#16 Days – An Integrated Approach to Security and Protection for WHRDs

by Susan Tolmay*

FRIDAY FILE – As we commemorate the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-based Violence (25 November to 10 December) and International Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) Day on 29 November; and are witness to increasing levels of violence against WHRDs, AWID looks at the need for a holistic approach to safety and protection for WHRDs.

Mexican Code of Military Justice Amended: A victory for WHRDs

FRIDAY FILE - On April 30, the Mexican Chamber of Deputies unanimously passed amendments to the Code of Military Justice, which restricts military jurisdiction in cases where the victims are civilians.

Large-Scale Development Projects Increase Risks to Women Human Rights Defenders in Colombia

FRIDAY FILE - Threats against the local leaders and women human rights defenders (WHRDs) continue to form part of a strategy of intimidation used by the actors of the armed conflict in Colombia.

By Katherine Ronderos

Vienna +20 - The World has Changed Considerably, as Women's Rights are Taken More Seriously as Human Rights

FRIDAY FILE – AWID spoke to Charlotte Bunch, Founding Director and Senior Scholar of the Center for Women's Global Leadership, Rutgers University, about the key role the 1993 World Conference on Human Rights in Vienna and the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action (VDPA) played in advancing a human rights revolution, and why Vienna + 20 needs to highlight both the progress and the continuing obstacles to realization of these rights.

By Susan Tolmay

A Women’s Perspective on the Violent and Oppressive Bahraini Regime

FRIDAY FILE - AWID interviewed pro-democracy activist and lecturer Dr Ala’a Shehabi* about the current violence and persecution against Bahraini citizens and how women are contributing to the fight for democracy and rights.

By Rochelle Jones

Contemporary Bahrain’s simmering unrest

Illegal Detention of Women Human Rights Defenders in the Midst of the Border Conflict of Sudan

FRIDAY FILE - Sudanese people inspired by the Arab spring, and led by women and youth, took the streets of Sudan demanding regime change in 2011. Authorities violently cracked down on these demonstrations, detaining more than 150 women, who were sexually abused or tortured, injured and beaten in the protests.

Since June 2012, new protests against the Sudanese regime have intensified violence against women human rights defenders (WHRD).[1]

By Katherine Ronderos

Economic, Social and Cultural Rights Are Central to the Work of Women Human Rights Defenders

FRIDAY FILE - Women human rights defenders (WHRDs) work under precarious conditions, often putting their lives in danger as they defend and protect women’s economic, social and cultural rights (ESCR) across the globe.

By Katherine Ronderos

Human Rights Abuses In Honduras Pose An Ongoing Threat To Women’s Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs)

FRIDAY FILE - Since the coup d’état in Honduras in June 2009, there has been an on-going and worsening situation of systemic violence and assassinations of human rights defenders. This is particularly serious for women human rights defenders (WHRDs).

By Rochelle Jones

When States Use Legislation Against Women Human Rights Defenders

FRIDAY FILE - With the upsurge in the criminalization of civil society, the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders’ 2012 report discusses how States use legislation to regulate the activities of human rights defenders (HRDs).

Challenges for Young Women Human Rights Defenders in Pakistan

FRIDAY FILE - Gulalai Ismail, a 25-year-old woman human rights defender (WHRD) and Chairperson of Aware Girls[1], has been working from an early age to improve conditions for young women in Pakistan.

Gulalai shares with AWID her experiences as a young WHRD living in a context of oppression and discrimination in the name of culture and religion.

By Katherine Ronderos