TOP TEN MOMENTS FOR WOMEN’S RIGHTS

As we reflect on 2018, we are reminded of the many powerful

ways that women’s movements are shaping policies, practices,
and conversations—relentlessly pursuing crucial efforts to
preserve or advance human rights for all, despite tremendous
opposition.

Here are just a few of Global Fund for Women’s highlights for
rights, justice and equality from the past year—including legal
wins, strategic breakthroughs, and moments of resilience and
strength. Looking back on all that was accomplished reminds us
of the incredible power, resolve, and boldness of women around
the globe, and inspires us to bring that same spirit forward into
2019.

1. Women human rights defenders continue to work for justice

“Don’t expect applause and recognition. You do this work because
you believe in it…we take every attack against us as an opportunity
to open up the space for debate. We don’t cower down in fear and
silence. We are not scared.”–Zainah Anwar, women human rights
defender, Malaysia

2. Changing policies—social norms and public opinion—on

abortion globally
“It seems to me that, in the story of this battle, we have arrived. All
the young women who wear green handkerchiefs, out here in
crowds, flooding our streets—I think they tell that story. There is no
turning back.”
—Ruth Zurbriggen, Director of Global Fund for Women grantee
partner La Colectiva Feminista La Revuelta

While efforts to restrict and roll-back abortion rights in the U.S.

and across the globe continued, we also saw tremendous progress.
Women’s movements made incredible gains in Chile and
Ireland, where abortion—previously banned completely in both
countries—was decriminalized. And in Argentina, after decades
of activism, women’s groups galvanized public and political
support and helped bring an abortion rights law closer to passing
than ever before. The bill, which would allow for legal abortion in
the first 14 weeks of pregnancy, passed a vote in Argentina’s
house, but was rejected by the Senate. While the bill was
ultimately not successful this year, women’s groups were
galvanized by the unprecedented public support and are more
hopeful than ever that reproductive justice for Argentina’s
women draws near.

3. Shifting the frame on climate change

“When we use the words climate justice, we have to remember that
justice implies that there is injustice. And injustice implies that there
is an imbalance somewhere. So the whole work of creating justice is
to get the balance that you need. And this balance is as important
for the environment as it is for people.”

—Musimbi Kanyoro

When it comes to making decisions about how to combat climate

change, women—especially rural women—are typically left out.
Yet it is women who bear the brunt of the extreme weather that is
a result of climate change. More women are displaced by weather
events like hurricanes or floods, and women produce up to 80%
of the world’s food—crops that suffer in drought, floods, or
extreme temperatures. This year we were inspired by women’s
groups who are addressing climate change in ways that are
grounded in the needs and realities of their communities. This
includes grantee partner Women’s Collective in India, which
promotes women’s leadership in on climate issues and works with
women farmers to ensure food security, and Women and Rural
Development Network in Northern Uganda, which introduces
sustainable agriculture practices (including rain water harvest
and greenhouse farming).

4. Recognizing the power and leadership of girls and young

women.
“I want to see myself in the future as a young woman who has a
voice in the society, who has the power to question authority or
institutions without being afraid. I know that the feminist leadership
skills that we are going to obtain here, it will make it happen.”

– Faridah Abdallah, Tanzania Gender Networking Programme and

participant in Global Fund for Women’s Young Women Leaders –
East Africa program

Young women and girls are experts of their lived realities and are
mobilizing to advance positive change in new and exciting
ways. We know that advancing women’s rights entails work
across multiple generations and activists are advancing models
that build on the work of our foremothers while also giving space
to youth leaders to define and advance their priorities. The
importance of cross-generational and cross-movement exchanges
is backed up by research and learning efforts—including by
partner organizations MamaCash and FRIDA – who recently
released a joint report called Girls to the Front: A Snapshot of
Girl-led Organizing, highlighting the powerful work that girl-led
movements are already doing, and identifying how they can best
be supported.

At Global Fund for Women, we ramped up our support for young

women and girls by launching, together with others,
an Adolescent Girls Fund, a multi-year initiative to help
strengthen girl-led movements and deepen our partnerships with
them. This year, we also expanded a Young Women’s Leadership
Initiative (launched in Southeast Asia in 2017) to East Africa. In
November, girls and mentors from Kenya and Tanzania met in
Kenya to kick off the project and connect a new cohort of young
women leaders working for change directly in their communities.

5. Holding perpetrators accountable for violence against women

and girls
This year, we witnessed how women human rights activists from
across the globe are mobilizing against the murder of women
because of their gender, also known as femicides. In May, after
endless campaigning from Global Fund for Women grantee
partner Cooperativa de Trabajo Mujer Ahora and other feminist
groups, Uruguay saw the first conviction for femicide since it
officially became a crime in October 2017.
Our Palestinian partners at Women’s Centre for Legal Aid and
Counseling and other feminist groups are mobilizing to break the
silence and impunity for the murder of women. In Israel,
Palestinian and Jewish women organized a strike in December to
voice their outrage after the murder of 16 year-old Yara Ayoub
and 13 year-old Silvana Tsegai. Ni Una Menos, a feminist
movement that started in Argentina as a collective cry
against machista violence, has spread throughout the continent
and beyond. Under our Freedom from Violence issue area, Global
Fund for Women is committed to continuing to support these
courageous groups who are fighting impunity for perpetrators of
violence against women and girls.

6. Bringing feminist philanthropy to the mainstage

Large funders—including the Government of Canada, which

implemented their feminist philanthropy project in 2017 and this
year announced plans to commit more than $300 million to fund
gender equality globally—are coming together inspired by a
feminist approach to philanthropy. And we saw that there is a
huge public appetite to learn more about what difference feminist
philanthropy and women’s funds make when President and
CEO Musimbi Kanyoro delivered her TED Talk for International
Women’s Day in 2018, calling on listeners to “Embrace Isirika,”
the Maragoli concept of equal generosity, mutual responsibility,
and community organizing to find solutions to help everyone—a
truly feminist concept.
7. Nobel Peace Prize recognizes sexual violence as a weapon of
war
In October, the winners of the Nobel Peace Prize were
announced—and it turned out to be a win for survivors of sexual
violence, too. The winners were Dr. Denis Mukwege, who worked
extensively in the DRC, and Nadia Murad, a survivor leading the
charge against sexual violence by the Islamic State. The win
brought the issue of sexual violence as a weapon of war to the
fore, and validated the work of many women’s organizations in
the DRC and beyond who have been working with sexual violence
survivors and lobbying for political change for years.
8. Intersectionality in the spotlight
As women’s movements strategize about how to make the most
powerful impact in the face of increasing oppression, more and
more organizations, leaders, and movements are recognizing the
power of cross-movement organizing. The result? More
collaboration, conversation, and connections between social
justice organizations, leading to stronger movements. In May,
Global Fund for Women hosted a panel discussion with American
Jewish World Service and Sister Song Women of Color
Reproductive Justice Collective to explore opportunities to
connect movements, how funders can support growing
movements, and more.
9. When governments stifle activists, women’s movements get
creative
In countries from the Middle East to Latin America and beyond,
oppressive governments are doing all they can to constrain,
threaten, and eliminate human rights organizations that oppose
their policies. (In fact, In FY2018, 84% of Global Fund for
Women grants were awarded to organizations working in
countries where governments repress or obstruct human rights
work.
But despite risks, women’s organizations are finding creative
ways to meet, work together, and strategize. Together with
partners, Global Fund for Women hosted 12 convenings in 2018,
where activists, researchers and grantees came together to share
learnings, strategies, and experiences. As explored in Urgent
Action Fund’s report on shrinking civil society and a new report
by Funders’ Initiative for Civil Society, groups are using social
media and other technology to connect, creating new funding
channels to bypass legal restraints in oppressive countries, using
“artivism” to challenge repression, and sharpening their focus on
digital and physical security to ensure the health of their
movements.
10. The resistance continues
This year the Trump administration continued its repressive
policies that affect women and laws globally, including the Global
Gag Rule, the ban on domestic violence survivors seeking asylum,
and appointing conservative and women-hostile Supreme Court
Justice Brett Kavanaugh. At every turn, women reacted
powerfully—by mobilizing, protesting, and running for office. As
a result more women and women of color – who often connected
global and local issues in their campaigns— than ever will be
sworn in in January as U.S. representatives, deepening the bench
of advocates for women’s issues in the U.S. and beyond.