Paola Barraza
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
Snippet FEA Audio Story 4 (EN)
Listen to this story here:
Snippet Kohl - Panel “un”Inclusive Feminism | AR
حلقة نقاش | النسوية “غير” الشاملة: فتيات بلا صوت في الحركة النسوية الهايتية
مع نايكي ليدان وفيدورا بيير-لوي
Meztli Omixochitl Sarabia Reyna
Snippet Forum Stories Title
Stories of Change: AWID Forums
#4 - Sexting like a feminist Tweets Snippet AR
ان كنت نسوية عن حق، فإنك سترفضين التحقير الموجّه ضد الممارسات الجنسية الغرائبيّة
تَلفَزَتُنا للثورة تحت حزامك مشروطة بطبيعة رغباتك
Terezinha Nunes Meciano
How much does participation cost?
Please calculate your costs of travel to Bangkok, accommodations and per diem, visa, any accessibility needs, and incidentals, on top of a registration fee that will be announced soon. Hotels in the Sukhumvit area in Bangkok range from USD$50 to $200 per night, double occupancy.
AWID members receive a discount at registration, so if you are not a member yet, we invite you to consider becoming a member and joining our global feminist community.
Add your own propositions
Please take a look at the existing propositions for inspiration before submitting your own idea. Someone might already be thinking along the same lines! Send your proposition to contribute@awid.org.
We will review and include new propositions on this webpage as they come.
Betty Tebbs
Snippet Intro GV EN
We have partnered with Global Voices for a special series of pieces for Pride Month 2023 (include music, video, and stories!) engaging with the intersectional issues that queer individuals and communities face around the world.
Estela Ambrosio Luna
CFA 2023 - what you need to know - EN
What you need to know
- Priority will be given to activities that facilitate and encourage connection and interaction among participants. If your activity can be held online or hybrid (connecting participants on-site and online), please consider how to generate genuine engagement and active participation from online participants.
- We encourage cross-movement, cross-regional and inter-generational encounters, dialogues and exchanges.
- Please design your activity in a way that allows flexibility in the number of participants. While a few activities may be limited to smaller groups, the majority will need to accommodate larger numbers.
- If your activity fits a number of formats or none, you will be able to indicate as such on the application form.
Languages in which you can submit your activity
- Languages for Applications: Applications will be accepted in English, French, Spanish, Thai and Arabic.
- Languages at the Forum: Simultaneous interpretation will be provided at the Forum Plenary Sessions in English, French, Spanish, Thai, and Arabic as well as ISL (International Sign Language) and possibly more. For all other activities, interpretation will be offered in some––but not all––of these languages, and possibly others, such as Swahili and Portuguese.
María Verónica Reina
María was recognized globally for her extraordinary leadership in the disability community.
She represented the International Disability and Development Consortium during the negotiation of the United Nations Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities (2001-2006).
Her work was devoted to the implementation of the goal of the Convention - realization of universal human rights by, for and with persons with disabilities for an inclusive, accessible and sustainable world.
In her words, her leadership was about “...serving the disability community, starting with small tasks that others may not wish to do”.
She passed away on October 27, 2017 in her hometown of Rosario, Argentina.
Read more about María Verónica Reina in her own words
CFA 2023 - Submit application card - thai
เรายินดีรับข้อเสนอกิจกรรมจากหลากหลายสาขาที่เชื่อมโยงกับแนวคิดสตรีนิยมและความยุติธรรมทางเพศ ในแบบฟอร์มใบสมัครนั้น ท่านจะสามารถทำเครื่องหมายเลือกประเด็นหลักที่เหมาะกับกิจกรรมของท่านได้ มากกว่าหนึ่งหัวข้อ
Carmen Griffiths
Carmen was the Head of the Construction Resource and Development Collective (CRDC) and was instrumental in supporting women’s involvement in the construction industry in Jamaica.
She also worked on issues of disaster preparedness for rural and urban women. She worked closely with women (especially single mothers) teaching them how to use hurricane straps and other technology to secure their homes. She worked in the area of water and sanitation and was a strong advocate for sustainable environmental management and development.
She was a part of the Huairou Commission and advocated for grassroots women on such issues as shelter, energy, and sustainable livelihoods.
Forum 2024 - FAQ - Registration EN
Registration
AWID IN 2015: Building Collective Impact
In 2015 AWID grew and diversified.
We ramped up preparations for the 13th AWID international Forum, focused a lot of energy on the Post 2015 Development Agenda and Financing for Development processes, and continued the core work of our priority areas:
- Challenging Religious Fundamentalisms
- Women Human Rights Defenders
- Economic Justice
- Resourcing Women’s Rights
- Young Feminist Activism
A sneak peak inside the report
The context
- We continue witnessing the rapid breakdown in democracy and democratic institutions, with spaces for dissent shrinking.
- Multiple and concurrent systemic crises (energy, food, finance and climate) continue to deepen inequalities and pose major challenges.
- Corporations are a leading power in determining the development agenda.
- Violence against WHRDs remains an urgent problem.
- Religious fundamentalisms are pervasive and increasingly powerful.
- New forms of online gender-based violence have emerged.
In response, we are moving out of our silos.
Increasingly, women’s rights and other movements worldwide are articulating the systemic and intersectional nature of these and other problems. We are making better connections with the agendas of other social and environmental movements for solidarity, alliance building and collective responses. We are also seeing greater visibility of these movements fighting for justice on the ground.
Our Impact
- For effective strategizing and advocacy, we need facts
- To exchange knowledge and join hands in solidarity, we need a strong online community
- To build our collective power, we need to work together
- To influence international processes, we need to increase our access and voice
- To reposition power we need to give visibility and emphasize the important role that feminist and women’s rights movements are already playing
Our Members
As at 31st December, 2015 we had:
Read the full report
Mridula Prasad
Mridula was a strong advocate for the advancement for women’s health at a time when the topic of women’s sexual and reproductive health were considered taboo in Fiji.
The initial works of the Fiji Women’s Rights Movement about sexual and reproductive rights were under her guidance, and in September 1999, the United Nations Population Fund presented her with a regional award for Reproductive Health and Rights. Mridula was a strong, dedicated and tireless campaigner who was passionate about women’s health and empowerment.
She was a valued member of the women’s and feminist movement in Fiji and her contributions will always be remembered. Mridula passed away due to natural causes in 2017.
Will there be accessibility measures at the Forum?
In short, yes! AWID is currently working with an Accessibility Committee to ensure that the Forum is as accessible as possible. We are also conducting an accessibility audit of the Forum venue, surrounding hotels and transportation. Detailed information about accessibility at the AWID Forum will be available in this section before the registration opens. Meanwhile, for any questions please contact us.