Patriarchy allows child marriage and female genital mutilation to flourish

FRIDAY FILE : This week's ‘Friday File’ is a blog post written by our Young Feminist Activism team on the recent Girl Summit in London originally published on the Guardian's Poverty Matters blog.

By Ghadeer Malek, Rachel Arinii and Nelly Bassily

Young feminists must help steer the fight against wider issues harming girls including poverty, marginalisation and exclusion

Chilean President Michelle Bachelet's New Mandate Has A Gender Agenda

FRIDAY FILE – In December 2013 Michelle Bachelet won a landslide victory in the first ever presidential race between two women candidates, giving her a second term in the top decision making position in Chile. AWID spoke to feminist Sociologist Teresa Valdés, Coordinator for Chile's Gender and Equity Watch, about women's expectations and challenges to be addressed.

By Gabby De Cicco

AWID: What were some of the challenges in President Michelle Bachelet's first mandate (2006-2010) according to the women’s movement and feminist activists?

Youth Strategize for the Post 2015 Development Agenda

FRIDAY FILE – From 27-29 June, 21 young people from across Central, Eastern and Southeast Asia, the Pacific, Africa, North America, Europe, Latin America and the Caribbean, with diverse experiences came together in Hong Kong to strategize for the post-2015 development agenda process currently underway at the United Nations.

Feminist Economics: Looking to the New Global Development Agenda

FRIDAY FILEAWID attended the recent Annual meeting the International Association for Feminist Economics (IAFFE), to find out what feminist economists are thinking and proposing on key economic justice issues, and remaining challenges for gender equality and women’s rights in the Post 2015 Development Agenda negotiations.

By Ana Abelenda

Stigmatization and the Role of Associations in the Fight against HIV in Middle East and North Africa

FRIDAY FILE: At a recent international conference in Tunis[1] on Sexual and Reproductive Health in Arab Countries, AWID met Jocelyn DeJong, professor in the Faculty of Health Sciences at American University in Beirut and coordinator of the Reproductive Health Working Group[2], to learn more about their research on the role of associations in fighting HIV stigmatization.

By Mégane Ghorbani

Activists Reflect on the Rights Implications of India’s New Government

FRIDAY FILE: The result of India’s recent elections was a resounding victory for the Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), a right-wing Hindu nationalist party. As Narendra Modi takes over leadership of India’s first majority government in three decades, AWID spoke with rights activists from diverse fields and locations about their reflections and concerns.

By Saira Zuberi[i]

Indigenous people demand substantive participation in UN spaces

FRIDAY FILE: AWID spoke with Mirna Cunningham, President of the Center for the Autonomy and Development of Indigenous Peoples, about the recent UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and the importance of participating substantively in this and other preparatory processes towards the World Conference of Indigenous People (WCIP) in September 2014.

Informal Work in Tunisia: A Factor to be Included in Strategies Addressing Gender Based Violence

FRIDAY FILE: To commemorate International Domestic Workers' Day on June 16 and in parallel to a seminar considering a unified strategy against violence against women in Tunisia, hosted by the Association of Tunisian Women for Research and Development’s in Tunis on June 13, 2014, AWID takes a look at the instruments available and the gaps that still exist in addressing violence against informal women workers in Tunisia.

By Mégane Ghorbani

Socorristas en Red - Socorro Rosa: A feminist practice for the right to choose in Argentina

FRIDAY FILE : Abortion is illegal in Argentina, with three exceptions: when the pregnancy was the result of a rape or abuse against a woman with a mental disability and when the pregnant woman’s life or health are at risk. However, even these cases often end up before the Courts and women continue to undergo surgical clandestine abortions that put their lives at risk.

Reclaiming the Commons for Gender and Economic Justice: Struggles and Movements in India

FRIDAY FILE – Women’s unequal access to resources in any given economy is widely recognized as a major source of gender inequality. Privatization and State appropriation of what was otherwise common land, affects those who depend most on this resource to sustain their livelihoods.

By Ana Abelenda