New feminism should stand together with the new proletariats against female exploitation and violence. It is time to recognise the struggle to control women’s bodies in all forms as deeply politically misogynist even if there is no easy way to mobilise and collectivise this effort writes feminist Zillah Eisenstein*. The world seems upside down […]
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FRIDAY FILE: LGBTQI individuals in Africa face numerous civil, political, economic, social and cultural barriers. AWID spoke to Hakima Abbas, the Executive Director of Fahamu about the challenges of LGBTQI activism and how the politics of foreign aid impacts the struggle. By Kathambi Kinoti. AWID: There are currently many setbacks to LGBTQI rights in Africa, […]
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At the recent Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) international forum on economic rights, lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) rights advocates from around the world highlighted the urgent need to link economic justice and LGBT rights. As one representative of the International Gay and Lesbian Human Rights Commission noted, the United States LGBT […]
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Morning plenary Experiences of Resistance and Collective Organizing to Transform Economic Power showed how different grassroots movements across the globe have been challenging the current overarching system. Plenary take aways: Include men. Given from the rural organizing perspective: when women are meeting to organize themselves – men tend to step aside – we have to educate and […]
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As I was casually browsing the many booths with information and goods from the various women’s organisations at the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) Conference in Istanbul, Turkey last week, I spotted some T-shirts that grabbed my attention. Although I had already walked past the booth, the message on the T-shirts made me do an […]
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Alison Carney. Two weeks ago I attended the international Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) forum in Istanbul, Turkey. AWID hosted more than 2,500 feminists, development professionals, activists and students at a four day forum to share ideas, experiences and plans for mobilization for women’s rights. I met some amazing, inspiring people from many different countries, […]
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Today was the last day of AWID, which closed with a March for women’s rights. I had never imagined myself demonstrating at the Taksim square in Istanbul but there I was, proudly carrying my red umbrella in solidarity with sex workers demanding their human and labour rights, surrounded by African and other women protesting against forced sterilisation, […]
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In 2008 the US Government gave Malaysia the lowest rating in its annual Trafficking In Persons Report. Rather than address the real labour trafficking issues, the government set out to close down the sex industry. Now nearly all brothels in KL have been shut. Sex workers are forced to work in dangerous and difficult conditions […]
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What does our sexuality have to do with our economic freedom and power? A lot, but it’s complicated. In the panel, “Highlighting the InterSEXions: Sexuality, economy, and LBGT Rights,” queer rights advocates and researchers from the United States, Uganda, and the Philippines spoke about specific ways in which hetero-normative and capitalist, patriarchal society keeps the […]
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By Lisa Anderson. ISTANBUL (TrustLaw) – Discrimination hurts many women economically and socially, but it has an even greater and sometimes dangerous impact on lesbians, according to a group of women working on lesbian, bisexual and transgender rights in dozens of countries. The women, most of them lesbians, discussed their experiences at a session called […]
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By Pinar Ilkkaracan. In the aftermath of the Arab spring the “Turkish model” is being held out as an optimistic scenario for democratisation with an Islamic framework. In conversation with Deniz Kandiyoti, women’s rights and gender activist Pinar Ilkkaracan puts Turkey’s record under scrutiny – and finds it wanting DK: The more optimistic commentators on the […]
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Laura Carlsen. Women human rights defenders in Mexico are increasingly targeted, often by government forces, since drug war violence and militarisation provide a cover for attacking leaders of grassroots movements, says Laura Carlsen Some women had to be escorted into the city by court-appointed guards. Others flew in from virtual war zones where they check […]
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JENNIFER ALLSOPP. From the student protests in Chile, to the protests of the ‘Arab spring’ in the MENA region, the debate among young feminists about how to reclaim public space reveals tensions between an individualist model of autonomy and a collectivist reclamation of public space. Jenny Allsopp reports on day two of the AWID Forum 2012 […]
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The current dominant economic system has profound impacts on women’s sexual and reproductive rights and LGBTQI rights—including and beyond the commodification of sex, sexuality and women’s bodies. Times of economic crisis often lead to even greater attempts to control sexuality and further limit access to sexual and reproductive health services and rights, especially for women […]
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Militarism, Violence & Conflict
Labour & Work
The Role of the State
Sexuality
The Planet and Ecological Health
Financial Flows
Access to and Control of Resources
Private Sector and Corporate Power
Culture and Religion
Global Governance