Philippe Leroyer | Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)

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.

  • 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.

  • 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;

  • 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:

  • Mobilizing urgent responses of international solidarity for WHRDs at risk through our international and regional networks, and our active membership.

Related Content

The resourcing realities and state of funding for feminist movements change quickly, is this survey a one-off?

No, it's not. This survey builds on AWID’s 20-year history of mobilizing more and better funding for feminist-led social change and is the third iteration of our Where is the money for feminist organizing? research. Our aim is to repeat the WITM survey every 3 years.

Kunyit Asam: The Roots of Love and Resilience

By Prinka Saraswati, Gianyar, Bali

The menstrual cycle usually lasts between 27 and 30 days. During this time, the period itself would only go on for five to seven days. During the period, fatigue, mood swings, and cramps are the result of inflammation.

In traditional Javanese culture, this is the moment for women to rest and take care of themselves. During this moment, a woman would take Kunyit Asam, a jamu or herbal drink to soothe the inflammation. This elixir consists of turmeric and tamarind boiled together in a pot.

I still remember my first period - it was one day before graduation day in elementary school. I remember pedaling my bike feeling something warm running between my thighs. When I arrived home I did all I could to clean myself and then put on a menstrual pad. My mother came home from work about four hours later. I told her what had happened. She looked me in the eye and asked how I felt. I told her that it was painful, that my body was swollen in every place. Then she asked me to go with her to the backyard. I followed her to our little jungle, my mother sat down on the soil and smiled.

“See this slender leaf? This is the leaf of Kunyit, *empon-empon that leaves the yellow stain on your fingers. What’s most important is not the leaf, but the roots. You dig the soil and slowly grab the roots.”, my mother showed me how to pick Kunyit or Turmeric roots. Then we went to the kitchen where she boiled water along with some tamarind. While waiting for it to boil, she showed me how to wash and grate the orangey-yellow root. Then, we put the grated turmeric into the boiling tamarind water. “Tomorrow, you can make it for yourself. This will help you to feel better!”.

I remember the first time I tasted it - a slightly bitter taste but also sour. My mother always served it warm. She would also put some in a big bottle which I would place on my stomach or lower back for further relief. For days after, my mother’s hands and mine were yellow. My friends could always tell every time I got period because my hands would be yellow.

A year after my first period, I found out that you could get the bottled version in convenience stores. Still, I made my own Kunyit Asam every time I had my period because the one in the convenience stores was cold. It did not smell of wet soil and warm kitchen.

Fast forward, I am a 26 year old woman who casually makes this drink for friends when they have their periods. I’ve made some for my housemates and I’ve delivered some for friends who live in different towns. I do not grow turmeric roots in my garden, but I have grown and shared the love from my mom. What was once from garden to cup is now from *pasar to cup.

A couple of days ago, I asked my mother who taught her how to make the jamu.

“Who else? Yang Ti*! Your grandmother was not just a teacher”, said my mom. I was never close to my grandmother. She passed away when I was eight. All I knew from my mom was that she was a math teacher who had to teach courses after work. I had this image of my grandmother as a hard worker who was kind of distant with her children. My mom did not disagree with that but explained it came from her survival instinct as a mother. “She tried to make time. She tried. She taught me how to make jamu so I could take care of myself and my sisters”.

My mother is the second child out of seven, six of whom are girls. The reason my grandmother taught her is so that all of her children could take care of each other. While my mother was taught how to make the drink, my mother’s older sister was taught how to plant turmeric. Yang Ti knew which one loved the smell of soil more and which one loved the smell of the kitchen. My mother was the latter. She learned how to plant from my aunt, her older sister.

My grandfather worked in a bank but he got laid off when he was in his 40s. So, my grandmother had to do a side-hustle to support their children. My mother was in high school at that time when Yang Ti woke her and her older sister up at dawn. “Would you help me to pick some roots?”. Of course nobody said no. Especially if it was your mother, especially if you were born in Javanese culture where saying “no” sounded like a bad word. Together, the three of them went to the backyard, and they harvested empon - empon, rhizome, that was buried inside the soil. She grew many kinds of rhizome; temu lawak, temu putih, ginger, galangal, kunci, kencur, and kunyit. That was the day where my mother realized that her mother was never far away from her.

That was the day where she could spend more time with her mother. There, in the garden. There, in the kitchen.

“We’re sending these for Ibu Darti, the lady who lives across the river. Kunyit Asam for her and her daughters.”, said my grandmother to my mother and my aunt that day. They poured the Turmeric-Tamarind warm drink into a tall thermos and later my grandmother would deliver it on the way to school.

Over time, my grandmother got more orders for jamu. Everybody in the family helped her to make and deliver her jamu. The small business lasted only a few years, but that was what paid for my mother and her siblings’ education.

Today, my mother, who got laid off just a few days before I wrote this piece, harvested Turmeric and other roots. She’s making her Turmeric Tamarind drink from her kitchen.

My phone rang in the middle of this afternoon, a couple minutes after I boiled the rest of my grated turmeric. Today is one day after my period.

“Ingka, have you washed your pot after boiling those turmeric? It would forever be yellow if you don’t wash it right away!”


  • *empon-empon = roots like ginger, turmeric, etc. coming from the Javanese word “Empu” which means, something or someone that has deep knowledge.

  • *jamu = Indonesia’s traditional elixir made of roots, barks, flowers, seeds, leaves, and fruits.

  • *Yang Ti = Javanese term for grandmother, taken from the term “Eyang Putri” the female you look up to.

  • *pasar = the word for traditional market in Indonesian.

 


“Feminist Movement”

by Karina Tungari, Hamburg, Germany  (@_katung_)

The more women support other women, the quicker we’ll see progress. Together we are stronger and make even more impact.

Karina Tungari, Hamburg, Germany  (@_katung_)


 

Snippet FEA Otras Union meetings and demonstrations (ES)

Reuniones y protestas del Sindicato OTRAS

Our values - esponsibility, Accountability, and Integrity

Responsabilidad, rendición de cuentas e integridad

Nos esforzamos por ser transparentes, por utilizar nuestros recursos en forma responsable, por ser equitativxs en nuestras colaboraciones, y por ser responsables e íntegrxs con nuestrxs afiliadxs, contrapartes y donantes, y con los movimientos con los que trabajamos y en los que participamos. Estamos comprometidxs a reflejar nuestras experiencias, a compartir abiertamente nuestrxs aprendizajes, y a esforzarnos por cambiar nuestras prácticas en consecuencia.

Paulina Cruz Ruiz

Paulina Cruz Ruiz, originaire de Rabinal dans la région de Baja Verapaz au Guatemala, était une défenseuse des droits humains au pouvoir ancestral Maya Achí (autochtone). Elle participait activement à la mobilisation et à la résistance communautaires, notamment via des mesures juridiques contre des projets miniers sur des territoires autochtones, aux effets sévères et néfastes pour leur tissu socioenvironnemental. 

« Le modèle d’industrie extractive promu par le gouvernement guatémaltèque et la construction de projets de développement à grande échelle sur des terres autochtones, sans le consentement des communautés, est source de litiges constants avec les mouvements de résistance. » - Minority Rights Group International (groupe international pour les droits des minorités)

Paulina a également participé à la Marche pour la dignité, la vie et la justice, durant laquelle des milliers de guatémaltèques ont initié, le 1er mai 2019, une marche de huit jours contre la corruption et l’impunité face aux poursuites et aux assassinats de défenseur·e·s des droits humains, des terres ainsi que de leaders paysan·ne·s et autochtones.   

Paulina a été assassinée le 14 septembre 2019 près de chez elle, dans le village de Xococ. 

D’après Minority Rights Group International, « l’une des problématiques constantes qui affecte le plus les communautés mayas tient dans l’accroissement des activités de l’industrie minière. »


En savoir plus sur les mayas au Guatemala (en anglais)

En savoir plus sur la Marche pour la dignité, la vie et la justice (en anglais)

¿Puedo contactarme con alguien si tengo alguna pregunta o duda?

Si tienes alguna pregunta o duda, contáctanos a través del formulario disponible aquí, indicando «Encuesta ¿Dónde está el dinero?» en el título del mensaje. También puede escribirnos a witm@awid.org.

Pleasure Garden Exhibition

The artwork is a photography and illustration collaboration between Siphumeze and Katia during lockdown. The work looks at black queer sex and plesure narratives, bondage, safe sex, toys, mental health and sex and many more. It was created to accompany the Anthology Touch.

Mental Health
Mental Health
Sex and Spirtuality
Sex and Spirtuality
Orgasm
Orgasm

About the Artists:

Siphumeze Khundayi portrait
Siphumeze Khundayi is an art-maker, photographer and facilitator interested in creative ways of bringing together dialogue and artistic practice in relation to African Queer identity.

She is creative director of HOLAAfrica! a pan-Africanist womanist online collective.

Her solo and collaborative performance work has been featured in a number of festivals and theatre spaces such as Ricca Ricca Festival in Japan

She directed two Naledi nominated productions in 2017 and 2018. She directed a show that won a Standard Bank Ovation award in 2020.

As a photographer she was part of a group exhibition titled Flowers of my Soul in Italy organised by the Misfit Project. Produced three publications for HOLAAfrica and was published in and provided the cover for volume two: As You Like of the Gerald Kraak Anthologies.
katia portrait
Katia Herrera is a 21-year-old  Digital visual artist from the noisy city of  Santo Domingo in the Dominican Republic. Despite Herrera being a self-proclaimed introvert, her artwork is remarkably loud in a world trying to quiet black voices. With titles like Black Woman, You Own the Moon, Earth Goddess, Forever,  and Universe Protector, Herrera’s legacy will be marked by her passion for highlighting the endurance and perseverance of black folks of old and present to contrast the narrative that black skin should only be associated with slavery.

One of her most lovely and vivaciously titled works, Universe Protector, portrays the black soul as a divine entity full of strength, power, and greatness. In her youth, her love of graphic design was stimulated by her parents’ artistry and the Photoshop they had downloaded on their computer for their professional photography.

Snippet FEA Union Otras Photo 5 (FR)

Photo de personnes assises sur des chaises rouges dans une salle de conférence

14th AWID international Forum is cancelled (forum page)

Le Forum international de l’AWID est annulé

Étant donnée la situation mondiale, notre Conseil d’administration a pris la décision difficile d’annuler le Forum, qui devait avoir lieu en 2021 à Taipei. 

Lire le communiqué

Snippet - WITM To build - RU

Создать ориентированную на феминистские реалии доказательную базу движения денег их получателей

Colectivo Morivivi

El Colectivo Moriviví es una colectiva de solo mujeres. Nuestra producción artística consiste en muralismo, muralismo comunitario y acciones/performances de protesta. Nuestro trabajo tiene como objetivo democratizar el arte y llevar a la esfera pública las narrativas de las comunidades de Puerto Rico, para generar espacios en donde sean validadas. Creemos que, a través del artivismo, podemos promover conciencia sobre temas sociales y fortalecer nuestra memoria colectiva.

“Cacibajagua” 2017, Mural Project. Jiangxi, China
“Cacibajagua” 2017, proyecto de mural, Jiangxi, China
“Cacibajagua” 2017, Mural Project. Jiangxi, China
“Cacibajagua” 2017, proyecto de mural, Jiangxi, China
“Paz para la Mujer” 2015, collaboration with Coordinadora Paz para la Mujer Organization. Santurce,
“Paz para la Mujer” 2015, colaboración con la organización Coordinadora Paz para la Mujer, Santurce, Puerto Rico

 

“Paz para la Mujer” 2015, collaboration with Coordinadora Paz para la Mujer Organization. Santurce, Puerto Rico
“Paz para la Mujer” 2015, colaboración con la organización Coordinadora Paz para la Mujer, Santurce, Puerto Rico
Collectivo Moriri Artwork

En el marco de su participación en el Grupo de Trabajo Artístico de AWID, el Colectivo Moriviví convocó a un grupo diverso de afiliadxs, asociadxs y personal de AWID y facilitó un proceso colaborativo de imaginación, configuración y decisión sobre el contenido para la creación de un mural comunitario, a través de un proceso de creación conjunta en múltiples etapas. El proyecto comenzó con una conceptualización remota con feministas de diferentes zonas del planeta reunidxs por AWID, y luego evolucionó hacia su recontextualización y realización en Puerto Rico. Nos honra haber contado con la contribución de las artistas locales Las Nietas de Nonó (@lasnietasdenono), la participación de mujeres locales en la Sesión de Pintura Comunitaria, el apoyo logístico de la Municipalidad de Caguas, y el apoyo adicional al colectivo, brindado por FRIDA Young Feminist Fund.
 
El mural explora la trascendencia de las fronteras, al presentar cuerpos como un mapa en un abrazo que realza la intersección de las distintas manifestaciones, prácticas y realidades feministas.
 
Agradecemos también a Kelvin Rodríguez, quien documentó y captó las diferentes etapas de este proyecto en Puerto Rico:

Collectivo Moriri Artwork
Collectivo Moriri Artwork
Collectivo Moriri Artwork
Collectivo Moriri Artwork
Collectivo Moriri Artwork
Collectivo Moriri Artwork
Collectivo Moriri Artwork
Collectivo Moriri Artwork
Collectivo Moriri Artwork

Sobre el Colectivo Moriviví

Colectivo Morivivi portrait

Moriviví es un colectivo de jóvenes artistas mujeres que trabajan en arte público desde abril de 2013. Con sede en Puerto Rico, hemos obtenido reconocimiento por la creación de murales y de arte comunitario.
 
El grupo se inició en festivales locales de arte urbano. A medida que nuestro trabajo se fue haciendo más conocido, algunas organizaciones y líderes comunitarias comenzaron a contactarnos. Al principio éramos solo ocho estudiantes de secundaria que querían pintar juntas un mural. Y en estos ocho años de duro trabajo hemos enfrentado muchos desafíos. Ahora estamos en un período de transición. Queremos reestructurar internamente el colectivo durante el próximo año. Nuestro objetivo es abrir nuevas oportunidades de colaboración y respaldar nuestro proceso de toma de decisiones con un nuevo sistema de evaluación. Aspiramos, en el largo plazo, a convertirnos en una escuela alternativa para la práctica artística, destinada a  aquellas personas interesadas en sumergirse en la producción de arte comunitario.

Snippet FEA Principles of work Transparency (EN)

A pink umbrella

TRANSPARENCY

Contributors of toolkit (WITM landing page)

We would like to thank the contributors and advisors of this toolkit:

  • Angelika Arutyunova
  • Cindy Clark
  • Kamardip Singh
  • Martin Redfern
  • Pei Yao Chen
  • Srilatha Batliwala
  • Veronica Vidal

    Download the Toolkit in PDF

Snippet - WITM Why now_col 1 - PT

Por que devo responder à pesquisa agora?

A monochromatic orange illustration of a woman with curly hair with her hand on her chin. She seems to inquisitive or posing a question.

Os movimentos feministas, de direitos das mulheres, de justiça de género, de LBTQI+ e de aliados em todo do mundo encontram-se num momento crítico, e enfrentam uma forte retaliação contra direitos e liberdades conquistados anteriormente. Os últimos anos trouxeram o crescimento rápido do autoritarismo, a violenta repressão da sociedade civil e a criminalização dos defensores dos direitos humanos das mulheres e de pessoas de género diverso, o aumento da guerra e do conflito em várias partes do nosso mundo, a perpetuação contínua de injustiças económicas e crises de saúde, da ecologia e do clima interligadas.

Tactiques, stratégies et impacts des antidroits

Chapitre 5

Les antidroits ont adopté une double stratégie : outre leurs attaques ouvertes sur le système multilatéral, ils et elles sapent les droits humains depuis l’intérieur. Leur implication vise à prendre le contrôle des processus, instaurer des normes régressives et fragiliser la redevabilité.

Photo-OP // the first anniversary of the EU signature to the Council of Europe Convention to prevent and combat gender-based violence and domestic violence, the so-called Istanbul Convention
© ALDE Group/Flickr
Photo-OP // Le premier anniversaire de la signature par l'UE de la Convention du Conseil de l'Europe pour prévenir et combattre la violence basée sur le genre et la violence domestique, dite Convention d'Istanbul

Leur implication dans les sphères des droits humains a un but essentiel : saper le système et sa capacité à respecter, protéger et assurer les droits humains de tout un chacun, et à tenir les États membres pour responsables de leurs enfreintes. Certaines tactiques antidroits en dehors de l’ONU visent à la délégitimer, exercer des pressions politiques pour limiter son financement ou se retirer d’accords internationaux sur les droits humains. Les acteur·rice·s antidroits gagnent cependant en influence au sein même de l’ONU. Leurs tactiques de l’intérieur incluent la formation de délégué·e·s, la dénaturation de cadres relatifs aux droits humains, la dilution de la substance d’accords sur les droits humains, l’infiltration de comités d’ONG, la demande du statut ECOSOC sous un nom neutre, l’infiltration des espaces des jeunes et la pression pour que des acteur·rice·s antidroits occupent des postes clés.

Sommaire

  • L’institutionnalisation des antidroits dans les mécanismes de l’ONU
  • Le retrait et la délégitimation
  • L’appauvrissement des standards relatifs aux droits humains
  • La prise de contrôle : création d’un cadre des droits humains parallèle
  • Exercice : Oui, ils et elles sont fort·e·s, mais nous aussi!
  • Exercice : Tenir les gouvernements pour responsables

Lire le chapitre complet

Snippet FEA Get Involved Story 4 (ES)

¡INVOLÚCRATE!

Sigue a Unión Red Solidaria en Facebook y Twitter

Apoya el trabajo de Solidarity Network Union donando aquí

Sigue a OTRAS en Twitter, Instagram y Facebook

Apoya el trabajo de OTRAS donando aquí

FRMag - United against violence (ES)

Juntas contra la violencia

por Karina Ocampo

A un rincón escondido de Chiapas, México, llegamos mujeres y disidencias sexuales para organizar nuestras acciones. (...)

Leer

< arte: «Proyecto fotográfico: La muerte sale por el Oriente», de Sonia Madrigal