On the verge of a fast approaching civil war, women in Turkey are calling for unconditional and immediate peace, and for an end to the harassment and violence against dissenting women in Turkey. As we commemorated International Day of Peace on 21st September and a call for a global ceasefire, AWID takes a look at the situation of women human rights defenders in Turkeys increasing conflict.

Women and girls are in the public eye, recognized as key agents in development, like never before. Yet this increased interest is not translating into resources for the very organizations that are key to creating sustained systematic change in the lives of women and girls, as a new animation video from AWID shows.

The political crisis in the east African country Burundi has led to a wave of demonstrations and violence in the country, with deeply worrying consequences. AWID spoke to Nelly Kandatwa, President of the Burundian League for Women’s Rights “Mwubahirize,” and the SOS Women in Distress Network Burundi, to better understand the situation from a women’s rights perspective. 

A powerful youth is leading a human rights struggle in Bahrain, which receives very little media coverage. Following the aftermath of the Bahrain Uprising of 2011, the Bahraini authorities continue to respond violently to activists and refuses to release thousands of political prisoners behind bars all due to demanding democratic change.

After a three-year process, country representatives meeting in the basement of United Nations headquarters in New York adopted, in the late evening of Sunday 2 August, the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development to guide global development priorities for the next fifteen years.

Amid a rising tide of widespread violence in the country the State of Mexico issued its first-ever Gender Alert. AWID spoke to Maria Luz Estrada and Patricia Bedolla of the National Citizen’s Feminicide Observatory to discuss what this means for women human rights defenders in Mexico State.

Under the auspices of ‘national security’, a host of countries are experiencing increased criminalization of dissent, coupled with shrinking spaces for social justice activism and work. For organisations that rely on foreign-sourced funding for their work, the implications are dire.

On 20 July 2015, the international community was shaken by the news of the murder of 31 civil society activists, many of whom were women human rights defenders (WHRDs) in the predominantly Kurdish city of Suruç in Turkey. The activists were on their way to rebuild the war torn Kurdish city of Kobane in Northern Syria, carrying toys and books for orphaned children.  

On 16 July 2015 the Third International Financing for Development Conference (FfD3), which took place in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia and that was preceded by a long preparatory process, concluded with a very disappointing outcome document - the Addis Ababa Action Agenda (AAAA). Nonetheless it holds some entry points for the advancement of women’s rights and gender equality.

Following the signing of the Agreement for Peace and Reconciliation in Mali on 20 June 2015, AWID spoke with Bintou Founé Samaké Bouaré and Fatoumata Maiga to learn more about mainstreaming gender into the Mali peace building process and the associated challenges.