I am bisexual. When I walk down the street some men think it is a compliment to say You are just my size’. I am also African. I am a smorgasbord of identities that could possible preclude me from fitting into the mainstream of what it would mean to be a ‘good functioning human’.
The continued invisibility of women living with disabilities in our feminist spaces.
As part of the AWID Forum process, AWID, CREA, the Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL), and RESURJ held a second webinar on Bodily Integrity and Freedoms, a conversation between Disability, Intersex and Trans Activists. The aim of this second session was to bring together perspectives from within different movements to strengthen the work we do across them.
Even in the aftermath of the Orlando shooting, the Organisation of American States is under attack from religious groups over its support of LGBTQ people.
People around the world continue to be denied their basic and fundamental human rights, targeted on the basis of their sexual orientation and/or gender identity and expression. And not only do violence, criminalization, discrimination, and impunity remain widespread, anti-rights actors frequently justify them at the national and international level in the name of culture, religion and tradition.
In commemoration of International Day Against Homophobia, Transphobia and Biphobia (IDAHOT), celebrated every 17 May, we invited a range of trans and intersex activists to reflect on the importance of cross-movement building for the advancement of rights.
Five years following the forced resignation of dictator Zine el-Abidine Ben Ali, on 14 January 2011, Tunisians continue to face countless violations of their rights and freedoms. At a time of repression of human rights activists, and increasing violence based on sexual orientation and gender identity, a number of civil society organizations decided to mobilize as an informal group for individual freedoms.
AWID spoke with Pierre Meyer author of the report “Do Not Wake up a Sleeping Lion: Mapping the legal environment of LGBTQ persons in Francophone West Africa”.
The 29th session of the UN Human Rights Council in June 2015 saw the introduction of the second ever Office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) report on ‘Discrimination & Violence against Individuals Based on their Sexual Orientation & Gender Identity’. AWID spoke with Cynthia Rothschild, feminist, human rights and sexual rights activist, about the significance of the report and outcomes of the June 2015 Human Rights Council session.
On Saturday, 25th April 2015, the Coalition of African Lesbians (CAL) was granted Observer Status at the African Commission on Human and People’s Rights (ACPHR). AWID interviewed Fikile Vilakazi, founding Executive Director of CAL, and Fadzai Muparusta, Regional Advocacy Officer for CAL to hear more about the decision to seek observer status at the ACHPR and the movement building that led to the final success.