Advancing Universal Rights and Justice
Uprooting Fascisms and Fundamentalisms
Across the globe, feminist, women’s rights and gender justice defenders are challenging the agendas of fascist and fundamentalist actors. These oppressive forces target women, persons who are non-conforming in their gender identity, expression and/or sexual orientation, and other oppressed communities.
Discriminatory ideologies are undermining and co-opting our human rights systems and standards, with the aim of making rights the preserve of only certain groups. In the face of this, the Advancing Universal Rights and Justice (AURJ) initiative promotes the universality of rights - the foundational principle that human rights belong to everyone, no matter who they are, without exception.
We create space for feminist, women’s rights and gender justice movements and allies to recognize, strategize and take collective action to counter the influence and impact of anti-rights actors. We also seek to advance women’s rights and feminist frameworks, norms and proposals, and to protect and promote the universality of rights.
Our actions
Through this initiative, we:
- Build knowledge: We support feminist, women’s rights and gender justice movements by disseminating and popularizing knowledge and key messages about anti-rights actors, their strategies, and impact in the international human rights systems through AWID’s leadership role in the collaborative platform, the Observatory on the Universality of Rights (OURs)*.
- Advance feminist agendas: We ally ourselves with partners in international human rights spaces including, the Human Rights Council, the Commission on Population and Development, the Commission on the Status of Women and the UN General Assembly.
- Create and amplify alternatives: We engage with our members to ensure that international commitments, resolutions and norms reflect and are fed back into organizing in other spaces locally, nationally and regionally.
- Mobilize solidarity action: We take action alongside women human rights defenders (WHRDs) including trans and intersex defenders and young feminists, working to challenge fundamentalisms and fascisms and call attention to situations of risk.
Related Content
Ester Lopes | Snippet AR

إيستر لوبيز راقصة وكاتبة تركز أبحاثها على الجسد والنوع والعرق والعلاقات الطبقية. هي مدرّبة بيلاتيس ومعلمة فنون. تخرجت إستر في دراسة المسرح المعاصر – العمليات الإبداعية (في FAINC) وفي الرقص والوعي بالجسم (في USCS). يشمل تخصصها الموسيقي الغناء الشعبي والإيقاع. تلقت تدريبًا في “نوفوس برينكانتس” مع فليرا فيرو وماتيوس برادو وأنطونيو مييرا في معهد Brincante في عامي 2015 و 2016.
Snippet - WITM why - EN
Why should I take this survey?
Embodying Trauma-Informed Pleasure | Small Snippet AR
تَجسُّد اللذة المدرِكة للتروما
الصدمة ليست الحدث؛ إنها أجسادنا التي تستجيب للأحداث التي تشعرنا بخطرها علينا. وفي أغلب الأحوال تبقى عالقة في أجسادنا، إلى أن نتعامل معها. لا يوجد حديث عن أجسادنا خارج هذه الاستجابة – لأنها كذلك.
Snippet - WITM Articulate - EN
Articulate feminist visions, proposals and agendas for resourcing justice.
Snippet Kohl - Panel: Pleasure Across Borders | AR

حلقة نقاش | التمتّع عبر الحدود
مع لينديوي راسيكوالا وليزي كياما وجوفانا دروديفيتش ومَلَكة جران
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.
How long is the survey open?
The survey is open until the end of August 2024. Please complete it within this timeframe to ensure your responses are included in the analysis.
Interesting References
Explore these projects put together by AWID teams to promote feminist advocacy and perspectives.
Snippet - WITM To build - RU

Создать ориентированную на феминистские реалии доказательную базу движения денег их получателей
Snippet Festival Days 8-13_Fest (EN)
Snippet - WITM Why now_col 1 - PT
Por que devo responder à pesquisa agora?

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.
Snippet - WITM RESOURCES - RU
Ресурсы
(Доступно на английском языке)
Quem deve participar no inquérito?
Grupos, organizações e movimentos cujo foco específico ou principal seja os direitos das mulheres, de jovens, a justiça de género, os direitos das pessoas LBTQI+ e de aliados em todas as regiões e em todos os níveis, quer sejam novos ou já estabelecidos.
AWID IN 2014: Strengthening Women’s Rights Organizing Around the World
هل على مجموعتنا، منظمتنا أو حركتنا تعبئة الاستطلاع مع أننا لم نحشد أو نأخذ تمويلاً من ممولين/ات خارجيين/ات؟
نعم! نلاحظ ونقدّر الأسباب المختلفة لعدم تلق الحركات النسوية التمويل الخارجي، حيث من الممكن أن تكون غير مؤهلة لتقديم الطلبات للتمويل و\ أو تلقّي المال من خارج البلاد، أو الاعتماد على المصادر التي يتم إنتاجها بشكل مستقل كاستراتيجية سياسية. نريد أن نسمع منكم/ن بعيدا عن تجربتكم/ن مع التمويل الخارجي.
Lucy O.
With over ten years of finance experience, Lucy has devoted her career to for profit and furthering nonprofit missions. She also worked and volunteered at non-for-profit organizations. From the fast-paced world of Finance, Lucy has passion for staying tuned with tech skills in the finance field. Lucy joined AWID in 2014. During her spare time she enjoys music, traveling, and variety sports.
Моего языка нет в списке и мне сложно заполнить опрос – что мне делать?
AWID стремится к языковой справедливости, и мы сожалеем, что на данный момент проведение опроса на большем количестве языков не представляется возможным. Если вам нужна помощь в переводе или вы хотите заполнить анкету на любом другом языке, пожалуйста, свяжитесь с нами по адресу witm@awid.org
Elina Margarita Castillo Jiménez
Elina is a young afro-Dominican intersectional feminist and human rights lawyer, committed to use her voice and skills to build a more just, empathic and inclusive world. She started Law school at 16, convinced it would give her the tools to understand and promote social justice. After a J.D. in the Dominican Republic, she pursued an LL.M. in Public International Law and Human Rights in the UK as a Chevening Scholar. She was the only Latinx-Caribbean woman in her class, graduating with honours.
Elina has worked at the intersection of human rights, gender, migration and policy, from government, grassroots collectives and international organizations. She helped litigate cases on gender-based violence before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. As a member of the Youth Advisory Panel of UNFPA, she contributed to strengthening sexual and reproductive rights in the Dominican Republic. She co-led Amnesty International’s first campaign on sex workers’ rights in the Americas, developing strong partnerships with sex-worker led organizations and using Amnesty’s position to amplify women human rights defenders and sex workers’ voices.
Elina is part of Foro Feminista Magaly Pineda and the Global Shapers Community. She speaks Spanish, French and English. Thanks to her diverse background, Elina brings strong governance and strategic planning skills, substantive expertise on the United Nations and regional human rights mechanisms and her bold determination to keep AWID as an inclusive organization for all women, especially young and Caribbean feminists. With these offerings, joins a global sisterhood of feminist badasses, where she can keep nurturing her feminist leadership and never again feel alone in her path.
O nosso grupo não recebeu qualquer financiamento nos três anos entre 2021 e 2023. Devemos preencher o questionário mesmo assim?
Sim, ainda queremos a sua resposta, independentemente de terem recebido financiamento em três, dois, um, ou qualquer um dos anos entre 2021 e 2023.






