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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

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

CFA FAQ - Call for activities - AR

دعوة للمشاركة

Snippet intro text_Festival (FR)

Notre festival a réuni 130 conférencièr.e.s, animateur.ice.s et artistes de 43 pays, réparti.e.s sur plus de 40 sessions !

Inna Michaeli

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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จะมีการช่วยสนับสนุนงบประมาณค่าอุปกรณ์หรือค่าเตรียมการสำหรับกิจกรรมหรือไม่

คุณสามารถคาดหวังว่าจะมีอุปกรณ์มาตราฐานสำหรับกิจกรรมและการนำเสนอเตรียมไว้ให้ ได้แก่ กระดาษฟลิปชาร์ท ปากกามาร์กเกอร์ โพสต์อิท รวมถึง โปรเจคเตอร์ อุปกรณ์ด้านภาพและเสียง อุปกรณ์เพิ่มเติมนอกเหนือจากนี้ถือเป็นความรับผิดชอบของผู้จัดกิจกรรม ฝ่ายโลจิสติกส์ AWID จะพร้อมที่จะตอบคำถามและให้คำแนะนำต่างๆ

Snippet SM CTA_Fest (FR)

Suivez-nous sur les réseaux sociaux et partagez vos moments préférés de notre festival :

Facebook: @AWIDWomensRights
Instagram: @awidwomensrights
Twitter FR: @awid_fr
LinkedIn: Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID)

Margo Okazawa-Rey

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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ما هي الإجراءات التي سيتم اتخاذها لحماية الصحة العامة واحتواء مخاطر تفشي فيروس كورونا؟

نحن نراقب هذه المخاطر والمخاطر الأخرى بعناية، وسننشر معلومات شاملة عن الصحة والسلامة عند فتح التسجيل، حتى تتمكن/ين من اتخاذ القرار. بالإضافة إلى ذلك، تم تصميم التنسيق الهجين لتوفير تجربة مشاركة هادفة للمشاركين/ات الذين/ اللواتي يفضلون عدم السفر أو غير القادرين على السفر.

Snippet Love Letters from our Co-EDs and the Board (EN)

Love Letters from our Board and the Co-EDs

Claudia Montserrat Arévalo Alvarado

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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Rising together - Logo and Button - EN

Convocatoria para actividades: ¡Plazo ampliado hasta el 1ero de febrero de 2024!

Participa en co-crear el 15° Foro Internacional de AWID en Bangkok, Tailandia.

¡Propón tu actividad!

Snippet FEA Tanta Gente sem casa (ES)

A graphic with green feather patterns on a beige background, text on it in Portuguese says “Tanta Gente sem casa. tanta casa sem gente” which means "So many people without a home,  so many homes without people"

"Tanta gente sin hogar, tantos hogares sin gente."

Michelle D'Cruz

Biography

Michelle is a Southeast Asian feminist who enjoys conspiring to bring people together and spark conversations for social change and feminist knowledge sharing, through art, poetry, music and games. With a background in digital advocacy and communications strategy development, she has contributed to initiatives in digital rights, human rights research, and civil society coalition building throughout Southeast Asia. She has an LLB from National University of Singapore, enjoys following her feet down random city streets and likes coffee a little too much.

Position
Membership and constituency Engagement Coordinator
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