November 29, 2011, celebrated as International Day on Women Human Rights Defenders, (as part also of the 16 Days of Activism Against Gender Violence Campaign) is an opportune moment to recognize the central contribution that women human rights defenders (WHRDs) have made in safeguarding the rights of all. The amazing achievements that we have witnessed during the last decades in the recognition of women’s rights as well as struggles on a broad array of other issues affecting entire communities, nations and humanity at large cannot be understood and would not have been possible without the sustained work, passion and commitment of thousands and thousands of women around the world.
However, over the last few years it has become increasingly difficult and even life threatening to safeguard human rights and sustainable development agendas in many parts of the world. Shrinking democratic spaces, targeted repression, along with increased militarization, inequality, fundamentalisms, violence and conflict, have all contributed to the significant intensification of violence against activists.
As an international, feminist, women’s rights membership organization, AWID has been receiving information about cases of violence against women activists, who are very often our own partners, from different parts of the world. The number of cases and seriousness of these attacks have significantly increased over the last few years. From Maryam Bahreman an Iranian activist who attended the Commission on the Status of Women earlier this year and was imprisoned for several months upon her return to her country, to the unlawful demolition of the home of Azerbaijan woman human rights defender, Leila Yunus; from the final dropping of charges in a malicious prosecution of a WHRD in Fiji who had to endure a trial against her and her husband for several years; to the multiple killings of women defenders in Mexico, Guatemala, Honduras, Colombia and El Salvador; from the ongoing violence against LGBTI activists in Sub-Saharan Africa to the repression against activists in India, Nepal and The Philippines.
Judicial harassment, kidnappings, disappearances, rape, sexual harassment, death threats, violence against family members, illegal arrests, physical and psychological violence, actual killings…you name it, WHRDs in many countries have to sustain the struggles for women’s rights and other agendas, and defend themselves in the midst of all of this violence.
The United Nations recognized the right to defend human rights back in the 1990s and a new term was coined to name people like many of us: human rights defenders. The creation of the position of the UN Special Rapporteur on the Situation of Human Rights Defenders further strengthened the discourse on human rights defenders and our need for recognition and protection. In 2010, the UN Special Rapporteur on Human Rights Defenders, Margaret Sekaggya, issued a report, which focused on the situation of women human rights defenders and those working on women’s rights or gender. In her report she clearly states “women defenders are more at risk of suffering certain forms of violence and other violations, prejudice, exclusion, and repudiation than their male counterparts. This is often due to the fact that women defenders are perceived as challenging accepted socio-cultural norms, traditions, perceptions and stereotypes about femininity, sexual orientation, and the role and status of women in society.”
Despite the special vulnerabilities, unique set of challenges and escalating violence faced by WHRDs, there is not enough recognition of the attacks, threats and repression they face and much more needs to be done in terms of creating appropriate gender-sensitive mechanisms of protection and responses. Key work in this field has been advanced by the International Coalition of Women’s Human Rights Defenders, an initiative started back in 2005.
Today we celebrate the International Day on Women Human Rights Defenders. Let us remember and honor all of the women who have died or experienced violence, threat, harassment or intimidation related to their work to advance human rights around the world. Let us denounce and make visible this pervasive form of gender-based violence. Let us build solidarity amongst women’s organizations and networks and beyond, to ensure that all activists living under risk are not alone in their struggles. Let us ensure that all available responses and protection mechanisms for human rights defenders are appropriate and available for women defenders. Let us urge donors to allocate sufficient and flexible resources to support WHRDs at risk. Lastly, let us hold accountable both States and non-state actors for the violence experienced by thousands of women human rights defenders in all regions.
Without the work done by all of us, women human rights defenders, there is a serious threat to the very sustainability of our struggles and our capacity to continue transforming our societies. Today, let us celebrate our collective power as women’s rights activists and ensure that our right to defend our rights and promote them is fully protected and respected by all.
Lydia Alpizar,
Executive Director of the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID)