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.
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.
We work collaboratively with international and regional networks and our membership
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.
Ana fue una firme defensora de los derechos de las mujeres y trabajó con una amplia diversidad de mujeres, desde aquellas que están redes de base hasta las que son parte del sector privado.
Creía que había que tender puentes entre sectores. Ana fue integrante de la Red Nacional de Promoción de la Mujer (RNPM), y tuvo participación activa en el desarrollo de muchos programas sociales que abordan temas como la salud y los derechos sexuales y reproductivos.
AWID is a part of an incredible ecosystem of feminist movements working to achieve gender justice and social justice worldwide. With our 40th anniversary, we are celebrating all that we’ve built over these last 40 years. As a global feminist movement support organization we know that working with fierce feminisms is our way forward, acknowledging both the multiplicity of feminisms and the value of fierce and unapologetic drive for justice. The state of the world and of feminist movements calls for brave conversations and action. We look forward to working together with our members, partners and funders in creating the worlds we believe in, celebrating the wins and speaking truth to power in service of feminist movements globally.
The 2023 Feminist Calendar is our gift to movements. It features the artwork of some of our amazing AWID members.
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Le sommet climat organisé par et pour les mouvements.
📅 12 novembre - 16 novembre 2025
📍 Université fédérale du Pará, Belém
Site web en anglais
Reconocemos que el viaje involucra muchos desafíos y por eso brindaremos más información y detalles sobre cómo llegar a Bangkok cuando abramos el proceso de inscripción a principios del próximo año.
Want to join the growing numbers of people saying “enough” to the infiltration of the UN by anti-rights actors?
Née en 1928, Marceline était actrice, scénariste et réalisatrice.
En 2003, elle avait réalisé « La petite prairie aux bouleaux », mettant en vedette Anouk Aimée, ainsi que plusieurs autres documentaires. Survivante de l'holocauste, elle n'avait que quinze ans lorsque son père et elle furent arrêtés et envoyés dans des camps de concentration nazis. Les trois kilomètres qui la séparaient de son père à Auschwitz alors qu’elle-même était à Birkenau furent une distance insurmontable, décrite dans l’un de ses romans majeurs « Et tu n’es pas revenu ».
En parlant de son travail, elle a un jour déclaré: « Tout ce que je peux dire c’est que tout ce que je peux écrire, tout ce que je peux dévoiler, c’est à moi de le faire. »
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As world leaders gather in Brazil, it’s vital that feminist movements especially from the Global Majority have autonomous spaces to gather, strategize, and disrupt.
These Hubs challenge the elitism of climate talks, center lived experiences, and aim to build collective power across borders. They offer a critical counterbalance to top-down, often exclusionary international negotiations. The Hubs aim to foster community-driven solutions, amplify feminist demands, and ensure that feminist principles of care and solidarity shape the climate agenda. It’s not just about being present at COP30, it’s about reshaping the conversation on climate justice on feminist terms.
Les langues de travail de l'AWID sont l'anglais, le français et l'espagnol. Le thaï sera ajouté comme langue locale, ainsi que la langue des signes et d'autres mesures d'accessibilité. D'autres langues étant susceptibles d’être ajoutées si le financement le permet, nous vous invitons à consulter régulièrement les mises à jour. La justice linguistique nous tient à cœur et nous essaierons d'inclure autant de langues que possible en fonction de nos ressources. Nous espérons créer de multiples occasions pour que chacun·e d'entre nous puisse s'exprimer dans sa langue et communiquer avec les autres.
Ghiwa Sayegh is an anarcha-queer writer, independent publisher, and archivist. She is the founding editor of Kohl: a Journal for Body and Gender Research and the co-founder of Intersectional Knowledge Publishers. She has an MA in gender studies from Université Paris 8 Vincennes – Saint-Denis. She is passionate about queer theory, transnational circulations, and imagined or unknown histories. Her influences are Audre Lorde and Sara Ahmed.
Elle faisait elle-même partie des 32 000 personnes déplacées par Tucuruí, un imposant barrage hydroélectrique, construit au Brésil sous la dictature militaire de 1964-1985.
En 2005, Dilma a été invitée à rejoindre le Mouvement des personnes affectées par les barrages (MAB) au Brésil et, en 2006, elle y a formé un collectif de femmes pour finir ensuite par devenir coordonatrice régionale du mouvement.
Évoquant son activisme, ses collègues racontent :
« Elle se distinguait très rapidement car elle n’avait jamais peur dans la lutte. »
Dilma vivait dans la localité rurale de Salvador Allenda, à 50 kilomètres de Tucuru. Elle a dédié sa vie à mieux protéger les communautés et les territoires affectés par la construction d’énormes projets. Elle était particulièrement préoccupée par l’impact de genre de ce type de projets et plaidait pour les droits des femmes.
Lors d’une réunion d’ordre national du MAB en 2011, Dilma évoqua les femmes affectées par les barrages, soulignant :
« Nous sommes les réelles Marias, guerrières, combattantes ici, nous nous confrontons au défi de la lutte quotidienne. »
Au cours des années suivantes, Dilma a organisé des groupes de terrain du MAB et travaillé avec les communautés pour former des coopératives paysannes qui permirent de mieux distribuer la nourriture au sein des communautés. Ensemble, elles ont amélioré la commercialisation de la pêche et développé un projet de citerne pour un accès à l’eau potable. Elle défendait aussi les agriculteurs·rices dont les terres étaient convoitées par les « grileiros » (personnes qui s’approprient les terres).
Le 22 mars 2019, à l’âge de 48 ans, Dilma, son mari et leur ami·e furent violemment assassiné·e·s. Ces trois meurtres s’inscrivirent dans une vague de violences en Amazonie contre les Movimento dos Trabalhadores Sem (mouvements des travailleurs·ses sans terre) et les activistes écologistes et autochtones.
This policy governs all pages hosted at www.awid.org, and any other websites under the control of the AWID (the “Website”) and registrations for these sites. It does not apply to pages hosted by organisations other than AWID, to which we may link and whose privacy policies may differ. Please read the following policy to understand our privacy policy regarding nature, purpose, using and sharing of your personal identifiable information that is collected via this website.
Generally, you can browse this website without submitting your personal information to us. However, in some circumstances, we will ask for your personal information.
When you are on the website and are asked for personal information, you are sharing that information only with AWID.
When you register to use the website – for example, subscribe to receive emails from us or apply to become a member - you provide us with the mandatory information about you like Name, country, language to receive email updates and email address. This information is provided by you through secure forms and is stored on secure servers.
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When you communicate with AWID, provide optional information through forms on the website or use the site to communicate with other members, we collect information about your communication and any information you choose to provide.
When you communicate with us, we collect your communication and any other information you choose to provide us.
In addition, when you interact with the Website, our servers may keep an activity log that does not identify you individually (“Non-Personal Information”). Generally, we collect the following categories of Non-Personal Information:
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The accuracy of your individual identifying information is important to AWID. We are always looking for ways to make it easier for you to review and correct the information that AWID maintains about you through our website. If you change your email address, or if any of the other information we hold is inaccurate or out of date, please write to us here.
Except as explained below, AWID will not disclose any of your personally identifiable information, and will not sell or rent lists containing your information to third parties. AWID may disclose information when it has your permission to do so or under special circumstances, such as when it believes in good faith that the law requires it.
We are continuously implementing and updating administrative, technical, and physical security measures to help protect your information against unauthorized access, loss, destruction, or alteration. Some of the safeguards we use to protect your information are firewalls and data encryption, and information access controls. If you know or have reason to believe that your AWID membership credentials have been lost, stolen, misappropriated, or otherwise compromised or in case of any actual or suspected unauthorized use of your AWID membership account, please contact us through on Contact Us.
This policy may change from time to time. The changed policy will be posted on this website and Last updated date at the end of the policy will be updated. There will be an email update sent to you for the revised policy and if you do not agree with the revised policy, you will have the option to cancel you registration(s) with us. You can also write to us here. We welcome your feedback!
Last updated: May 2019
A tool for feminist activists at COP30 fighting for transformative, equitable and community-centred solutions to address the climate crisis.
La montée en puissance des antidroits a préparé son terrain. Nous devons comprendre la montée de l’ultranationalisme, du pouvoir incontrôlé des entreprises, de la répression croissante et de l’amenuisement de l’espace civique pour contextualiser les menaces actuelles contre nos droits.
con Luam Kidane, Mariama Sonko, Yannia Sofia Garzon Valencia y Nomsa Sizani
Carol Thomas was a trailblazer for women’s sexual and reproductive rights in South Africa. A gifted gynecologist and founder of the WomenSpace, she practiced and advocated for non-traditional ways of delivering healthcare to women, offering services that were high quality, empathetic and accessible.
“She entered into not only the joy of pregnancies and new babies, but the anxieties of infertility and premature deliveries and female cancers, the heartbreak of miscarriages and stillbirths.” Helen Moffett
Carol thought in new paradigms that centered the needs of women with the least access to services and rights in society:
“The prevailing socio-economic environment that we find ourselves in means that women bear a disproportionate burden of disease and unemployment…As a black, previously disadvantaged woman I have a good sense of what is happening in our communities.” - Carol Thomas
Carol’s innovative and multi-award-winning social venture “iMobiMaMa” used mobile kiosks and interactive technology to connect women directly with antenatal and reproductive health services, information and support in communities all over South Africa.
Carol supported women both in wanted and unwanted pregnancies, mentoring many nurses and doctors during her lifetime.
She was also described as the go-to gynecologist “for trans folks who could have affirming care. She got it right when so many did not have the language or pronouns. Her warm blankets, listening and saying just what you needed to hear was so comforting.” -Marion Lynn Stevens
Carol Thomas was described as being at the height of her professional career when she died on 12 April 2019 of complications following a double lung transplant.
The tributes that poured in following her unexpected death referred to her as many things:
“a role model, warrior woman, innovator, dynamic leader, mould-breaker, dynamo, brilliant scientist, compassionate doctor.”
Undoubtedly, Carol Thomas will be remembered and honored for being all of this and much more.
