she taught courses on globalization, knowledge production, identity and belonging. Inna holds an MA in Cultural Studies from the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. She is a Board Member of the Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Middle East (Germany), and previously of +972 Advancement of Citizen Journalism. Previously Inna worked with the Coalition of Women for Peace and she is passionate about mobilizing resources for grassroots activism.

Position
Co-Executive Director
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Snippet FEA Bio fertilizer and Sum-Pack (FR)

ILLUSTRATION DES PRODUITS NSS : Engrais bio et Sum-Pack - Cubes de bouillon naturel

Nuestra agrupación no ha recibido financiamiento externo entre 2021 y 2023, ¿a pesar de ello, deberíamos responder la encuesta?

Sí, aún así deseamos saber de ustedes aunque no hayan recibido financiamiento en los tres, dos o cualquiera de los años comprendidos entre 2021 y 2023.

Ursula K Le Guin

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Category
Derechos económicos, sociales y culturales
Region
Norte América
Date of birth
Date of death / disappearance
Cause of death / disappearance

Natural

Ursula fue una novelista estadounidense que trabajó principalmente con los géneros de fantasía y ciencia ficción.

Encontró la fama con La mano izquierda de la oscuridad, novela en la cual imagina una sociedad futura donde la gente es ambisexual: no tienen un sexo fijo. Indaga en los efectos del género y el sexo en la sociedad, y fue uno de los primeros grandes libros feministas de ciencia ficción. Ursula fue una inspiración por su escritura subversiva y original y también por los temas sobre feminismo y libertad a los que les daba tanta importancia.

En un discurso que pronunció en 1983 en el Mills College, en California, les dijo a las graduadas: «¿Por qué una mujer libre con formación universitaria debería o luchar contra el macho o servirlo? ¿Por qué ella debería vivir su vida en los términos de él? Espero que ustedes vivan sin la necesidad de dominar y sin la necesidad de ser dominadas».

 

 

Ursula K Le Guin, USA

Margo Okazawa-Rey

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Biography

Dr. Margo Okazawa-Rey ocupa la Cátedra Distinguida Barbara Lee en Liderazgo de Mujeres y es Profesora visitante de Estudios de Mujeres, Género y Sexualidad, y de Políticas Públicas en Mills College, en Oakland, California. También es Profesora Emérita en la Universidad Estatal de San Francisco.

Sus principales áreas de investigación y activismo durante los últimos 25 años han sido el militarismo, los conflictos armados y la violencia contra las mujeres, examinados de manera interseccional. La profesora Okazawa-Rey participa en el Consejo Consultivo Internacional de Du Re Bang en Uijongbu, Corea del Sur; en la Junta Internacional de Mujeres de Paz en el Mundo (PeaceWomen Across the Globe) en Berna, Suiza; y es co-presidente de la Junta del Centro Highlander para la Investigación y Educación en New Market, Tennessee, EE. UU.

Sus publicaciones recientes incluyen “Nation-izing” Coalition and Solidarity Politics for US Anti-militarist Feminists [«Coalición “nacio-nalizadora” y políticas de solidaridad para las feministas antimilitaristas de EE. UU.»], en prensa; “No Freedom without Connections: Envisioning Sustainable Feminist Solidarities” [«No hay libertad sin conexiones: contemplando solidaridad feminista sostenible»] (2018) in Feminist Freedom Warriors: Genealogies, Justice, Politics, and Hope [«Guerreras feministas por la libertad: genealogías, justicia, política y esperanza»], Chandra Talpade Mohanty and Linda Carty (eds.); Between a Rock and Hard Place: Southeast Asian Women Confront Extractivism, Militarism, and Religious Fundamentalisms [«Entre la espada y la pared: Las mujeres del sudeste asiático enfrentan el extractivismo, el militarismo y los fundamentalismos religiosos»] (2018); “Liberal Arts Colleges Partnering with Highlander Research and Education Center: Intergenerational Learning for Student Campus Activism and Personal Transformation,” Feminist Formations Special Issue on Feminist Social Justice Pedagogy (2018) [«Las universidades de artes liberales se asocian con el Centro Highlander para la Investigación y Educación: aprendizaje intergeneracional para el activismo estudiantil y la transformación personal», número especial de Formaciones Feministas sobre pedagogía de la justicia social feminista]

 

Position
Presidenta
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Snippet FEA Avellaneda, Gran Buenos Aires (EN)

Avellaneda, Gran Buenos Aires, Argentina

Cooperativa Textil Nadia Echazú

WEAVING

LIVES

Vous demandez le nom du groupe, de l’organisation et/ou du mouvement qui répond aux questions de l’enquête, et ses coordonnées – pour quelle raison?

Nous demandons ces données pour faciliter l’examen des réponses, éviter les doublons et pouvoir vous contacter si votre groupe n’a pas pu terminer le questionnaire et/ou vous répondre si vous avez des doutes ou des questions. Des informations sur la manière dont nous utilisons les informations personnelles collectées lors de notre travail sont disponibles ici.

Liliana Bodoc

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Category
Droits sexuels et reproductifs
Region
Amérique latine
Cause of death / disappearance

Naturelle

Liliana était enseignante argentine, tisseuse et également une écrivaine reconnue.

Sa trilogie « La saga des confins » a reçu plusieurs prix. Son œuvre est la seule dans le domaine littéraire fantastique à avoir eu recours et ré-imaginé la mythologie autochtone sud-américaine.

L’engagement de Liliana envers le féminisme s’est exprimé à travers les voix féminines diverses, riches et fortes de ses écrits, et en particulier dans le cadre de ceux à destination du jeune public. Elle a également pris position publiquement en faveur de l'avortement, de la justice économique et de l’égalité de genre.

 

 

Liliana Bodoc, Argentina

Claudia Montserrat Arévalo Alvarado

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Biography

Claudia est Professeure en Egalité et équité pour le développement, psychologue féministe, activiste en faveur de la défense des droits humains depuis 30 ans et des droits des femmes depuis 24 ans.

Claudia, qui travaille au Salvador, est co-fondatrice et directrice générale de l’association Mujeres Transformando, et défend depuis 16 ans les droits du travail des travailleuses du secteur des maquiladoras textiles et de l’habillement. Elle a collaboré à la formulation d’initiatives législatives, à des propositions de politiques publiques et de recherches visant à améliorer la qualité de l’emploi pour les femmes travaillant dans ce secteur, en plus de travailler sans relâche au renforcement de l’organisation et de l’autonomisation des ouvrières des maquiladoras textiles et des couturières à domicile.

Elle participe activement à des actions de plaidoyer à l’échelle nationale, régionale et internationale pour la défense et la revendication des droits du travail de la classe ouvrière du Sud mondial d’un point de vue féministe, anticapitaliste, anti-patriarcal et dans une perspective de prise de conscience de la classe et du genre. Elle fait partie du Conseil d'administration de l'Initiative Spotlight et du Groupe national de référence de cette dernière. Elle fait également partie du Groupe consultatif de la société civile de l'ONU Femmes.

Position
Co-président
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Anna Campbell (şehid Hêlîn Qerecox)

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Category
Civil & Political Rights
Region
Europe
Western Europe
Date of death / disappearance
Cause of death / disappearance

Killed

Anna grew up in Lewes, Sussex (UK) and, after deciding not to pursue her English degree at Sheffield University, she moved to Bristol and became a plumber.

She spent much of her time defending the marginalised and under-privileged, attending anti-fascist rallies, and offering support to the women of Dale Farm when they were threatened with eviction. A vegan and animal lover, she attended hunt sabotages and her name is honoured on PETA's 'Tree of Life' Memorial. Anna went to Rojava in May 2017 with a strong commitment to women's empowerment, full representation of all ethnicities and protection of the environment.

Anna died on March 15, 2018 when she was hit by a Turkish airstrike in the town of Afrin, northern Syria. Anna was fighting with the Women's Protection Forces (YPJ), when she was killed.

 

Anna Campbell (şehid Hêlîn Qerecox), UK