Dolorosa Mubvumbi
Confronting Extractivism & Corporate Power
Women human rights defenders (WHRDs) worldwide defend their lands, livelihoods and communities from extractive industries and corporate power. They stand against powerful economic and political interests driving land theft, displacement of communities, loss of livelihoods, and environmental degradation.
Why resist extractive industries?
Extractivism is an economic and political model of development that commodifies nature and prioritizes profit over human rights and the environment. Rooted in colonial history, it reinforces social and economic inequalities locally and globally. Often, Black, rural and Indigenous women are the most affected by extractivism, and are largely excluded from decision-making. Defying these patriarchal and neo-colonial forces, women rise in defense of rights, lands, people and nature.
Critical risks and gender-specific violence
WHRDs confronting extractive industries experience a range of risks, threats and violations, including criminalization, stigmatization, violence and intimidation. Their stories reveal a strong aspect of gendered and sexualized violence. Perpetrators include state and local authorities, corporations, police, military, paramilitary and private security forces, and at times their own communities.
Acting together
AWID and the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (WHRD-IC) are pleased to announce “Women Human Rights Defenders Confronting Extractivism and Corporate Power”; a cross-regional research project documenting the lived experiences of WHRDs from Asia, Africa and Latin America.
We encourage activists, members of social movements, organized civil society, donors and policy makers to read and use these products for advocacy, education and inspiration.
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"Women Human Rights Defenders confronting extractive industries: an overview of critical risks and Human Rights obligations" is a policy report with a gender perspective. It analyses forms of violations and types of perpetrators, quotes relevant human rights obligations and includes policy recommendations to states, corporations, civil society and donors.
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"Weaving resistance through action: Strategies of Women Human Rights Defenders confronting extractive industries" is a practical guide outlining creative and deliberate forms of action, successful tactics and inspiring stories of resistance.
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The video “Defending people and planet: Women confronting extractive industries” puts courageous WHRDs from Africa, Asia, and Latin America in the spotlight. They share their struggles for land and life, and speak to the risks and challenges they face in their activism.
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Challenging corporate power: Struggles for women’s rights, economic and gender justice is a research paper outlining the impacts of corporate power and offering insights into strategies of resistance.
Share your experience and questions!
Tell us how you are using the resources on WHRDs Confronting extractivism and corporate power.
◾️ How can these resources support your activism and advocacy?
◾️ What additional information or knowledge do you need to make the best use of these resources?
◾️ How can these resources support your activism and advocacy?
◾️ What additional information or knowledge do you need to make the best use of these resources?
Thank you!
AWID acknowledges with gratitude the invaluable input of every Woman Human Rights Defender who participated in this project. This project was made possible thanks to your willingness to generously and openly share your experiences and learnings. Your courage, creativity and resilience is an inspiration for us all. Thank you!
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Al unirte a AWID, te sumas a un proceso organizativo feminista mundial, un poder colectivo surgido del trabajo entre movimientos y basado en la solidaridad.
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Sur le financement féministe aujourd’hui
- Répondre au quiz « Où est l’argent? » ici
- Our Resource (en anglais)
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En su lucha por los derechos humanos enfrentan la injusticia en América Latina
Este año honramos a 19 defensoras de la región de América Latina y el Caribe. De ellas, 16 fueron asesinadas, incluyendo a 6 periodistas y 4 defensoras LGBTQI. Únete a nosotras en la conmemoración de sus vidas y trabajo, compartiendo los memes aquí incluidos con tus colegas, amistades y redes; y tuiteando las etiquetas #WHRDTribute y #16Días.
Por favor, haz click en cada imagen de abajo para ver una versión más grande y para descargar como un archivo.
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Entre deux mondes : la double conscience des femmes en Gambie
par Haddy Jatou Gassama
Il est de coutume pour la tribu mandingue, en Gambie, de mesurer la première écharpe utilisée par les mères pour porter leur nourrisson sur leur dos. (...)
illustration : « Puta sacrée », par Pia Love >
Rapport Annuel 2012
Notre rapport annuel 2012 fournit les points saillants de notre travail durant l'année pour contribuer de manière hardie, créative et efficace à la promotion des droits des femmes et l'égalité de genre dans le monde entier.
Amusez-vous en regardant des vidéos, des photos et des histoires sur nos contributions !
María Digna Montero
María Digna Montero fue una garífuna (afrodescendiente e indígena) defensora de la tierra e integrante de la Organización Fraternal Negra Hondureña (OFRANEH), una organización de base que trabaja para proteger a las comunidades garífunas, sus derechos ancestrales, su cultura, sus recursos y su territorio.
María también enseñaba en la escuela local, e integraba el grupo de trabajo de Educación Bilingüe Intercultural de OFRANEH.
El 12 de octubre (Día de la Resistencia Indígena) de 2019, sujetos desconocidos le dispararon a María varias veces en el patio de su casa.
Fue una de las seis defensoras garífunas asesinadas entre septiembre y octubre de 2019 y, según OFRANEH, no hubo ninguna investigación de estos crímenes por parte de las autoridades. En un comunicado oficial, la organización también subrayó la conexión entre la violencia contra líderes garífunas y el incremento de las industrias extractivas que explotan los recursos naturales en sus comunidades, y definieron esta violencia como «parte de una estrategia de intimidación y de expulsión sistemática por parte del Estado de Honduras.»
«El recrudecimiento de la tensión y de los riesgos crecientes para la seguridad y derechos humanos de las lideresas en las comunidades y territorios ancestrales es producto del despojo, desplazamiento y criminalización hacia las comunidades, y de los mega proyectos extractivos que impulsa el Estado junto con las corporaciones nacionales e internacionales.» - Pronunciamiento de OFRANEH, 13 de octubre de 2019
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Le Forum de l’AWID est le plus grand événement mondial axé sur les mouvements féministes et de justice de genre dans toute leur diversité. Il s'agit d'un espace de transformation créé par et pour les mouvements féministes, où les féministes du Sud Global et autres communautés historiquement marginalisées occupent le devant de la scène, élaborent des stratégies pour changer le pouvoir et se connectent avec les mouvements alliés, la philanthropie et les politiques. C'est donc avec le cœur plein que nous vous annonçons que...
Le 15e Forum international de l'AWID se tiendra du 2 au 5 décembre 2024 à Bangkok, en Thaïlande !
Nous espérons réunir 2 500 participant.e.s en personne et 3 000 participant.e.s en ligne/hybride.
Lorsque des milliers de féministes se réunissent, nous créons une force de solidarité écrasante qui a le pouvoir de changer le monde. Nous sommes enthousiastes, et nous savons que vous l'êtes aussi, alors restez à l'écoute pour plus de détails, y compris l'inscription et nos plans pour un programme plein de magie féministe.
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If you’re looking to have an impact through your work in feminist, social justice and other non-profit organizations, we hope this page provides a start.
Here you will find open vacancies and call for applications from AWID and the Alliance for Feminist Movements, when available. Follow us on social media to be in the loop.
WHRDs from the South and Southeast Asian region
7 Women Human Rights Defenders from across the South and Southeast Asian region are honored in this year’s Online Tribute. These defenders have made key contributions to advancing human and women’s rights, indigenous people’s rights, and the right to education. These WHRDs were lawyers, women’s rights activists, scholars, and politicians. Please join AWID in commemorating t their work and legacy by sharing the memes below with your colleagues, networks and friends and by using the hashtags #WHRDTribute and #16Days.
Please click on each image below to see a larger version and download as a file
Film club - Films from Nuestramérica
Our final Feminist Film Club program is now available to view: “Films from Nuestramérica” is a film series on Latin/Central American Feminist Realities curated by Alejandra Laprea (Venezuela).
Seismic shifts: A year of completion, transition and reflection | Annual report 2017
The past five years have been huge for AWID.
We have contributed to some major victories, like expanding the women’s rights funding landscape with ground-breaking, far-reaching research and advocacy. At the same time, we have experienced some devastating setbacks, including the assassination of Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) like Berta Cacares of Honduras, Gauri Lankesh of India and Marielle Franco of Brazil, as well as the rise of anti-rights mobilizing in human rights spaces.
Five years ago, we committed to our movement-building role by producing knowledge on anti-rights movement trends, as well as on issues that feminists often engage with less, like illicit financial flows. We advocated side by side with our movement partners, strengthening young feminist and inter-generational activism, and expanding the holistic protection of WHRDs. As we close out the strategic plan, we are proud of our accomplishments and our growth as an organization. We end 2017 with renewed commitment, insights and learning for the continued struggle ahead!
Martha Araceli Chagoy Valdes
Nilcéa Freire
Nilcéa Freire était une activiste, politicienne et universitaire brésilienne. Ardente défenseuse des droits des femmes et des minorités sous-représentées dans le pays, sa vie et son travail ont été marqués par une longue histoire de luttes et de victoires.
"Nous devons, tout en résistant, continuer à chercher à progresser, et ce que nous pouvons accomplir actuellement, je pense que nous le devons à la fantastique organisation des jeunes femmes blanches, et surtout des femmes noires, dans toutes les capitales d’États et les grandes villes brésiliennes.” - Nilcéa Freire
En 1999, elle est devenue la première femme à occuper le poste de doyenne de l'université d'État de Rio de Janeiro. Elle y a dirigé la mise en œuvre de la première politique d'action positive pour les étudiant·e·s des écoles publiques, demandant au sein d’une école publique que des places soient spécifiquement réservées aux étudiant·e·s noir·e·s à faible revenu. Ce système a été adopté dans des dizaines d'autres universités publiques.
Quelques années plus tard, Nilcéa dirigea le Secrétariat spécial des politiques pour les femmes sous le gouvernement de l'ancien président Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva. C’est à ce titre qu’elle conduisit la première Conférence nationale des femmes. Plus de 12 000 femmes de tout le pays y participèrent et le résultat de ce travail collectif fut incorporé dans le Plan national des politiques pour les femmes.
Son engagement envers les femmes, les Afro-Brésilien·ne·s et les populations autochtones se reflète aussi fortement dans son travail de défense de leurs droits, qu’elle a mené dans le cadre des initiatives du bureau de la Fondation Ford du Brésil, dont elle était la directrice régionale.
L’activiste féministe Manoela Miklos a dit de Nilcéa qu'elle était "une femme sans égal·e".
Nilcéa s’est éteinte à Rio de Janeiro à l'âge de 66 ans, le 29 décembre 2019, des suites d’un cancer.
"Je n’ai pas de mots face à l’annonce de la mort de notre chère Nilcéa Freire. Il m’est trop triste de savoir qu’elle est partie si tôt. Elle s’est toujours rangée du côté de celleux qui ne tolèrent pas les injustices de ce monde. Elle était la ministre des femmes, sans cesse engagée dans la cause féministe. Elle nous manquera beaucoup!” - Jandira Feghali, Federal Deputy
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.
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With smart filtering for Who Can Fund Me? Database, you can search for funders based on:
Before you begin
Before starting the WITM research methodology, it is important you prepare the background and know what to expect.
Capacity
With AWID’s WITM research methodology, we recommend that you first review the entire toolkit.
While this toolkit is designed to democratize WITM research, there are capacity constraints related to resources and research experience that may affect your organization’s ability use this methodology.
Use the “Ready to Go?” Worksheet to assess your readiness to begin your own WITM research. The more questions you can answer on this worksheet, the more prepared you are to undertake your research.
Trust
Before beginning any research, we recommend that you assess your organization’s connections and trust within your community.
In many contexts, organizations may be hesitant to openly share financial data with others for reasons ranging from concerns about how the information will be used, to fear of funding competition and anxiety over increasing government restrictions on civil society organizations.
As you build relationships and conduct soft outreach in the lead-up to launching your research, ensuring that your objectives are clear will be useful in creating trust. Transparency will allow participants to understand why you are collecting the data and how it will benefit the entire community.
We highly recommend that you ensure data is collected confidentially and shared anonymously. By doing so, participants will be more comfortable sharing sensitive information with you.
First step
We also recommend referring to our “Ready to Go?” Worksheet to assess your own progress.
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Crear | Résister | Transform
Crear | Résister | Transform es para ti y para todxs lxs increíbles activistas feministas y por la justicia social que conozcas. Reunámonos para compartir nuestras estrategias de resistencia, para crear conjuntamente algo de magia feminista, y para transformar juntxs este mundo.
2020: Annual Report
For many of us, 2020 was an especially challenging year due to the global health pandemic. Feminists and activists rose to the new challenges meeting community needs in innovative ways. Here are 5 highlights of how AWID contributed to feminist co-creation and resistance.
Watch our Annual Report Video below
Ana Lilia Gatica Romulo
