Nazra for Feminist Studies head receives widespread support over claims NGO is illegal as crackdown on Egyptian civil society is condemned.

Dear President Obama,

As you prepare to meet with leaders of the Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) on 21 April, we the undersigned organisations urge you to press for the release of all detained human rights defenders across the Gul

AWID spoke to Alaa Murabit, founder of The Voice of Libyan Women, an organization working for women’s economic and political representation, and against violence against women, to discuss their work and the situation facing women in Libya today.

On International Women Human Rights Defenders Day, the Young Feminist Wire brings you the story of Nahed Sherif Abdel Hamid, one of the young WHRDs who were recently released in the pardon. We also speak with Amal Elmohandes, who works with Nazra for Feminist Studies. Amal closely followed Nahed’s case and says the violations against WHRDs in Egypt are systemic.

As part of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender-Based Violence Campaign, AWID spoke with two Algerian activists to learn more about violence against women in the country and the strategies and challenges of the feminists working to end it.   

Aya Chebbi is an award winning Pan-African feminist activist and blogger. She spoke with AWID about women’s rights in Tunisia after the "revolutions of dignity".

With upcoming presidential elections in West African country’s Guinea and Cote d’Ivoire this month, AWID spoke with Afiwa Mata Ahouadjogbe, Vice-President of the Association des Femmes Journalistes de Guinée (Guinean Association of Women Journalists, AFJ-Guinea) and Georgette Zamble, President of Leadafricaines, to learn more about the challenges related to women’s decision-making and leadership, particularly for rural women, and the actions taken to overcome these challenges in both West African countries.  

The political crisis in the east African country Burundi has led to a wave of demonstrations and violence in the country, with deeply worrying consequences. AWID spoke to Nelly Kandatwa, President of the Burundian League for Women’s Rights “Mwubahirize,” and the SOS Women in Distress Network Burundi, to better understand the situation from a women’s rights perspective. 

Under the auspices of ‘national security’, a host of countries are experiencing increased criminalization of dissent, coupled with shrinking spaces for social justice activism and work. For organisations that rely on foreign-sourced funding for their work, the implications are dire.

No mother ever wants to see her child in prison but Rawia Sadek is not letting her daughter Yara Sallam’s incarceration bring her down.