Sunila Abeyseke
Women Human Rights Defenders
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.
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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.
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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;
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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:
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Mobilizing urgent responses of international solidarity for WHRDs at risk through our international and regional networks, and our active membership.
Related Content
Snippet FEA Workers demonstrations in Georgia 2 (ES)
Dilma Ferreira Silva
Dilma Ferreira Silva fue una destacada activista por los derechos de las comunidades del Amazonas y luchó durante décadas por los derechos de las personas afectadas por las represas.
Ella misma fue una de las 32.000 personas desplazadas por el Tucuruí, una mega central hidroeléctrica, construida en Brasil durante la dictadura militar de 1964-1985.
En 2005 Dilma fue invitada a unirse al Movimiento de los Pueblos Afectados por las Represas en Brasil (MAB), y en 2006 formó el colectivo de mujeres, y eventualmente se convirtió en coordinadora regional del movimiento.
Al hablar de su activismo, sus colegas comentaban:
"Se destacó muy rápido porque siempre fue muy intrépida en la lucha".
Dilma vivió en el asentamiento rural de Salvador Allende, a 50 kilómetros de Tucuruí, y dedicó toda su vida a proteger a las comunidades y las tierras afectadas por la construcción de mega proyectos. Dilma se preocupaba especialmente por el impacto de género que esos proyectos podrían causar, y defendía los derechos de las mujeres.
En una reunión nacional del MAB en 2011, Dilma, dirigiéndose a las mujeres afectadas por las represas, dijo:
"Somos las verdaderas Marías, guerreras, luchadoras que están allí, enfrentando el desafío de la lucha diaria".
En los años siguientes, Dilma organizó grupos de base del MAB y trabajó con la comunidad para formar cooperativas agrícolas que condujeron a una mejor redistribución de los alimentos entre la comunidad. Conjuntamente, mejoraron la comercialización de la pesca y desarrollaron un proyecto de cisternas para el agua potable. También fue defensora de la comunidad de agricultores cuyas tierras eran codiciadas por los "grileiros" (acaparadores de tierras).
El 22 de marzo de 2019, a la edad de 48 años, Dilma, su marido y su amigo fueron brutalmente asesinados. Los tres asesinatos fueron parte de una ola de violencia en la Amazonia contra el Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem Terra (traducido como 'Movimiento de los Trabajadores Sin Tierra') y lxs activistas medioambientales e indígenas.
Defending our land and ourselves from corporate power
These industries 'extract' raw materials from the Earth: mining, timber, gas, oil are some examples
This economical model exploits nature and as it intensifies, so does the inequality between global North with their large corporations, and the global South, where resources are extracted.
Land contamination, water pollution, environmental damage, communities displaced are only some of the consequences.
Find more on our report on EXTRACTIVE INDUSTRIES
There are sustainable alternatives for the environment and women's rights.
Snippet - WITM about research - PT
Sobre o inquérito WITM
O inquérito global do WITM é um pilar fundamental da terceira edição da nossa investigação orientada para a ação: "Onde está o dinheiro para a organização feminista" (abreviado, "Onde está o dinheiro" ou WITM). Os resultados do inquérito serão aprofundados e explorados através de conversas profundas com ativistas e financiadores, e comparados com outras análises e investigações existentes sobre o estado do financiamento para feministas e para a igualdade de género globalmente
O relatório completo "Onde está o dinheiro para a organização feminista" será publicado em 2026.
Para mais informações sobre como a AWID tem chamado a atenção para o dinheiro a favor de e contra os movimentos feministas, consulte a nossa história do WITM e os nossos relatórios anteriores aqui.
Snippet FEA Workers Persecution S4 (FR)
LA PERSÉCUTION DES TRAVAILLEUR·EUSES
Farida Afridi
Molara Ogundipe
« Mais quand le maître
s’est-il laissé éloigner du pouvoir?
Quand un système a-t-il jamais été brisé
par l’acceptation?
Quand le CHEF te remettra-t-il le pouvoir avec amour?
À Jobourg, à Cancun, à l’ONU? », Molara Ogundipe.
Dans un entretien à la Foire internationale du livre du Ghana en 2010, Molara Ogundipe s’est présentée avec ces mots : « ... Je suis une Nigériane. J’ai vécu absolument partout, sauf en Union soviétique et en Chine ».
À travers les continents et les pays, la professeure Ogundipe a enseigné la littérature comparée, l’écriture, le genre et les études anglaises, se servant de la littérature comme outil de transformation sociale, de même que pour revisiter les relations de genre.
Penseuse, écrivaine, rédactrice, critique sociale, poète et activiste féministe, Molara Ogundipe est parvenue à allier le travail théorique et l’action créative et la créativité. Elle est considérée comme l’une des principales voix critiques du(des) féminisme(s) africain(s), des études de genre et de la théorie littéraire.
Molara est connue pour avoir créé le concept de « stiwanisme », à partir de l’acronyme STIWA, pour Social Transformations in Africa Including Women (transformations sociales en Afrique incluant les femmes), reconnaissant la nécessité de « s’éloigner de la définition du ou des féminismes en lien avec l’Euro-Amérique ou avec toute autre région, et de la déclamation de loyautés ou déloyautés ».
Avec son ouvrage fondateur « Re-creating Ourselves » de 1994 (publié sous le nom de Molara Ogundipe-Leslie), Molara Ogundipe a laissé derrière elle un immense éventail de connaissances qui ont décolonisé le discours féministe et « recentré les femmes africaines sur leurs récits entiers et complexes... menées par une exploration de la libération économique, politique et sociale des femmes africaines et la restauration de la capacité d’agir féminine dans plusieurs cultures en Afrique ».
À propos des difficultés rencontrées en tant que jeune universitaire :
« Lorsque j’ai commencé à parler et à écrire sur le féminisme à la fin des années soixante et soixante-dix, on me considérait comme une bonne et admirable fille qui s’était égarée, une femme dont l’esprit avait été gâté par trop d’apprentissages ».
Molara Ogundipe s’est démarquée grâce à son leadership alliant activisme et université. En 1977, elle comptait parmi les fondatrices de l’AAWORD (Association of African Women for Research and Development). En 1982, elle fonde WIN (Women in Nigeria) pour défendre des « droits économiques, sociaux et politiques » entiers pour les Nigérianes. Elle crée et dirige ensuite la Foundation for International Education and Monitoring, et passe plusieurs années à oeuvrer au comité de rédaction de The Guardian.
Ayant grandi avec les Yoruba, leurs traditions, leur culture et leur langue, elle a un jour déclaré :
« Je pense que célébrer la vie, célébrer les personnes qui décèdent après une vie bien remplie est l’un des plus beaux aspects de la culture yoruba ».
Le nom de fête « oiki » de Molara en yoruba était Ayike. Née le 27 décembre 1940, Molara est décédée à l’âge de 78 ans, le 18 juin 2019 à Ijebu Igbo, dans l’État d’Ogun au Nigeria.
Voici votre guide pratique et les infographies «Vers un écosystème de financement féministe»
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Le magazine des Réalités féministes
Le magazine des Réalités féministes
Nous vous présentons une sélection motivante de puissantes histoires et d’images de transformations et de résistances créées par des activistes, des écrivain·e·s et des artistes du monde entier.
ما هو الهدف من استطلاع "أين المال"؟
الهدف الأساسي من وراء استطلاع "أين المال" هو تسليط الضوء على على وقائع التمويل المتنوّعة والمركّبة للحركات النسوية، حركات النساء، حركات العدالة الجندرية وحركات مجتمع الميم - عين والحركات الحليفة لها على المستوى العالمي. بناءاً على هذا، وبناءً على ذلك - تعزيز قضية تحويل أموال أكثر وأفضل وتحويل السلطة باتجاه الحركات النسوية.
Snippet FEA Sopo Japaridze (EN)
Meet Sopo Japaridze, fierce feminist, union leader and chair of the independent service trade union at the Solidarity Network.
She left the country when she was very young to go to the United States where she first became very politically active as a labor organizer. She kept Georgia in the back of her mind all that time, until one day, two decades later, she decided to return.
The existing Georgian union confederation back then was less than ideal. So, equipped with her skills, knowledge and labor organizing experience, Sopo went back to Georgia and built her own union.
Sopo is a passionate researcher and writer. She studies labor and social relations, writes for various publications and is the contributing editor of LeftEast, an Eastern European analytical platform. She also co-founded the political history initiative and podcast, Reimagining Soviet Georgia, where she explores the complexities and nuances of the country's experiences under the Soviet Union, to better understand its past in order to shed light on how to build a better future.
Islam Bibi
Mereani Naisua Senibici
Mereani Naisua Senibici, also called ‘Sua’, was a longstanding member of the Fiji Young Women’s Christian Association (YWCA) movement.
She worked with diverse groups of women in multi-racial, rural and urban settings and was committed to supporting and promoting women’s and young women’s rights.
In the Lautoka YWCA, she worked with women of Indian descent, and was a leading figure in the sports development and participation of women and of trans athletes in Lautoka.
“Sua is greatly loved by Fiji YWCA members for her dedication and long-time support towards all that the organisation endeavoured to do.” - Tupou Vere
Mereani was part of the House of Sarah (HoS), an initiative of the Association of Anglican Women (AAW), launched in 2009 and aimed at raising awareness of the issues around gender-based violence, as well as providing support to women who face violence. She started as a dedicated volunteer and offered support to women throughout the Pacific.
“A people’s person and an all-rounder in women's empowerment and movement work at community level. Rest in Peace, Sua.” - Tupou Vere
The AWID Forum Access Fund
We strive to make the AWID Forum a truly global gathering with participation from a diverse array of movements, regions and generations. To this end, AWID mobilizes resources for a limited Access Fund (AF) to assist some participants with the costs of attending the Forum.
The 14th AWID International Forum will take place 11-14 January 2021, in Taipei, Taiwan.
How will the Access Fund be allocated?
For this AWID Forum, there will be no application process.
Access Fund grants will be allocated by invitation only to:
- Two persons per activity selected for the Forum program (decided by those organizations, groups or individuals organizing the activity)
- Participants who identify as part of Priority Forum Constituencies (PFCs) recommended by the organizations, networks and groups who are co-creating the Forum with AWID.
- PFCs are those which we consider would strengthen our collective power as movements, are not centered in mainstream feminist movements, and whose Feminist Realities we would like to honor, celebrate and visibilize:
- Black feminists
- Indigenous feminists
- Trans, gender non-conforming and intersex feminists
- Feminists with disabilities
- Feminist sex workers and informal workers, including migrant workers
- Feminists affected by migration
- Women affected by drug policy
- Feminists from the Forum regions (with a focus on the Pacific and mainland China)
In addition, AWID will fund approximately 100 participants from the Forum’s location. Forum Committee Members (Content and Methodology, Access and Host) as well as those in the Artists Working Group [link] are also granted Access Fund support.
What does the Access Fund cover?
For selected participants, the Access Fund will cover the cost of their:
- Flight
- Accommodation
- Visa
- Local transportation in Taipei
- Travel medical insurance
The Access Fund will NOT cover their:
- Forum registration fee
- Transportation to and from the airport in their city of departure
- Other incidental costs
Apart from the Access Fund, how can I fund my participation at the Forum?
We have listed other ideas on how to fund your participation at the AWID Forum on the Funding Ideas page.
Reason to join 4
Think big! With our international reach, we combine analytical work with political and practical tools for advocacy and transformation to advance the cause of feminist movements at all levels.
Мы распределяем деньги среди наших грантополучающих партнерок(-ров) и являемся феминистским и/или женским фондом – можем ли мы участвовать в опросе?
Нет, мы высоко ценим вашу работу, но в данный момент мы не просим откликов от женских и феминистских фондов. Мы будем рады, если вы поделитесь информацией об опросе со своими партнерками(-рами) и контактами внутри феминистской сети.
Snippet FEA Criminalization of sex workers (ES)
La mayoría de los Estados miembros de la Unión Europea tienen leyes y prácticas que penalizan o controlan a las trabajadoras sexuales de formas inaceptables para ellas. La criminalización de las trabajadoras sexuales y/o sus clientes solo contribuye a aumentar la vulnerabilidad de las trabajadoras sexuales, que ya enfrentan el estigma, la discriminación y la exclusión por parte del Estado y de la sociedad a diario, especialmente las mujeres trabajadoras, lxs trabajadorxs trans, migrantes y/o racializadxs. En España por ejemplo, el gobierno esta actualmente intentando pasar una Ley Orgánica para la Abolición de la Prostitución, que resultara en mas clandestinidad y violencia. Ven a conocer las historias de trabajadoras sexuales y organizadores sindicales que luchan para decriminilizar el trabajo sexual y promover derechos laborales y condiciones de trabajo digno para lxs trabajadxs sexuales.
Palwasha Tokhi
