Confronting Extractivism & Corporate Power
Women human rights defenders (WHRDs) worldwide defend their lands, livelihoods and communities from extractive industries and corporate power. They stand against powerful economic and political interests driving land theft, displacement of communities, loss of livelihoods, and environmental degradation.
Why resist extractive industries?
Extractivism is an economic and political model of development that commodifies nature and prioritizes profit over human rights and the environment. Rooted in colonial history, it reinforces social and economic inequalities locally and globally. Often, Black, rural and Indigenous women are the most affected by extractivism, and are largely excluded from decision-making. Defying these patriarchal and neo-colonial forces, women rise in defense of rights, lands, people and nature.
Critical risks and gender-specific violence
WHRDs confronting extractive industries experience a range of risks, threats and violations, including criminalization, stigmatization, violence and intimidation. Their stories reveal a strong aspect of gendered and sexualized violence. Perpetrators include state and local authorities, corporations, police, military, paramilitary and private security forces, and at times their own communities.
Acting together
AWID and the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (WHRD-IC) are pleased to announce “Women Human Rights Defenders Confronting Extractivism and Corporate Power”; a cross-regional research project documenting the lived experiences of WHRDs from Asia, Africa and Latin America.
We encourage activists, members of social movements, organized civil society, donors and policy makers to read and use these products for advocacy, education and inspiration.
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"Women Human Rights Defenders confronting extractive industries: an overview of critical risks and Human Rights obligations" is a policy report with a gender perspective. It analyses forms of violations and types of perpetrators, quotes relevant human rights obligations and includes policy recommendations to states, corporations, civil society and donors.
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"Weaving resistance through action: Strategies of Women Human Rights Defenders confronting extractive industries" is a practical guide outlining creative and deliberate forms of action, successful tactics and inspiring stories of resistance.
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The video “Defending people and planet: Women confronting extractive industries” puts courageous WHRDs from Africa, Asia, and Latin America in the spotlight. They share their struggles for land and life, and speak to the risks and challenges they face in their activism.
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Challenging corporate power: Struggles for women’s rights, economic and gender justice is a research paper outlining the impacts of corporate power and offering insights into strategies of resistance.
Share your experience and questions!
◾️ How can these resources support your activism and advocacy?
◾️ What additional information or knowledge do you need to make the best use of these resources?
Thank you!
AWID acknowledges with gratitude the invaluable input of every Woman Human Rights Defender who participated in this project. This project was made possible thanks to your willingness to generously and openly share your experiences and learnings. Your courage, creativity and resilience is an inspiration for us all. Thank you!
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Snippet FEA HEALTH CONDITIONS (ES)

BUENAS CONDICIONES DE SALUD
هل استطلاع "أين المال" متاح للأشخاص ذوي/ات الإعاقات؟
نعم، انه متاح للأشخاص أصحاب/ صاحبات الإعاقات السمعية، البصرية، النظرية والفكرية المختلفة.
Reason to join 3
Comparte tus historias y conoce las de otrxs. Al conectar nuestras experiencias, relatos y propuestas ayudamos a crear en conjunto y amplificar las Realidades Feministas.
Fahmida Riaz
"Después
Después del amor la primera vez,
nuestros cuerpos y mentes desnudas:
un salón de espejos.
Totalmente desarmadxs, íntegramente frágiles,
nos echamos en los brazos del otrx,
respiramos con cuidado,
por miedo de romper
estas figuras de cristal". - Fahmida Riaz
Fahmida Riaz rompió tabúes sociales al escribir sobre el deseo femenino en su poesía, creó narrativas alternativas sobre el cuerpo y la sexualidad de las mujeres y estableció nuevos estándares en la literatura urdu.
Su trabajo se enfrentó a duras críticas de los frentes conservadores, que la acusaron de utilizar expresiones eróticas y "pornográficas" en su lenguaje poético.
Eventualmente, Fahmida fue incluida en una lista negra y acusada de sedición en virtud del artículo 124A del Código Penal de Pakistán, durante la dictadura de Zia Ul Haq. Fahmida fue obligada a exiliarse en 1981 y pasó casi siete años en la India antes de regresar a Pakistán.
En el prefacio de "Badan Dareeda" ("El Cuerpo Desgarrado"), una colección de poesía publicada en 1974, escribió:
La brillantez de Fahmida fue la de desafiar cualquier lógica singular o categoría de género, nación, religión o cultura. Ella se negó a ser colocada en el rol de la "mujer poeta", rompió con las definiciones tradicionales de la poesía y los conceptos y temas femeninos (que van desde la conciencia política, el cuerpo, la cultura, el deseo, la religión, al hogar) y derribó las inhibiciones impuestas a su género.
"Tienes que entender que la cultura no puede tener esencia. Las culturas se mueven, fluyen unas en otras, formando nuevas culturas. La cultura nace de esa manera. No hay choque de culturas".
Fahmida es autora de más de 15 libros de poesía y ficción, incluido su poema "Taaziyati Qaraardaaden" ("Resoluciones de condolencia" - en inglés), que podría servir como un tributo apropiado a su vida y legado, y una colección de poemas (Apna Jurm To Saabit He "Mi crimen está probado") publicado en 1988, durante su tiempo en exilio.
Fahmida Riaz nació en Meerut (India) el 28 de julio de 1946 y falleció el 21 de noviembre de 2018 en Lahore (Pakistán).
¿Por qué AWID eligió Taipéi como ubicación del Foro?
Consideramos a Taipéi como el mejor lugar de la región Asia-Pacífico para construir ese espacio seguro y rebelde destinado a nuestra comunidad feminista global.
Taipéi ofrece un cierto grado de estabilidad y seguridad para la diversidad de participantes que convocamos al Foro. Tiene también capacidad logística, y resulta accesible para muchxs viajerxs (con la facilitación de un trámite de visa electrónico para conferencias internacionales).
El Foro es bien recibido por el movimiento feminista local, que está muy interesado en interactuar con feministas de todo el mundo.
Snippet FEA WE ARE LEGAL AND ALWAYS WERE (FR)
Espagne
Syndicat OTRAS
NOUS SOMMES LÉGAL·ES
ET L’AVONS TOUJOURS ÉTÉ
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Values - intersectionality
Intersectionnalité
nous estimons que pour être transformateurs et forts, les mouvements féministes doivent continuer à travailler au-delà de leurs similitudes et de leurs différences. Nous devons également interroger le pouvoir et les privilèges, tant au sein qu'à l'extérieur de nos mouvements.
About the AWID International Forum
More than an event!
The AWID International Forum is a truly global space that gives participants an opportunity to network, build alliances, celebrate, and learn in a stimulating, emotive and safe atmosphere.

More and more, we are trying to bring the Forum process outside of the convening’s borders. Engaging with partners and deepening relationships all year round, connecting with local movements to better understand problems and co-create solutions. The Forum event itself, held every three to four years in a different region of the world, is just a crystallization of all these alliances that we are building as part of our work.
The AWID Forum dissolves our inner and external boundaries, fosters deep discussion, personal and professional growth, and strengthens our movements for gender justice and women’s rights.
As a convening, it is a response to the urgency to promote stronger and more coordinated engagement and action by feminists, women’s rights and other social justice advocates, organizations and movements. We also believe that the Forum is more than just an event – it can facilitate a process to influence thinking and set agendas for feminist movements and other related actors.
Evolving from a national conference of around 800 people, the event now brings together around 2000 feminists, community leaders, social justice activists, and donor agencies from around the world.
The 14th AWID International Forum will take place 11-14 January 2021 in Taipei, Taiwan.
The past Forums
2016 - Feminist Futures: Building Collective Power for Rights and Justice (Costa de Sauipe, Brazil)

Given the complex world that we face today, the 2016 AWID Forum did not focus on a particular “issue”, but rather on creating more effective ways of working together!
Despite the challenging contexts in which the 2016 Forum took place (the Zika epidemic, a strike by Brazilian foreign-service workers, the impeachment of President Dilma Rousseff and subsequent turmoil), it succeeded in bringing together over 1800 participants from 120 countries and territories across all regions of the world.
What happened at the 13th AWID international Forum:
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For 96% of participants who responded to the post Forum evaluation survey, the Forum was a major source of inspiration and energy.
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98% of participants considered it an important convening space for feminist movements and expressed hope that AWID continues to organize forums.
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59% of Forum evaluation survey respondents declared to be very satisfied with the Forum and 34% somewhat satisfied.
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Over 150 sessions were delivered in different formats on a variety of topics ranging from bodily integrity and freedoms, to gender-based violence in the workplace, to strategies for building collective power.
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The first-time Black Feminisms Forum (BFF), held just before the main AWID Forum, brought together 250 Black feminists from all over the world to co-create a powerful space to build and strengthen ongoing, intergenerational, transnational connections
Read more about what the 2016 AWID Forum achieved:
Download the Forum evaluation report
2012 - Transforming Economic Power to Advance Women's Rights and Justice (Istambul, Turkey)

The 12th AWID Forum was the largest and most diverse AWID Forum to date, bringing together 2239 women’s rights activists from 141 countries. Of these participants, around 65% were from the Global South and close to 15% were young women under 30, and 75% attended an AWID Forum for their first time.
The Forum program focused on transforming economic power to advance women’s rights and justice and featured over 170 different kinds of sessions including feminist economics toolbox skills-building sessions, breakout sessions representing all 10 Forum themes, in-depth sessions, and solidarity roundtables.
Building on the momentum of the 2012 Forum, we transformed the website into a resource and learning Hub, which builds on the content generated by participants by featuring multi-media resources on all Forum components.
Visit the 2012 Forum web archive
All AWID Forums
- 2016: Feminist Futures: Building Collective Power for Rights and Justice (Costa de Sauipe, Brazil). Read the 2016 Forum Evaluation report
- 2012: Transforming Economic Power to Advance Women's Rights and Justice (Istanbul, Turkey)
- 2008: The Power of Movements (Cape Town, South Africa). Read our 2008 Forum Report
- 2005: How does change happen? (Bangkok, Thailand)
- 2002: Reinventing Globalization (Guadalajara, Mexico)
- 1999: Leading Solutions for Equality and Justice (US)
- 1996: Beyond Beijing From Words to Action (US)
- 1993: Joining Forces to Further Shared Visions (US)
- 1991: Working Together/Learning Together: A South North Dialogue (US)
- 1989/1990: Global Em-Powerment for Women (US)
- 1987: Moving Forward: Innovations in Development Policy, Action and Research (US)
- 1985: Women Creating Wealth; Transforming Economic Development (US)
- 1983: ‘Women in Development’ (Washington D.C, US)
Claudia House Morcom
Navleen Kumar
« Ce n’était pas une personne. C’était une puissance », compagnes et compagnons de lutte se souvenant de Navleen Kumar
Née le 15 octobre 1948, Navleen Kumar était une fervente militante pour la défense des droits fonciers et de la justice sociale en Inde.
Avec implication et intégrité, elle a œuvré pendant plus d’une décennie à la protection et la restitution des terres aux populations autochtones (les adivasi) dans le district de Thane, une région confisquée sous le régime de la force et de l’intimidation par les promoteurs immobiliers et fonciers. Elle a combattu cette injustice et ces crimes en menant des procédures juridiques au niveau de différents tribunaux, réalisant que la manipulation des registres fonciers était une opération courante dans la plupart des acquisitions de terres. Dans l’un de ces cas, celui des Wartha (une famille tribale), Navleen a entre autres découvert que la famille avait été dupée avec la complicité de fonctionnaires du gouvernement.
Grâce à son travail, elle a aidé les Wartha à récupérer leurs terres, de même que continué à défendre plusieurs affaires de transferts de terres d’adivasi.
« Son rapport sur l’impact de l’aliénation des terres sur les femmes et les enfants adivasi retrace l’histoire et les complexités de l’aliénation tribale depuis les années 1970, alors que les familles de la classe moyenne ont commencé à venir vivre dans les banlieues éloignées de Mumbai, suite à la hausse des prix de l’immobilier dans la ville.
Les complexes immobiliers se sont multipliés dans ces banlieues, et les tribus analphabètes en ont payé le prix. Les meilleures terres le long de la voie de chemin de fer valaient cher et les constructeurs se sont jetés dessus comme des vautours, pour arracher les terres des tribus et autres résidents locaux par des moyens illégaux », Jaya Menon, Justice and Peace Commission.
Au cours de ses actions militantes, Navleen a reçu de nombreuses menaces et survécu à plusieurs tentatives d’assassinat. Malgré tout, elle a continué son travail sur ce qui était non seulement important à ses yeux mais qui contribuait à transformer les vies et les réalités de tant de personnes qu’elle soutenait dans sa lutte pour la justice sociale.
Navleen a été poignardée à mort dans son immeuble le 19 juin 2002. Deux gangsters locaux ont été arrêtés pour son meurtre.
Snippet FEA Unio Otras Photo 3 (EN)

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Membership why page - Kirthi Jayakumar quote
"I participated in a member-only activity and I was particularly moved to see how there was space for everyone to share and that there was no judgment whatsoever. The entire session was energetic and vibrant."
- Kirthi Jayakumar, Founder, The Gender Security Project, India
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Shaimaa El-Shabbagh
Cynthia Cockburn
Cynthia Cockburn was a feminist sociologist, writer, academic, photographer and peace activist.
She explored the gendered aspects of violence and conflict and made significant contributions to the peace movement through her exploration of the themes of masculinity and violence as well as her local and international activism.
Cynthia brought a feminist power analysis to militarisation and war, and was among the academics whose writings and analysis clearly demonstrated how gender-based violence played a key part in perpetuating war. Working closely with peace activists in countries experiencing conflict, her findings covered diverse contexts including Northern Ireland, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Israel/Palestine, South Korea, Japan, Spain and the UK. She helped bring in her research and academic writings, an understanding that violence was experienced as a continuum of time and scale and perceived very differently when seen from a gendered lens.
In her words, “Gender helps us to see the continuity, the connection between instances of violence.”
Cynthia bridged her research with the activism she did locally and internationally with movements for demilitarisation, disarmament and peace. She helped start the Greenham Common women’s peace camp, which advocated for universal nuclear disarmament in Britain and was part of establishing the London chapter of Women in Black.
Over the decades, Cynthia organized and participated in local weekly vigils and the political choir Raised Voices, singing in the choir, and writing several of the lyrics to the songs that have made up its repertoire. She was also active in the Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF), the European Forum of Socialist Feminists as well as in Women Against Fundamentalism.
“Cynthia shed feminist light, wove together feminist communities, sang songs of peace, listened, listened, listened, watched the birds – and stopped traffic. I’ll be forever and gratefully in her debt, the other ‘Cynthia’” – Cynthia Enloe
Cynthia was born in July 1934 and passed away in September 2019 at the age of 85.