Zarema Sadulayeva
Women Human Rights Defenders
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.
Risks and threats targeting WHRDs
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.
By defending rights, WHRDs are at risk of:
- Physical assault and death
- Intimidation and harassment, including in online spaces
- Judicial harassment and criminalization
- Burnout
A collaborative, holistic approach to safety
We work collaboratively with international and regional networks and our membership
- to raise awareness about human rights abuses and violations against WHRDs and the systemic violence and discrimination they experience
- to strengthen protection mechanisms and ensure more effective and timely responses to WHRDs at risk
We work to promote a holistic approach to protection which includes:
- emphasizing the importance of self-care and collective well being, and recognizing that what care and wellbeing mean may differ across cultures
- documenting the violations targeting WHRDs using a feminist intersectional perspective;
- promoting the social recognition and celebration of the work and resilience of WHRDs ; and
- building civic spaces that are conducive to dismantling structural inequalities without restrictions or obstacles
Our Actions
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.
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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.
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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;
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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:
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Mobilizing urgent responses of international solidarity for WHRDs at risk through our international and regional networks, and our active membership.
Related Content
From “WID” to “GAD” to Women’s Rights: The First Twenty Years of AWID
In 2002 AWID celebrated its 20th anniversary. Given the challenging political, economic and funding environment in which women's organizations must survive, a milestone such as this is worthy of recognition.
In the past two decades the geo-political landscape has been transformed and development theories have come and gone, but approaches to ensure women benefit from development processes have endured.
In its twenty-year history, AWID grew from a volunteer organization for U.S. "Women in Development" (WID) specialists to an international network striving to support proactive and strategic gender equality research, activism and policy dialogue.
On the occasion of its 20th anniversary, this paper charts not only the changes in AWID's organizational structure and goals but also the shifts in policy approaches to gender equality in a changing global environment, through the lens of a membership organization committed to improving the lives of women and girls everywhere.
Snippet FEA Audio Land and Agroecology (EN)
Listen to the story here:
Nous redistribuons une partie de nos fonds à des partenaires bénéficiaires et nous identifions comme un fonds féministe et/ou de femmes, devrions-nous participer à cette enquête?
Non, nous reconnaissons l’importance cruciale de votre travail, mais nous ne collectons pas les participations de fonds féministes et de femmes à l’heure actuelle. Nous vous encourageons néanmoins à transmettre cette enquête à vos partenaires bénéficiaires et vos réseaux féministes.
Marta Vásquez
Mujeres indígenas por la defensa de los derechos
Estas defensoras lucharon por los derechos sobre la tierra, de las mujeres y de los pueblos indígenas; haciendo frente a las industrias extractivas, escribiendo poesía y promoviendo el amor. Una de ellas desapareció hace ya 19 años. Únete a nosotras para recordar y honrar a estas defensoras de derechos humanos, su trabajo y su legado, compartiendo los memes aquí incluidos; y tuiteando las etiquetas #WHRDTribute y #16Días.
Por favor, haz click en cada imagen de abajo para ver una versión más grande y para descargar como un archivo.
Snippet FEA Objectives NSS Family Farming (ES)
AGRICULTURA FAMILIAR, AGROECOLOGÍA Y SOBERANÍA ALIMENTARIA
Cecilia Loria
What are the WITM official survey languages?
For now, the survey on KOBO is available in Arabic, English, French, Portuguese, Russian and Spanish. You will have the chance to select your language of choice at the beginning of the survey.
Leticia Eulalia Mary Mukasa- Kikonyogo
Leticia was a Ugandan lawyer and judge.
Prior to her retirement, she held many high profile positions including member of the Court of Appeal of Uganda and Deputy Chief Justice of Uganda. She was the first Ugandan woman to hold the position of Chief Magistrate between 1973 and 1986 and the first woman to be appointed High court judge in 1986.
She was one of the first ever women papal knights in the history of the Catholic Church in Africa. She died of a heart attack.
Trans* rights require stronger protection
These transgender women were murdered because of their activism and their gender identity. There are insufficient laws recognizing trans* rights, and even where these laws exist, very little is being done to safeguard the rights of trans* people. Please join AWID in honoring these defenders, their activism and legacy by sharing the memes below with your colleagues, networks and friends and by using the hashtags #WHRDTribute and #16Days.
Please click on each image below to see a larger version and download as a file
Diana Staubli
¿Debería prepararme de alguna forma para responder la encuesta?
Dado que la encuesta ¿Dónde está el dinero? se centra en las realidades de la dotación de recursos para las organizaciones feministas, la mayoría de las preguntas indagan acerca del financiamiento de tu agrupación entre 2021 y 2023. Para responder la encuesta, necesitarás tener a mano cierta información como, por ejemplo, presupuestos anuales y las fuentes clave de financiamiento.
Mona Chemali Khalaf
Mona fue una economista y consultora independiente sobre temas de género y desarrollo.
Fue profesora de economía y Directora del Institute for Women's Studies in the Arab World de la Lebanese American University. Falleció repentinamente el 6 de enero de 2018.
Sus amigxs y ex-colegas dicen sobre Mona: «Cuando celebramos su vida, lo mejor que podemos hacer es comprometernos a continuar con lo que ella empezó: la igualdad de género, indefectiblemente.
1. Gather your resources
This section highlights key resources recommended by AWID so you can conduct your own WITM research.
In this section
People needed
- 1 or more person(s) to lead overall implementation of research methodology and ensure all key pieces are on track (Sections 2-11)
- 1 or more person(s) to conceptualize the key research objectives and guiding questions
- 1 or more person(s) to refine and conduct the research methodology, including collecting data
- 1 or more person(s) to conduct relevant qualitative and quantitative analysis of collected data
- 1 or more person(s) to document and package research findings for desired audience(s)
- 1 or more person(s) to serve as an editor to your final products
- 1 or more person(s) to conduct outreach to spread the word about your survey and advocacy using your research results
Potential expenses
- Staff and/or consultant salaries
- Data analysis software if conducting analysis of large dataset in-house. Options:
- SPSS
- Stata
- R (this is free) - Cost of producing publications and research products
- If desired, incentive prize that survey participants can win if they complete the survey
- If desired, incentives to offer your advisors
Estimated time
- For research process: 6 to 18 months, depending on size of dataset(s) and staff capacity
- For advocacy: 1-2 years, as determined by your organizational goals
Resources needed
- List of advisor organizations, donors and activists
- List of online spaces and events/networks to distribute your survey and present your survey results
- List of donors, activists, and women’s rights organizations to interview
- Prepared interview questions
- List of publication sources to use for desk research
Resources available
- Sample 1 of Research Framing
- Sample 2 of Research Framing
- Example: 2011 WITM Global Survey
- Sample WITM Global Survey
- Sample letter to grantmakers requesting access to databases
- AWID Sample Interview Questions: Donors
- AWID Sample Interview Questions: Activists & Women’s Rights Organizations
- Sample Advocacy Plan
Online tools
- Survey Monkey: Free
- Survey Gizmo: Converts to SPSS for analysis very easily
- Tutorial: Gentle Introduction to Cleaning Data
- Visualization Tools
- “Ready to Go?” Worksheet
Once you gather these resources, you can estimate the costs for your research using our “Ready to Go? Worksheet”
Previous step
Next step
Previous step
Next step
The Ready to Go? Worksheet helps you estimate resources, staff and budget needed for your research
Snippet FEA Travesti (EN)
TRAVESTI
A latin-american gender identity
The term travesti is often mistakenly translated as "transvestite" in English. However, it is a Latin American gender identity with no equivalent in other languages, and exclusively female. It is a person designated male at birth who identifies as female. They may or may not undergo bodily changes, and should always be addressed with she/her pronouns.
Travesti is not only a gender identity located outside of gender binarism, it is also a cultural identity rooted in Latin American movements. The term was initially pejorative, but it was later re-appropriated as a symbol of resistance and dignity.
Every travesti is trans because she does not identify with the gender designated at birth, however not every travesti considers themselves as a trans woman, since travesti is already a gender identity on its own.
Source: Berkins, Lohana. (2006). Travestis: una Identidad Política [Travestis: a Political Identity]. Trabajo presentado en el Panel Sexualidades contemporáneas en las VIII Jornadas Nacionales de Historia de las Mujeres/ III Congreso Iberoamericano de Estudios de Género Diferencia Desigualdad. Construirnos en la diversidad, Villa Giardino, Córdoba, 25 al 28 de octubre de 2006.
Esperanza Brito
Ma participation est-elle confidentielle?
Tout à fait. Vos réponses seront supprimées à la fin du processus de traitement et d’analyse des données. Elles ne seront utilisées qu’à des fins de recherche. Les données ne seront JAMAIS partagées en dehors de l’AWID et ne seront traitées que par le personnel de l’AWID et des consultant·es qui collaborent avec nous à la recherche WITM.
La confidentialité de votre vie privée et votre anonymat sont nos priorités. Notre politique de confidentialité est disponible ici.
Ursula K Le Guin
Ursula était une romancière américaine dont les genres littéraires de prédilection étaient la science-fiction et le genre fantastique.
Elle a connu le succès grâce à son roman « La main gauche de la nuit », où elle imagine une société du futur où les personnes sont ambisexuelles - leur sexe n’est pas déterminé. Parmi les premiers grands livres de science-fiction féministes, ce roman explore les influences du genre et du sexe dans la société. Ursula était une source d'inspiration pour ses écrits subversifs et originaux, ainsi que pour les thèmes du féminisme et de la liberté qui lui tenaient tellement à cœur.
En 1983, lors d'un discours au Mills College en Californie, elle a déclaré aux diplômé-e-s : « Pourquoi une femme libre ayant suivi une formation universitaire devrait-elle combattre Macho-Man ou le servir ? Pourquoi devrait-elle vivre sa vie selon son bon vouloir ? J'espère que vous vivrez sans avoir besoin de dominer et sans avoir besoin d'être dominé-e ».
