Faustine Mpanga Mule
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 In numbers (EN)
IN NUMBERS
Should I do any preparation to respond to the survey?
As the WITM survey is focused on resourcing realities for feminist organizations, most questions ask about your group’s funding between 2021–2023. You will need to have this information with you to fill out the survey (e.g., your annual budgets and key sources of funding).
Saskia Poldervaart
Snippet Intro The Feminist Realities Magazine (ES)
La revista de las Realidades Feministas
Las Realidades Feministas proclaman y personifican la esperanza y el poder.
Las encontramos en todo lo que nos muestra que existen otras formas de vivir, de pensar y de hacer, desde las expresiones cotidianas que se evidencian en cómo nos relacionamos con otrxs hasta los sistemas alternativos de gobernanza y de justicia. Las realidades feministas son formas de resistencia a sistemas de poder como el patriarcado, el capitalismo y la supremacía blanca.
Son propuestas poderosas que nos orientan hacia la idea de lo que es posible y nos muestran cómo los procesos de organización feminista están abriendo caminos hacia la justicia en movimientos y comunidades de todo el mundo.
Descargar la revista completa (PDF)
Explorar la revista
¿Mi participación es confidencial?
Sí, es absolutamente confidencial. Tus respuestas se borrarán al término del procesamiento y el análisis de los datos, y se utilizarán únicamente a los fines de la investigación. Los datos NUNCA se compartirán fuera de AWID y solo los procesarán el personal y consultorxs de AWID abocadxs al proyecto ¿Dónde está el dinero?
Damos prioridad a tu privacidad y anonimato. Los detalles de nuestra política de privacidad se encuentran disponibles aquí.
Kate Millett
Related content
The Guardian: Kate Millett Obituary
New York Times: Kate Millett, Ground-Breaking Feminist Writer, Is Dead at 82
The New Yorker: A Last Interview with Kate Millett
Body
Les droits des femmes et l’égalité de-s genre-s – La rubrique ‘Point de mire’ sur TheGuardian.com
Zarema Sadulayeva
Snippet FEA Bauen Hotel (FR)
Un an seulement après sa fondation, les membres de Nadia Echazú ont commencé à travailler dans la haute couture et ont organisé un défilé de mode dans l'historique hôtel Bauen.
Elles ont montré cinq modèles et quelques travailleuses de la coopérative textile ont même défilé avec leurs propres créations.
C'était révolutionnaire non seulement parce qu'elles concevaient des alternatives à la mode grand public, mais aussi parce qu'elles créaient des vêtements accessibles et inclusifs pour les corps trans et travesti.
Il n'y a pas d'économies féministes sans vêtements qui nous font nous sentir incroyables et confortables!
Combien de réponses souhaitez-vous recueillir?
Notre objectif est de recueillir 2 000 réponses à l’enquête, soit près du double de la dernière enquête WITM de 2011.
María Verónica Reina
María era reconocida internacionalmente por su extraordinario liderazgo dentro de la comunidad de personas con discapacidad.
Representó al Consorcio Internacional sobre Discapacidad y Desarrollo (IDDC por su sigla en inglés) durante la negociación de la Convención sobre los Derechos de las Personas con Discapacidad (2001-2006). Su trabajo estaba dedicado a la implementación del objetivo de la Convención: el goce pleno de los derechos humanos universales por, para y con las personas con discapacidades, en pos de un mundo inclusivo, accesible y sostenible.
En sus propias palabras, su liderazgo consistía en «servir a la comunidad de personas con discapacidad, comenzando por aquellas pequeñas tareas que otrxs pueden no querer realizar».
Falleció el 27 de octubre de 2017 en su ciudad natal de Rosario, Argentina.
En esta nota puede leerse más sobre María Verónica Reina, en sus propias palabras.
Remembering: A Tribute to WHRDs no longer with us
AWID honors feminists and Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) who have died and whose contributions to the advancement of human rights are very much missed.
Celebrating Activists and WHRDs
AWID’s WHRD Tribute is a photo exhibition featuring feminist, women’s rights and social justice activists from around the world who are no longer with us.
The Tribute was first launched in 2012, at AWID’s 12th International Forum, in Turkey. It took shape with a physical exhibit of portraits and biographies of feminists and activists who passed away. The initiative was described by Forum participants as being a unique, moving and energizing way to commemorate our collective history.
At the 13th International Forum in Brazil, we honored activists and WHRDs with a mural unveiling ceremony in four languages, a dance performance and a Brazilian ritual.
In between the events, the Tribute lives as an online gallery that is updated every year as part of the 16 Days Campaign Against Gender Based Violence (25 November – 10 December).
Contributions from all over the world
Since 2012, through our annual Tribute to Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) no longer with us, over 400 feminists and WHRDs from 11 regions and 80 countries have been featured.
AWID would like to thank the families and organizations who shared their personal stories and contributed to this memorial. We join them in continuing the remarkable work of these women and forging efforts to ensure justice is achieved in cases that remain in impunity.
Visit the WHRD Tribute online exhibit
The violence and threaths against WHRDs persist
In addition to paying homage to these incredible activists, the Tribute particularly sheds light on the plight of WHRDs who have been assassinated or disappeared.
One third of those featured in the Tribute were activists who have been murdered or disappeared in suspicious circumstances. They were specifically targeted for who they were and the work they did to challenge:
- State power
- Heteronormativity
- Fundamentalisms
- Corporations
- Patriarchy
- Organized Crime
- Corruption
- Militarization…
Women like Agnes Torres, from Mexico, was killed because of her gender identity and sexual orientation; or Cheryl Ananayo, an environmental activist from the Philippines was assassinated as she struggled against a mining company; or Ruqia Hassan, a Syrian independent journalist and blogger killed for her criticism of ISIS. And so many others.
With the WHRD Tribute, we bring them all into our collective memory and carry their legacy of struggle as our torch in the feminists’ and women’s rights movements. We recognize that security, safety and self-care must be a priority in all our political agendas. And we call on to governments and international bodies to collectively address violence against feminists and WHRDs.
We believe this is a critical step to ensure the sustainability of our movements for gender equality, women’s rights, and justice for all.
Cecilia Loria
Snippet FEA Georgia this is only the beginning (EN)
Georgia
Solidarity Network
THIS IS ONLY THE
BEGINNING
Snippet - Intro WITM - RU
Основываясь на 20-летней истории привлечения более объемного и качественного финансирования для достижения социальных изменений под руководством феминисток(-ов), AWID приглашает вас принять участие в новом опросе:
«Где же деньги для феминистских объединений?»
(далее – «Где деньги?»)
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