Saraswathi Gora
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
Y aura-t-il des événements préalables au Forum cette fois-ci ?
Des partenaires mondiaux et régionaux nous ont déjà communiqué certaines idées de rassemblements préalables au Forum, dont nous vous ferons part sous peu.
Si vous projetez d’organiser une réunion avant le Forum, n’hésitez pas à nous le faire savoir !
Plusieurs belles choses ont émergé du Forum des féminismes noires (BFF, selon son acronyme anglais), qui avait été organisé en 2016 par un Groupe consultatif et financé par l’AWID. À l’issue de ce BFF, certaines organisations indépendantes ont ainsi pu voir le jour, telles ques des organisations féministes noires au Brésil. Bien que le BFF n’aura pas lieu cette année, nous nous engageons à partager certains apprentissages clés avec toute personne intéressée à poursuivre le travail d'organisation féministe noire.
Les droits des femmes et l’égalité de-s genre-s – La rubrique ‘Point de mire’ sur TheGuardian.com
Snippet FEA EoS The Ivy (ES)
La Hiedra
Comunidad y vecindario
¿Cuál es la finalidad de la encuesta ¿Dónde está el dinero?
El objetivo fundamental de la encuesta ¿Dónde está el dinero? es arrojar luz sobre la situación financiera de la diversidad de movimientos feministas, por los derechos de las mujeres, la justicia social, las personas LBTQI+ y demás movimientos aliados de todo el mundo y, sobre la base de dicha información, reforzar las razones fundadas para movilizar más y mejores fondos y transferir el poder a los movimientos feministas.
Stella Mukasa
Stella a commencé sa carrière au ministère du Genre et du Développement communautaire en Ouganda. Elle œuvrait auprès des décideurs-euses politiques, pour encourager des réformes législatives, dont celle de la Constitution ougandaise en 1995 qui a entériné certaines des réformes les plus progressives pour les femmes dans la région.
Elle était adorée dans la région tout entière pour ses incessants efforts pour la création et l’application de lois et politiques sensibles au genre. Elle a joué un rôle clé dans l’ébauche de la loi sur les violences domestiques en Ouganda. Elle a aussi contribué à une mobilisation importante en faveur de Constitutions sensibles au genre à la fois en Ouganda et au Rwanda.
Par son travail au Centre international de recherches sur les femmes (International Center for Research on Women, ICRW), elle a abordé les thématiques de la violence à l’égard des enfants. Stella s’est attachée à renforcer les organisations locales qui luttent contre les violences basées sur le genre. Conférencière en Droits genrés et loi à l’université Makerere, elle a également siégé aux conseils d’administration d’Akina Mama wa Afrika, ActionAid International Uganda et l’Open Society Initiative for Eastern Africa.
Où et quand se tiendra le prochain Forum de l'AWID ?
Le 14e Forum international de l'AWID aura lieu du 20 au 23 septembre 2021 à Taipei, Taiwan.
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.
Snippet FEA Ecofeminism (FR)
Afrique de l’Ouest
NOUS SOMMES LA SOLUTION
ÉCOFÉMINISME :
Le Respect de Tout ce que Nous Avons Autour de Nous
Zaitun Kasim
Est-ce que plusieurs personnes d’un même groupe peuvent répondre séparément aux questions de l’enquête WITM?
Non, nous souhaitons recevoir une seule participation par groupe.
Selena “Rocky” Malone
Rocky showed inspirational leadership and direction in working with Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, Intersex, Queer, Brotherboy and Sistergirl (LGBTIQBBSG) youth at risk.
Rocky started her career with the Queensland Police Service as a Police Liaison Officer. Making a difference was important to her. She led an impressive career working with young LGBTIQBBSG people as the Manager of Open Doors Youth Service.
Rocky worked through complex situations with clients relating specifically to gender and sexual identity. She was a natural in this line of work - a strong community leader, a quiet achiever, a loyal friend, a compassionate nurturer, and a change maker. Rocky was a founding member of IndigiLez Leadership and Support Group.
In 2016 at the Supreme Court in Brisbane, Former High Court Justice Michael Kirby mentioned Rocky by name when praising the work of the LGBTI Legal Service over the years. Rocky fought extremely hard for the human rights of the LGBTIQBBSG community, pushed boundaries and created change in a respectful, loving way.
En su lucha por los derechos humanos enfrentan la injusticia en América Latina
Este año honramos a 19 defensoras de la región de América Latina y el Caribe. De ellas, 16 fueron asesinadas, incluyendo a 6 periodistas y 4 defensoras LGBTQI. Únete a nosotras en la conmemoración de sus vidas y trabajo, compartiendo los memes aquí incluidos con tus colegas, amistades y redes; y tuiteando las etiquetas #WHRDTribute y #16Días.
Por favor, haz click en cada imagen de abajo para ver una versión más grande y para descargar como un archivo.
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Snippet FEA Mariama Sonko (FR)
Nous avons le plaisir de vous présenter Mariama Sonko, agricultrice rurale, éco-féministe et défenseuse des droits humains, vivant actuellement à Niaguis, une ville du sud-ouest du Sénégal.
Ayant grandi dans une famille et une communauté rurale d’agriculteur·rices, elle a été témoin du rôle essentiel des femmes dans la production alimentaire et la conservation des semences depuis son plus jeune âge, tout en étant immergée dans le travail de la terre.
Mariama défend les savoirs agricoles locaux et les pratiques paysannes depuis les années 90. En tant que mère de 5 enfants, la nourriture qu'elle cultive elle-même est la principale source de subsistance de sa famille.
Elle est actuellement présidente de Nous Sommes la Solution et s'engage à promouvoir les pratiques agroécologiques et l'agriculture familiale, à encourager la souveraineté alimentaire, la biodiversité et la préservation des semences paysannes, et à exiger un accès équitable aux ressources et à la terre à travers l'Afrique de l'Ouest.
Source: AWID’s Feminist Realities Festival Crear | Résister | Transform - Day 2/ 2ème jour/ 2º día
Ana Fabricia Cordóba Cabrera
Can I access and fill the survey from my phone?
Yes, the survey can be accessed using a smartphone.
Diakite Fatoumata Sire
Diakite estuvo activamente comprometida con la defensa de las mujeres en la vida política y pública de Mali.
Trabajó para apoyar la capacitación de candidatas electorales y habló en contra de la práctica de la mutilación genital femenina (MGF). Fue una firme defensora de la salud y los derechos reproductivos.
WHRDs from the South and Southeast Asian region
7 Women Human Rights Defenders from across the South and Southeast Asian region are honored in this year’s Online Tribute. These defenders have made key contributions to advancing human and women’s rights, indigenous people’s rights, and the right to education. These WHRDs were lawyers, women’s rights activists, scholars, and politicians. Please join AWID in commemorating t their work and legacy by sharing the memes below with your colleagues, networks and friends and by using the hashtags #WHRDTribute and #16Days.
Please click on each image below to see a larger version and download as a file
