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
14th AWID international Forum is cancelled (forum page)
The 14th AWID International Forum is cancelled
Given the current world situation, our Board of Directors has taken the difficult decision to cancel Forum scheduled in 2021 in Taipei.
Upasana Agarwal



Sobre Upasana Agarwal

Snippet - WITM Who should - EN
Who should take this survey*?
The survey is for groups, organizations and movements working specifically or primarily for the rights of women, LBTQI+ people and on gender justice in all contexts, at all levels, and in all regions. If this is one of the core pillars of your group, collective, network or any other type of organization - whether registered or not, newly formed or long-standing, we invite you to take this survey.

*At this time, we are not asking for responses from individuals or funders.
Learn more about the survey:
Consult the F.A.Q.
J’essaie de soumettre une proposition mais le formulaire en ligne ne fonctionne pas
Pour toutes questions liées à l’Appel aux propositions d'activités, merci de nous contacter via notre formulaire de contact en choisissant « Proposition d'activité » comme sujet de votre message.
Snippet FEA Principles of Work S4 (ES)

HORIZONTALIDAD
Christine Loudes
“Where is the Money for Women’s Rights?" AWID’s WITM Toolkit (landing page intro) ES
Una nueva edición de la investigación "¿Dónde está el dinero?" está actualmente en marcha.
Obtén más informaciónManual «¿Dónde está el dinero?» (WITM)
Una metodología de investigación que puedes aplicar tú mismx

AWID presenta este Manual WITM para apoyar a personas y organizaciones que quieran investigar por su cuenta las tendencias en el financiamiento para una región, temática o población en particular, adaptando las metodologías de investigación de AWID.
El Manual WITM de AWID es producto de diez años de experiencia. Las investigaciones de WITM y este Manual son una demostración política y práctica de los recursos y pasos necesarios para realizar investigaciones en acción de buena calidad.
Más información sobre el contexto de la metodología de la investigación WITM
El equipo WITM también ofrece apoyo técnico y político antes y durante el proceso de investigación. Te invitamos a leer el Manual y a ponerte en contacto con nosotras en fundher@awid.org si necesitas más información.
Mia Berden
Comprendre le contexte des menaces antidroits
Chapitre 2
Bien plus de la moitié de la population mondiale est aujourd’hui dirigée par l’extrême droite. C’est sur cette toile de fond que défenseur·e·s des droits humains et féministes luttent pour « tenir bon », protéger le multilatéralisme et le système international des droits humains, alors que leurs engagements les exposent à de violentes répressions. Ces institutions sont cependant de plus en plus soumises aux intérêts du secteur privé. Les grandes entreprises, surtout les sociétés transnationales, siègent à la table des négociations et occupent des fonctions de leadership dans plusieurs institutions multilatérales, l’ONU notamment. Le lien entre ultranationalisme, restriction de l’espace civique et emprise des entreprises a un impact considérable sur la réalisation ou non des droits humains pour tout le monde.

Danger - Trump and the Far Right.
Sommaire
- Nationalisme et ultranationalisme
- Emprise des entreprises : le pouvoir débridé des entreprises met nos droits en danger
- Répression et restriction des espaces civiques pour les activistes féministes et les défenseur·e·s des droits humains des femmes et des personnes LGBTIQ+
- Histoire du mouvement de la résistance. L’Article 16 de la CEDAW : vers une réforme des codes de la famille discriminatoires dans les contextes musulmans
Snippet - WITM to claim - EN

To claim your power as an expert on the state of resourcing for feminist movements
Combien coûte l’inscription au Forum ?
Cette information ne sera disponible qu’à l’ouverture de l’inscription.
Snippet FEA No feminist economies without feminist unions (FR)
Pas d’économies féministes sans syndicats féministes!
Par le biais de l'organisation syndicale, Sopo, Sabrina et Linda se battent non seulement pour les droits des femmes, des travailleur·euses essentiel·les, des travailleur·euses migrant·e·s et des travailleur·euses du sexe, mais pour les droits de tous·tes les travailleur·euses .
La lutte pour mettre fin à l'exploitation des travailleur·euses est une lutte féministe. C’est pourquoi il n’y a pas d’économies féministes sans syndicats féministes.
Betty Tebbs
FRMag - The Triple (FR)
Les invalides en triple : parlons sexe, chéri !
par Nandini Tanya Lallmon
Olajumoke « Jay » Abdullahi et Kym Oliver sont des féministes révolutionnaires à plus d'un titre. (...)
illustration : « Éclose » de Titash Sen >
Patrona Benita Sandoval
The Crear, Résister, Transform Story by Coumba Toure
A magical experience of feminist story telling led by pan-African feminist Coumba Toure, performing in the age old tradition of West African griots.
And we gathered again
We gathered our stories our strength
our songs
our tears
our rage
our dreams
our success
our failures
And we pull them all together
In one big bowl to share
for a moon of thoughts
And we stay in touch
We shake each others minds
we caress each other souls
While our hands still are tied
And our kisses and hugs are banned
Yet we grow stronger by the hour
Weaving together our voices
Crossing the sound barriers
as we speak in tongues
We are getting louder and louder
We know about differences from others
and from each other so we are stitching our beauties into patchwork or thoughts
From our deepest learnings from our powers
Sometimes we are surrounded by terror
by confusions by dishonesty
But we wash out in the Ocean of love
We are weavers of dreams
To clothes or new world
Thread after thread
As small as we are
Like little ants building our movement
Llike little drops building our rivers
We take steps forward and steps backward
Dancing our way back to sanity
Sustain to the rhythm of our hearts keep
Beating please don't not stop
And we are here transmitter of forgotten generosity
drop after drop growing like the ocean
growing like the river flowing from our souls .
showing our strength to be the water
that will clean this world
and we are gathering again can you feel us
I would lie if I say I said I am
Ok not to see you I do miss my people
I miss your touch and
You unfiltered and unrecorded voices
I miss our whispers and our screams
Our cries of the aborted revolution
We only want to give birth to new worlds
So fight to erase the borders between us
And we gathered again
We gathered our stories our strength
our songs
our tears
our rage
our dreams
our success
our failures
And we pull them all together In one big bowl to share
For a moon of thoughts
And we stay in touch
We shake each others minds
we caress each other souls
While our hands still are tied
And our kisses and hugs are banned
Yet we grow stronger by the hour
Weaving together our voices
Crossing the sound barriers
as we speak in tongues
We are getting louder and louder
We know about differences from others
and from each other so we are stitching our beauties into patchwork or thoughts
From our deepest learnings from our powers Sometimes we are surrounded by terror by Confusions by dishonesty
But we watch out in the Ocean of love
We are weavers of dreams
To clothes or new world
Thread after thread
As small as we are like little ants building our movements
like little drops building our rivers We take steps forward and steps backward
dancing our way back to sanity
Sustain to the rhythm of our hearts
keep beating please don't not stop
And we are here transmitter of forgotten generosity
Drop after drop growing like the ocean
growing like the river flowing from our souls
showing our strength to be the water
that will clean this world
and we are gathering again can you feel us
I would lie if I I said I am Ok
not to see you
I do miss my people
I miss your touch and
You unfiltered and unrecorded voices
I miss our whispers and our screams
Our cries over the aborted revolutions
We only want to give birth to new worlds
So fight to erase the borders between us
Please don’’t stop
Snippet - WITM Why now_col 1 - FR
Pourquoi maintenant?

Dans le monde entier, les mouvements féministes, de défense des droits des femmes, pour la justice de genre, pour la défense des personnes LBTQI+ et les mouvements alliés vivent un moment critique, face à de puissantes remises en question de droits et libertés pourtant acquis.
Ces dernières années ont vu la rapide montée de l’autoritarisme, de la violente répression de la société civile et de la criminalisation des défenseur·ses des droits humains des femmes et des personnes de genre divers, l’escalade de guerres et de conflits dans plusieurs régions du monde, la perpétuation des injustices économiques et de crises conjuguant la santé, l’écologie et les changements climatiques.
En quelles langues les informations seront-elles disponibles sur le Forum ?
Anglais, français, espagnol et chinois mandarin.
Snippet FEA We are living in a world right (EN)
Even in times of climate crisis, governments continue to encourage large-scale agriculture industries to expand. These activities poison the land, threaten biodiversity, and destroy local food production and livelihoods. Meanwhile, while women produce the majority of our food in the world, they own almost none of the land.
What if we perceived land and Nature not as private property to exploit, but as a whole to live in, learn from, and harmoniously coexist with? What if we repaired our relationships with the land and embraced more sustainable alternatives that nurture both the planet and its communities?
Nous Sommes la Solution (We Are the Solution, NSS) is one of many women-led movements striving to do this. This is their story.