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Special Focus

AWID is an international, feminist, membership organisation committed to achieving gender equality, sustainable development and women’s human rights

Women Human Rights Defenders

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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

Type

¿Cuáles son algunos de los debates y las áreas conflictivas?

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Snippet FEA EoS The Ivy (FR)

An illustration of a vine with vine like leaves in neon with purple background

Le lierre
Communauté et quartier

Nuestra agrupación, organización o movimiento no está registrado, ¿deberíamos responder la encuesta de todos modos?

Absolutamente; deseamos saber de ustedes y su experiencia con la obtención de recursos.

Remembering: A Tribute to WHRDs no longer with us

AWID honors feminists and Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) who have died and whose contributions to the advancement of human rights are very much missed.

Celebrating Activists and WHRDs

AWID’s WHRD Tribute is a photo exhibition featuring feminist, women’s rights and social justice activists from around the world who are no longer with us. 

The Tribute was first launched in 2012, at AWID’s 12th International Forum, in Turkey. It took shape with a physical exhibit of portraits and biographies of feminists and activists who passed away. The initiative was described by Forum participants as being a unique, moving and energizing way to commemorate our collective history.

At the 13th International Forum in Brazil, we honored activists and WHRDs with a mural unveiling ceremony in four languages, a dance performance and a Brazilian ritual.

In between the events, the Tribute lives as an online gallery that is updated every year as part of the 16 Days Campaign Against Gender Based Violence (25 November – 10 December).

Contributions from all over the world

Since 2012, through our annual Tribute to Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) no longer with us, over 400 feminists and WHRDs from 11 regions and 80 countries have been featured. 

AWID would like to thank the families and organizations who shared their personal stories and contributed to this memorial. We join them in continuing the remarkable work of these women and forging efforts to ensure justice is achieved in cases that remain in impunity.

Visit the WHRD Tribute online exhibit

The violence and threaths against WHRDs persist

In addition to paying homage to these incredible activists, the Tribute particularly sheds light on the plight of WHRDs who have been assassinated or disappeared.

One third of those featured in the Tribute were activists who have been murdered or disappeared in suspicious circumstances. They were specifically targeted for who they were and the work they did to challenge: 

  • State power
  • Heteronormativity
  • Fundamentalisms
  • Corporations
  • Patriarchy
  • Organized Crime
  • Corruption
  • Militarization…

Women like Agnes Torres, from Mexico, was killed because of her gender identity and sexual orientation; or Cheryl Ananayo, an environmental activist from the Philippines was assassinated as she struggled against a mining company; or Ruqia Hassan, a Syrian independent journalist and blogger killed for her criticism of ISIS. And so many others.

With the WHRD Tribute, we bring them all into our collective memory and carry their legacy of struggle as our torch in the feminists’ and women’s rights movements. We recognize that security, safety and self-care must be a priority in all our political agendas. And we call on to governments and international bodies to collectively address violence against feminists and WHRDs.

We believe this is a critical step to ensure the sustainability of our movements for gender equality, women’s rights, and justice for all.

Visit the WHRD Tribute online exhibit

Je ne suis pas en mesure de soumettre une proposition écrite, acceptez-vous d’autres formats?

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Dans le cadre de notre engagement en faveur de l’accessibilité dans tous les aspects du Forum de l’AWID, nous acceptons les formats audio/vidéo pour tous les individus/organisations/groupes qui ne peuvent soumettre de candidature écrite. Si vous décidez d’envoyer votre proposition sous format audio/vidéo, nous vous prions de bien vouloir répondre aux questions dans le même ordre, telles que détaillées dans le Formulaire de proposition d’activité.

Pour soumettre un fichier audio/vidéo, merci de nous contacter via notre formulaire de contact en choisissant « Proposition d'activité » comme sujet de votre message.

Contactez-nous

 

Snippet FEA We are living in a world (EN)

We are living in a world where the destruction of Nature fuels our current global economy.

Even in times of climate crisis, governments continue to encourage large-scale agriculture industries to expand. These activities poison the land, threaten biodiversity, and destroy local food production and livelihoods. Meanwhile, while women produce the majority of our food in the world, they own almost none of the land.

What if we perceived land and Nature not as private property to exploit, but as a whole to live in, learn from, and harmoniously coexist with? What if we repaired our relationships with the land and embraced more sustainable alternatives that nurture both the planet and its communities?

Nous Sommes la Solution (We Are the Solution, NSS) is one of many women-led movements striving to do this. This is their story.

Quelle est votre définition du financement extérieur?

Le financement extérieur inclut les subventions et autres formes de financement de la part de fondations philanthropiques, de gouvernements, de financeurs bilatéraux, multilatéraux ou d’entreprise et de donateur·rices individuel·les, qu’elles et ils soient de votre pays ou de l’étranger. Il exclut les ressources que les groupes, organisations et/ou mouvements génèrent de manière autonome (ressource en anglais), telles que les cotisations d’adhésion, contributions volontaires du personnel, de membres et/ou de soutiens, les collectes de fonds communautaires, les locations de salles et ventes de services. Les définitions des différents types de financement, ainsi que de courtes descriptions des différents bailleurs de fonds, sont incluses dans l’enquête pour une meilleure compréhension.

Des défenseuses courageuses dans l’univers des médias

Ces 21 Défenseuses des Droits humains (WHRDs) ont travaillé en tant que journalistes ou plus généralement dans le domaine des médias au Mexique, en Colombie, aux Îles Fidji, en Lybie, au Népal, aux États-Unis, au Nicaragua, aux Philippines, en Russie, en Allemagne, en France, en Afghanistan et au Royaume-Uni. 17 d'entre elles ont été assassinées et les causes de la mort de l’une d’elles restent obscures. Pour cette Journée mondiale de la liberté de la presse,  joignez-vous à nous pour commémorer la vie et le travail de ces femmes. Faites circuler ces portraits auprès de vos collègues, vos ami-e-s et dans vos réseaux. Partagez-les en utilisant les mots-clés #WPFD2016 et #WHRDs.

Les contributions de ces femmes ont été célébrées et honorées dans notre Hommage en ligne aux défenseuses qui ne sont plus parmi nous.

Cliquez sur chaque image pour voir une version plus grande ou pour télécharger le fichier.

註冊費用是多少？

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開放報名時會公布。

Snippet FEA Mariama Sonko (EN)

This is Mariama Sonko, an inspiring small-scale rural farmer, eco-feminist and a woman human rights defender.

She lives in Niaguiss, a town in the southwest of Senegal. Growing up in a family and community of rural farmers, she witnessed the essential role of women in food production and seed preservation from a very early age, while also being immersed in the rhythms and working of the land. Mariama has been defending local agricultural knowledge and peasant practices since the 1990s. As a mother of five children, the food she grows herself is the main source of sustenance for her family.

She is currently the president of “Nous Sommes la Solution'' and is involved in promoting agroecological practices and family farming, encouraging food sovereignty, biodiversity and farmer seed preservation, and demanding equitable access to resources and land for women across West Africa.

Source: AWID’s Feminist Realities Festival Crear | Résister | Transform - Day 2/ 2ème jour/ 2º día

My language is not one of the official survey languages and I am struggling to complete it, what can I do?

AWID is committed to language justice and we regret that, at this point, having the WITM survey available in more languages is not feasible. However, if you need support with translations or want to fill the survey in any other language, please reach out to us at witm@awid.org.

WHRDs from the Pacific Region

The 3 Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) from the Pacific we are featuring in this year's Online Tribute have worked in the media, campaigned for disability rights and advocated for women’s rights. Their contributions are missed and we honor them in this Tribute. Please join AWID in commemorating these WHRDs, their work and legacy by sharing the memes below with your colleagues, networks and friends and by using the hashtags #WHRDTribute.

Please click on each image below to see a larger version and download as a file 

 

論壇將包括哪些語言？

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英文、法文、西班牙文和中文