Francisca das Chagas Silva
Building Feminist Economies
Building Feminist Economies is about creating a world with clean air to breath and water to drink, with meaningful labour and care for ourselves and our communities, where we can all enjoy our economic, sexual and political autonomy.
In the world we live in today, the economy continues to rely on women’s unpaid and undervalued care work for the profit of others. The pursuit of “growth” only expands extractivism - a model of development based on massive extraction and exploitation of natural resources that keeps destroying people and planet while concentrating wealth in the hands of global elites. Meanwhile, access to healthcare, education, a decent wage and social security is becoming a privilege to few. This economic model sits upon white supremacy, colonialism and patriarchy.
Adopting solely a “women’s economic empowerment approach” is merely to integrate women deeper into this system. It may be a temporary means of survival. We need to plant the seeds to make another world possible while we tear down the walls of the existing one.
We believe in the ability of feminist movements to work for change with broad alliances across social movements. By amplifying feminist proposals and visions, we aim to build new paradigms of just economies.
Our approach must be interconnected and intersectional, because sexual and bodily autonomy will not be possible until each and every one of us enjoys economic rights and independence. We aim to work with those who resist and counter the global rise of the conservative right and religious fundamentalisms as no just economy is possible until we shake the foundations of the current system.
Our Actions
Our work challenges the system from within and exposes its fundamental injustices:
-
Advance feminist agendas: We counter corporate power and impunity for human rights abuses by working with allies to ensure that we put forward feminist, women’s rights and gender justice perspectives in policy spaces. For example, learn more about our work on the future international legally binding instrument on “transnational corporations and other business enterprises with respect to human rights” at the United Nations Human Rights Council.
-
Mobilize solidarity actions: We work to strengthen the links between feminist and tax justice movements, including reclaiming the public resources lost through illicit financial flows (IFFs) to ensure social and gender justice.
-
Build knowledge: We provide women human rights defenders (WHRDs) with strategic information vital to challenge corporate power and extractivism. We will contribute to build the knowledge about local and global financing and investment mechanisms fuelling extractivism.
-
Create and amplify alternatives: We engage and mobilize our members and movements in visioning feminist economies and sharing feminist knowledges, practices and agendas for economic justice.
“The corporate revolution will collapse if we refuse to buy what they are selling – their ideas, their version of history, their wars, their weapons, their notion of inevitability. Another world is not only possible, she is on her way. On a quiet day, I can hear her breathing”.
Arundhati Roy, War Talk
Related Content
#3 - Sexting like a feminist Tweets Snippet AR
بصراحة…
رغبتي في الانقضاض على جسدك تعادل رغبتي بالانقضاض على كراهية النساء المتجذرة في التسلسلات الهرمية للشركات
What is the AWID International Forum?
Every three to four years, AWID hosts its flagship international event. It is the world’s largest event that wholeheartedly centers feminist and gender justice movements in all their diversity. It is a global gathering of feminist activists, allied movements, scholars, funders and policymakers. The Forums rotate between different regions and countries in the global South.
Edith "Edie" Windsor
Related content
The Guardian: Edith Windsor, icon of gay rights movement, dies aged 88
Rolling Stone: Edith Windsor, Same-Sex Marriage Activist, Dead at 88
BBC: Edie Windsor: Gay rights trailblazer dies aged 88
The New Yorker: Postscript: Edith Windsor, 1929-2017
The Guardian: Goodbye, Edie Windsor. Thank you for never giving up
Love and Justice: Edith Windsor talks with Ariel Levy - The New Yorker Festival - The New Yorker (Video)
Remembering Edie Windsor (Video)
Snippet Feminist Propositions for a Just Economy EN
AWID, the Center for Women’s Global Leadership (CWGL), and the African Women's Development and Communication Network (FEMNET), offers this think piece to challenge mainstream understandings of development and put forward initial propositions for a feminist agenda for development, economic and gender justice.
Learn more about where this project comes from
The propositions
These propositions are intended to be just that - proposals, to be discussed, debated, added to, taken apart, adapted, adopted, and even to inspire others.
Will there be pre-Forum regional, thematic or other convenings?
We believe so! It is still very early in the planning process, so please stay tuned as plans are forming.
Faith Kandaba
CFA 2023 - Who, where, when - EN
When: 2–5 December 2024
Where: Bangkok, Thailand; and online
Who: Approximately 2,500 feminists from all over the world participating in- person, and 3,000 participating virtually
Where: Bangkok, Thailand; and online
Who: Approximately 2,500 feminists from all over the world participating in- person, and 3,000 participating virtually
Marta Vásquez
2023 - Hybrid like never before: in person - ar
هجين (hybrid) كما لم يحدث من قبل
لأول مرة، يعرض منتدى جمعية حقوق المرأة في التنمية ثلاثة طرق للمشاركة
الحضور الشخصي
سيجتمع المشاركون/ات في بانكوك، تايلاند. ننتظر بفارغ الصبر!
Ursula K Le Guin
Ursula was an American novelist who worked mainly in the genres of fantasy and science fiction.
She found fame with The Left Hand Of Darkness, which imagines a future society where people are ambisexual – they have no fixed sex. It explores the effects of gender and sex in society, and was one of the first major feminist science fiction books. Ursula was inspiring in her subversive and original writing, and also for the themes of feminism and freedom she held so dearly.
In a 1983 address at Mills College in California, she told graduates: “Why should a free woman with a college education either fight Macho-man or serve him? Why should she live her life on his terms? I hope you live without the need to dominate, and without the need to be dominated.”
CFA 2023 - what you need to know - ar
ما الذي تحتاج/ين معرفته؟
- سيتم إعطاء الأولوية للأنشطة التي تسهل وتشجع الاتصال والتفاعل بين المشاركين/ات.
- إذا كان من الممكن إجراء نشاطك عبر الإنترنت أو بشكل هجين (ربط المشاركين/ات في الموقع وعبر الإنترنت)، يرجى النظر في كيفية توليد مشاركة حقيقية ومشاركة نشطة من المشاركين/ات عبر الإنترنت.
- نشجع اللقاءات والحوارات والتبادلات بين الحركات والأقاليم وبين الأجيال.
- يرجى تصميم النشاط بطريقة تسمح بالمرونة في عدد المشاركين/ات. في حين أن بعض الأنشطة قد تقتصر على مجموعات أصغر، إلا أن الأغلبية ستحتاج إلى استيعاب أعداد أكبر.
- إذا كان نشاطك يناسب عددًا من أشكال التقديم أو لا يناسبه أي شيء، فستتمكن من الإشارة إلى ذلك في نموذج الطلب.
اللغات التي يمكنك إرسال طلبك بها
- لغات تقديم الطلبات: سيتم قبول الطلبات باللغات الإنجليزية والفرنسية والإسبانية والتايلاندية والعربية.
- لغات المنتدى: سيتم توفير الترجمة الفورية في الجلسات العامة للمنتدى باللغات الإنجليزية، الفرنسية، الإسبانية، التايلاندية والعربية، بالإضافة إلى لغة الإشارة الدولية (ISL)وربما أكثر. بالنسبة لجميع الأنشطة الأخرى، سيتم توفير الترجمة الشفوية في بعض هذه اللغات، ولكن ليس جميعها، وربما بلغات أخرى، مثل اللغة السواحيلية والبرتغالية.
Kagendo Murungi
Kagendo is remembered fondly by family and friends as a fierce African feminist activist, artist, and filmmaker.
She dedicated over 20 years to advocate for the rights and dignity of African LGBTIQ and gender non conforming people.
Kagendo’s colleagues remember her as someone with a jovial personality, fierce conviction, and love for life. Kagendo died due to natural causes at her home in Harlem on December 27th, 2017.
On Kagendo’s passing Kenyan writer and activist Shailja Patel noted “Kagendo's lifelong commitment to connecting the dots between all oppressions, showing how colonialism fostered homophobia on the African continent, making Kenya a country where queer Kenyans and free women could live and thrive.”
Is there a preferred methodology for the sessions?
The Call for Activities lists a number of suggested formats and methodologies. Be creative and make sure to read the section “What you need to know”.
Carmen de la Cruz
Carmen had a long career advocating for women’s rights both in NGOs and within the United Nations (UN) system.
She taught courses in several Spanish and Latin American universities, and published numerous articles and reports on women, gender and peace in developing countries.
Her writing and critical reflections have impacted a whole generation of young women. In her last years, she was responsible for the Gender Practice Area in the Regional Center of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for Latin America, from where she supported very valuable initiatives in favour of gender equality and women's human rights.
ما هو منتدى جمعية حقوق المرأة في التنمية الدولي؟
كل ثلاث إلى أربع سنوات، تستضيف جمعية حقوق المرأة في التنمية حدثها الدولي الرئيسي. إنه أكبر حدث في العالم يركز بكل طاقته على الحركات النسوية والعدالة الجندرية بكل تنوعها. إنه تجمع عالمي للناشطين/ات النسويين/ات والحركات المتحالفة والباحثين/ات والممولين/ات وصانعي/ات السياسات. ويتنقل المنتدى بين مناطق وبلدان مختلفة في الجنوب العالمي.
Lucy O.
Biography
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.
Position
Accounting Coordinator
Add to stories
Off
Bessy Ferrera
Bessy Ferrera was a lifelong defender of the human rights of trans people, sex workers and HIV positive people in Honduras.
Bessy was also a member of Arcoíris, an organisation which supports the LGBTI+ community. She was also a focal point person for the Right Here, Right Now (Derechos aquí y Ahora) Platform of Honduras, and advocated strongly for full citizenship of trans people, and the passing of a gender identity law that would allow trans people to change their gender identity legally.
"Since the beginning of the year [2019] the trans community has been suffering a series of attacks, for defending, for demanding rights." - Rihanna Ferrera (Bessy’s sister)
Bessy was a sex worker, and in early July 2019, was shot to death by two men while working in the streets of Comayagüela. Her assailants were subsequently arrested.
Bessy is one of many LGBTI+ rights defenders in Honduras, who were murdered because of their identities and work. Other companeras include: Cynthia Nicole, Angy Ferreira, Estefania "Nia" Zuniga, Gloria Carolina Hernandez Vasquez, Paola Barraza, Violeta Rivas, and Sherly Montoya.
Bessy’s case is emblematic of injustice and a much larger problem of the systematic violence the LGBTI+ community faces in Honduras as the state fails to guarantee rights offer and fails to offer protection. This has created a culture of impunity.
Despite the risks LGBTI+ defenders in Honduras face, they continue their work to challenge and resist violence, and fight stigma and discrimination on a daily basis.
“If I die, let it be for something good not for something futile. I don’t want to die running away, being a coward. If I die, I want people to say that I died fighting for what is mine.” - member of Arcoíris
هل يجب أن أكون عضواً في جمعية حقوق المرأة في التنمية حتى أتمكن من المشاركة في المنتدى؟
لا، ليس من الضروري أن تكون عضوًا/ة في جمعية حقوق المرأة في التنمية للمشاركة ولكن أعضاء/ عضوات جمعية حقوق المرأة في التنمية يحصلون على رسوم تسجيل مخفضة بالإضافة إلى عدد من المزايا الأخرى. تعرف/ي على المزيد حول كيفية أن تصبح عضوًا/ة في جمعية حقوق المرأة في التنمية.
Elina Margarita Castillo Jiménez
Biography
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.
Position
Co-President
Add to stories
Off