FRIDAY FILE - Amidst the continuous struggle for women’s rights and social justice globally, it is important that we keep our collective hopes alive for a better world. With this in mind, AWID spoke to a number of feminists and women’s rights activists from around the world about their hopes, dreams and aspirations for 2015. Read theirs, and tell us what your hopes, dreams and aspirations for this year are.
Cristina Palabay, 35 | Philippines | Secretary General of Karapatan: Alliance for the Advancement of People’s Rights | @TinayPalabay
“In 2015, I hope that all women political prisoners will be released. With renewed hope, I aspire for a stronger women’s movement that will challenge the structures and philosophies at the core of women’s oppression – patriarchy, globalization, militarization and fundamentalism.”
Yewande Omotoso, 34 | Barbados/Nigeria/South Africa | Writer/Architect | @yomotoso
“While as an able-bodied middle-class educated cis female I acknowledge my privileges, it would be great to feel at ease when I walk the streets, to not be afraid of being raped or read daily in the papers about rape and molestation. To see intolerance, especially with regards to sexual orientation, publicly condemned by more and more of our leaders, with legislation to match. It would be great to wake up into a world where women’s bodies are not commodities; where everywhere I look I’m not oppressed by images in the media telling me what I ought to look like if I’mreallya woman or in order to be truly beautiful; where young girls and boys aren’t dominated by this imagery that normalizes something deeply problematic. A year to quit with the “it’s unAfrican” argument when it comes to feminism or homosexuality. A year where more and more men embrace feminisms; women too of course but men in particular so we whittle away the dangerous notion that it’s “women’s stuff”.
Dr. Xiaopei, 58 | China | Executive Director of Pink Space Sexuality Research Centre (Dr. Xiaopei has no Twitter handle because Google, You Tube, Gmail, Twitter and similar digital tools are not allowed in China)
“I want more women’s voices and representations, but talking more about pleasure rather than merely violence. I want more women to use the camera to represent ourselves, speak for ourselves, and showcase our own lives”
Morena Herrera, 54 | El Salvador | Director, Colectiva Feminista para el Desarrollo Local
“I dream of a society that takes concrete steps in the fight for women’s freedom and autonomy over their bodies and lives. Of being able to live with less fear of violence and of a society where women and men dare to challenge the trappings of insecurity to establish ways of living together that are based on respect and recognition. I dream of more cohesive feminist movements and of more creative interaction with other social movements that are questioning patriarchal, homophobic, capitalist models of society. I dream of having a little more time for myself to read, be with the people I love, think, make things with my hands, and sleep more hours each day.”
Minna Salami, 36 | Nigeria/Finland | Blogger/Writer, founder of Ms Afropolitan | @msafropolitan
“I hope that we will see more women taking space and shaping the agenda this year whether it is in the geo-political sphere, the socio-economic sphere or in our private lives. As a blogger and writer, I especially wish to see more women in communications - analyzing, disseminating and interpreting the world around them from a woman’s lens. Also, we need more women shaping the narrative for the sake of future generations. It is important that girls see women who are not afraid to speak their minds so that they can aspire to do so as well.”
Claudia Samayoa, 48 | Guatemala | General Coordinator, Unidad de Protección a Defensoras y Defensores de Derechos Humanos, UDEFEGUA | @tucurclaux
“My dreams for 2015 lie on the border between the impossible and the desirable. I would like to see Guatemala achieve a critical mass of women who affirm their identity and self-worth and who refuse to be manipulated during the electoral process. I want to see those who participate in leftist action offering an example of equitable participation, and not one under the control of a ‘progressive macho’ who puts them in their position. I want to see women in resistance movements and in the defense of human rights valiantly defending our collective strength against patronage of any kind, knowing that our aims lie in the future ahead. While my dream may be far from now, my wish is quite simple: that all of us women survive this dark time in my country and region and find the light not only to avoid retreat, but to firmly go forward.”
Karima Bennoune | Algeria/USA | Professor of International Law, UC Davis School of Law, U.S.
“My dream is that in 2015 we will put an end to jihadist violence, which has claimed the lives of hundreds of thousands around the world - primarily women, men and children in Muslim majority countries - and that we will discredit the fundamentalist ideology that underlies that violence. My dream is also that this will be done in a way that respects international law and human rights and that we will see an end to discrimination against people of Muslim heritage in the West. I am entirely aware that these are dreams - but in the face of the tragic end to 2014 in places like Peshawar and Sydney, and the tragic start to 2015 in places like Nigeria and France, in the face of new waves of hatred in all directions - I am determined to defend these dreams this year.”
Juliette Maughan, 33 | Barbados | Gender Consultant, Founder of Ev-O!-lution and Co-Editor of the Senseisha: An Anthology | @JulietteMaughan
“I am passionate about sexuality as well as sexual and reproductive health. I envision a year that focuses on providing the space for women to define and shape their own sexuality, a society that is free from all forms of violence and access to products and services for women’s sexual and reproductive health needs.”
Tsitsi Dangarembga, 55 | Zimbabwe | Writer and Film Maker, founder of the Institute of Creative Arts for Progress in Africa, and founder of the International Images Film Festival for Women | @efie41209591
“This year I hope to launch a film fund for women of African heritage. Our narratives are important and we are unconscionably prejudiced when it comes to this, the most powerful medium of narrative. It used to be the same concerning African women writers. I was one of the pioneers who helped change this. Now I want to do the same for film.”
Shewaga Gebre-Michael, 25 | Ethiopia | Fundraising and Communications Coordinator at Research and Counseling Foundation for African Migrants (RECFAM) | @recfam2004
"My hope, dreams and aspiration for women's rights in 2015 is for everyone to really comprehend that women's rights is everyone's business. We must all understand that we cannot progress as a people, as citizens of this world while denying women their humanity and threatening their very right to exist. This past year and the year before, with the countless headlines of women dying from being gang raped and beaten to death from India to Ethiopia, to politicians trying to police women's bodies and their basic right to contraceptives, and many other blatant forms of discrimination against women taking place, it made me realize that our work for equality has so far to go. It seems that the more we fight against patriarchy and outdated societal norms, the stronger the hate for women gets. So I hope this year, we start talking about the uncomfortable and confront the many forms of oppression against women with a stronger and united front"
Yesica Trinidad, 37 | Honduras | Coordinator, Red Nacional de Defensoras de Derechos Humanos | @Yetri04
“I dream of a different Honduras in which we women can walk in the streets without fearing for our lives. I dream of the day when feminists and women human rights defenders are more than just numbers and become a force confronting patriarchy. I dream that women can unlearn the ways society has taught us to relate to one another and that we leave aside differences and competitions that tire us out. I dream of giving myself more time to close my eyes on the grass, listen to the sound of silence, enjoy being alone, and I dream of not feeling guilty for doing so.”
Aida Khemiri, 25 | Tunisia | Vice President of Chouf | @Aidakhemiri
"I wish first of all that women who benefit from a certain privilege derived from their financial or geographical positions become aware of the problems other women face and do something for them, and that women parliamentarians or MPs shout loudly that women's rights are far from being guaranteed or secured and are not content to serve as tokens or figureheads. I am also counting on women to invest more and more in computers and technology as this sphere is still monopolized by men, because the Internet will play a key role in our struggles from here on out."
Axela Romero, 47 | Mexico | Secretary of the Mesoamerican Women Human Rights Defenders Initiative and Coordinator of the Grupo de Trabajo de Inclusión Social
“I wish that all of us women find the strength each day to resist hopelessness, manifestations of barbarity, and the most abject irrationality of those who exercise power in the most immoral way: by not even questioning the exclusion of the great majority from the most basic justice and by handing them over to violence and poverty. I wish for all of us to feel the warmth of solidarity, the kind we feel in personal encounters; the kind that covers us with a sense of collective will power. I wish for all of us women reconciliation with our bodies, for us to quickly respond when our bodies call upon us to take it easy, rest, and enjoy; for us to enjoy moments of self-care without guilt, and without having to justify it to ourselves for any reason. And I wish that not one of us loses the ability to let our imaginations wander, because in even the worst conditions, this world is full of beauty, potential, and resources to make all of us happy and worthy.”
Meghana Bahar, 34 | Sri Lanka | Communications Specialist, Musawah | @playwithcloud
“In 2015 I would like for women’s rights organisations to fully embody the principles they stand and fight for within their organisational structures and systems. This means that the leaders of women’s rights organisations must strongly commit and act on moving away from the kinds of structures and systems that sustain patriarchy. That leaders aren’t just saying they are inclusive, fair and just, but are taking intentional action to shift and change deeply hidden layers within organisational work ethics, to unlearn patriarchal conditioning that keep women stunted and voiceless.”
Marusia López, 38 | Mexico | Regional Director for Meso America at Just Associates, JASS | @MarusiaLC
“This year I have hope that the barbarity and destruction caused by ever more cruel violence against women will raise the consciousness of our people about the urgency of achieving equality. I trust that, toward this end, more and more of us will put mutual care and community building at the center of our struggles and that words like freedom and rights can be experienced by many more women and girls throughout the world. It is not easy, but it is thanks to the dreams, wishes and convictions for freedom that women have changed the world.”
Spectra, early 30s | Nigeria | Writer, Media Advocate, Love Evangelist @ Spectra Speaks | @spectraspeaks
“In 2015, I'd like to see more feminists and women's rights activists take a deeper look inward -- challenge themselves to confront and address their blind spots in order to fight the homophobia and cis-sexism that's still prevalent within the movement. I'd like to see more collaboration and camaraderie among feminists active in the digital sphere, so that we continue to strengthen and grow our networks. I'd also like to see more art, creative, and media projects taking up space in African women's philanthropy; more feminists having FUN equals a better world in my book.”
Khira Arab, 55 | Morocco | Journalist / Blogger, Famille Actuelle Magazine
"The year 2015 is here, making its way, bit by bit. A magic wand won't help Moroccan women's rights associations enforce their rights and demands; it will take more mobilization, more commitment and solidarity to preserve their constitutional gains. Like so many other Moroccan women, I have dreams, ambitions and hopes for the future. This year, I call for the establishment of the constitutionally-mandated agency for parity and the fight against all forms of discrimination; I call for women's full and equal participation in political and economic life; I call for more equality in terms of rights and justice; I appeal for an end to the rape, the harassment suffered by women; I call for the effective implementation of the law protecting women from all forms of violence and that the fight against violence against women be declared as Great National Cause in 2015."
Imen Ghedhioui, 31 | Tunisia | Independent Researcher at the University of York (Centre for Applied Human Rights) | @imenElgh
"My vision for women's rights in post-2015 is to see effective and practical application of women's rights. Tunisian women already have some achievements in terms of individual freedoms: the Code du status personnel (Personal Status Code) is an example of concretization of a vision striving for an egalitarian Tunisian society. However, there is still a long road to travel in creating legal mechanisms that put what is stipulated in these texts into action. Laws sometimes tend to constrain the role of women in relation to their status as mothers or wives. There is a lack of texts for women in other social categories (homeless women, single women, women decision-makers, migrant women, exiled women, women entrepreneurs, young women, etc.) I dream of a less reductionist view of gender, that would be integrated into all governmental institution planning projects. It is important for me if we want to establish good governance that is participatory and inclusive of all actors and this at the local and national level, but it can only succeed if we integrate minorities and women."
What are your hopes, dreams and aspirations for this year? Share them with us in the comments box below or Facebook and Twitter.