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 - WITM Survey will remain open - RU
Опрос будет открыт до 31 июля 2024 года
Пожалуйста выберите язык, на котором вы хотите отвечать на вопросы в правом верхнем углу страницы
Если вы хотите узнать больше, присоединяйтесь к нашей встрече участников исследования «Где деньги?», которая пройдет 27 мая, понедельник, в 9:00 UTC – с синхронным переводом на французский и английский языки. 14:00 UTC – с синхронным переводом на испанский и английский языки.
Становиться участником (in English).
Winnie Madikizela- Mandela
Winnie a été décrite comme une « militante enflammée » qui a combattu le régime de l’apartheid en Afrique du Sud.
Son engagement lui a valu d’être emprisonnée et placée en cellule d’isolement de nombreuses fois.
Affectueusement surnommée Ma’Winnie, elle était connue pour être quelqu’un qui parlait ouvertement des défis auxquels les femmes noires étaient confrontées pendant et après l’apartheid et cela, après avoir elle-même subi ces brutalités en tant que mère, épouse et militante pendant la lutte. Elle a su transcender l'idée couramment répandue selon laquelle le leadership est fondé sur le genre, la classe ou la race. Bien qu’étant une personnalité controversée, elle était connue par son nom xhosa, « Nomzamo », qui signifie « celle qui supporte les épreuves ».
Ma’Winnie continue d’être une source d’inspiration pour de nombreuses personnes, en particulier des jeunes femmes sud-africaines.
Sa mort a impulsé la naissance d’un mouvement qui a pour mantra : « Elle n’est pas morte, elle s’est multipliée ».
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 FEA Nous Sommes la Solution (EN)

Nous Sommes la Solution is a rural women 's movement for food sovereignty in West Africa. Founded originally as a campaign against hyper-industrialized agriculture, Nous Sommes la Solution has grown into a movement of more than 500 rural women’s associations from Burkina Faso, Senegal, Ghana, Gambia, Guinea Bissau, Mali and Guinea.
Together, this women-led movement is building and strengthening food and seed sovereignty across West Africa. They feed communities, strengthen local economies, amplify the knowledge of women farmers and mitigate the devastating effects of climate change through agroecological practices. They also organize workshops, forums and community radio broadcasts to share their messages, their traditional knowledges and agroecological practices across rural communities.
In collaboration with universities and public research centers, Nous Sommes la Solution works towards restoring traditional Indigenous varieties of rice (a staple food in West Africa) and promoting local food economies based on agroecological principles, influencing national policy-making, all the while supporting women in creating farming associations and collectively owning and managing farmland.
Itziar Lozano
Snippet - WITM Acknowledgements - PT
Agradecimentos
A AWID agradece sinceramente às várias pessoas cujas ideias, análises e contribuições moldaram a pesquisa e a defesa do “Onde está o dinheiro” ao longo dos anos.
Em primeiro lugar, os nossos mais sinceros agradecimentos aos membres da AWID e às ativistas que participaram nas colaborações com o WITM e testaram este questionário connosco, ao partilhar tão generosamente o seu tempo, análise e espírito.
Agradecemos aos movimentos feministas, aos aliados e aos fundos feministas, incluindo, mas não se limitando ao Black Feminist Fund, Pacific Feminist Fund, ASTREA, FRIDA Young Feminist Fund, Purposeful, Kosovo Women's Network, Human Rights Funders Network, CEECCNA Feminist Fund e PROSPERA, pelas suas investigações rigorosas sobre o estado de financiamento, pela análise perspicaz e pela defesa contínua de mais recursos de melhor qualidade e poder para a organização feminista e de justiça de género em todos os contextos.
Junte-se à comunidade global de feministas que se manifestam sobre o estado de financiamento, e exigem mais recursos de melhor qualidade e poder para feministas globalmente.
Liliana Bodoc
Liliana was a teacher, a weaver, and a well recognized writer from Argentina.
Her trilogy La saga de los confines received several awards and is unique in the fantasy genre for its use and re-imagining of South American Indigenous mythology.
Liliana’s commitment to feminism was expressed in the diverse, rich and strong women voices in her writing, and particularly in her extensive work for young readers. She also took public positions in favour of abortion, economic justice and gender parity.
Voici votre guide pratique et les infographies «Vers un écosystème de financement féministe»
Téléchargez le guide complet
Cliquez sur l'image pour ouvrir le rapport complet en PDF
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Téléchargez le rapport PDF «Vers un écosystème de financement féminist» |
Téléchargez les infographies individuelles
Où en sommes -nous aujourd'hui ? |
Où nous voulons être |
Financement actuel, par secteur |
Snippet FEA What are the objectives (ES)
¿Cuáles son los Objetivos de Nous Sommes la Solution?
على من يجب تعبئة الاستطلاع؟
المجموعات، المنظمات والحركات التي تعمل خصوصاً وبالأساس على حقوق النساء، حقوق الفتيات، العدالة الجندرية، حقوق مجتمعات الميم - عين وحلفائها/يفاتها في جميع المناطق وعلى جميع المستويات، إن كانت مجموعات جديدة أو قديمة.
Jacqueline Coulibaly Ki-Zerbo
Jacqueline fue una feminista pionera malí-burkinesa, nacionalista y educadora.
Enseñó inglés en Senegal antes de ser convocada en 1961 como maestra de inglés en el Lycée Philippe Zinda Kaboré en Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. Debido a su activismo, estuvo involucrada en el alzamiento popular del 3 de enero de 1966. Entre 1961 y 1966 fue responsable de la prensa del sindicato docente, Voces de lxs Maestrxs. Fue nombrada directora del Curso Normal para Niñas Jóvenes (ahora conocida como Escuela Secundaria Nelson Mandela), cargo que ocupó hasta 1974, dedicándose a la educación de las niñas y a la promoción de los derechos de las mujeres.
En 1984 recibió el Premio Paul G. Hoffmann por su destacado trabajo para el desarrollo nacional e internacional.
Disclaimer: Communications with AWID staff
If you have received emails from any staff members at AWID, we would like you to understand the following:
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The information contained in this communication is confidential and is intended solely for the addressee.
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This communication may contain information proprietary to the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID), and may not be reproduced or disseminated in whole or in part without AWID's written consent.
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AWID does not warrant that any information contained herein is complete or correct. This communication is not an offer to enter into any agreement and is not a confirmation of any agreement described herein unless the context clearly indicates the contrary.
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AWID is not acting as your adviser in any agreement that may be proposed herein, and this communication does not constitute a recommendation, guidance or proposal to enter into any agreement.
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AWID does not guarantee or otherwise assure the expected results of any agreement. This communication may contain views or opinions that are not necessarily those of AWID.
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You shall not be entitled to place any reliance on the information contained in this communication for the purposes of entering into any proposed agreement or otherwise.
Snippet FEA Bio fertilizer and Sum-Pack (FR)

Sonia Pierre
Что подразумевается под внешним финансированием?
Внешнее финансирование включает гранты и другие формы финансирования от благотворительных фондов, правительств, двусторонних, многосторонних или корпоративных спонсоров и индивидуальных доноров – как внутри вашей страны, так и из-за рубежа. Сюда не входят ресурсы, которые группы, организации и/или движения генерируют самостоятельно, такие как, например, членские взносы, добровольные взносы "сотрудниц(-ков), участниц(-ков) и/или сторонниц(-ков), сборы через сообщество, сдача помещений в аренду или продажа услуг. Для удобства в опрос включены определения различных видов финансирования и краткие описания различных доноров.
Lara Kruger
Lara était une DJ bien connue et appréciée de la Motsweding, une radio FM d’Afrique du Sud.
Lara a été l’un des premières animatrices ouvertement transgenre d’une radio grand public. Elle a œuvré sans relâche pour que lumière soit faite sur les questions LGBTI.
L’activisme de Lara a commencé très tôt, alors qu’elle revendiquait son droit de s’habiller et de se comporter afin de se sentir à l’aise auprès des membres de sa communauté qui ne comprenaient pas encore ce que signifiait être transgenre.


