News and Updates from the Global Fund for Women

Meenu's True Story of Girl Power in India

zblumenfeld@globalfundforwomen.org (Zoe Blumenfeld) — Thu, 13 Feb 2014 20:26:23 +0000

Meenu Rawat writes her own not-so-comic book with a real girl hero. Flip through the pages of her graphic novella to find out how Global Fund for Women grantee partner, Feminist Approach to Technology, uses the power of tech to empower girls to stand up against violence in Delhi.

Girls in Malawi Will Marry When They Want

zblumenfeld@globalfundforwomen.org (Zoe Blumenfeld) — Wed, 12 Feb 2014 19:42:03 +0000

When she isn’t studying at the University of Malawi, 17-year-old Memory is shooting videos and snapping photographs of girls talking about their dreams for the future.

When Memory was 14, her 12-year-old sister got pregnant. After leaving an abusive husband, it was her mother’s job to keep the two girls safe and healthy in their rural community in the Chiradzulu District of southern Malawi.

"In a village where you see one of [the girls] getting pregnant, especially the young one, you feel a lot of pressure. People asking ‘what about you?’ Everyone viewed my mother as a mother who does not take care of her children, which was not true. I had to be different. I didn’t’ want to be like my little sister, but I knew that other girls were going through what [she] was going through."

Speak Up!

Add your voice to GENET's "I Will Marry When I Want To" campaign

Fill in the blank: I Will Marry When ____________

Answer here or at #GirlsDeserveBetter.

The Situation for Girls

Extreme poverty in Malawi causes many families to invest their money and time in the boy because he is assumed to have the greatest chance of financially supporting the family when he gets older. Girls on the other hand are viewed as financial burdens and failures. They grow up with low self-esteem, dependent on men for their survival; the best way a girl can serve her family is to get married, ideally to a wealthy man. So it’s no surprise that one out of every two girls in Malawi will be married by her 18th birthday – one of the highest rates of forced marriage in Sub-Saharan Africa.

Memory was determined to buck the stats; that’s when she heard about Girls Empowerment Network-Malawi (GENET). She became a volunteer in the girl empowerment program, leading discussions and producing documentaries to change the conversation about the value of girls. GENET’s approach to ending child marriage is completely girl-centered. Whatever they do, from the way the organization is staffed, to how it advocates for laws to protect girls from early marriage, girls are front and center. They build the leadership skills necessary to change the situation for themselves and others.

"GENET has made me strong and so wise about my decisions," said Memory. "It has removed the fear I had to explore the opportunities in life. Little girls look up to me as a role model and say, 'I want to be like you.'"

Eyes on the Prize

Memory isn’t GENET’s only fan. Local and national leaders are hailing Chitera in Chiradzulu District as a model community. School enrollment among girls has increased by over 50 percent since 2011, just three years after GENET received its first Global Fund for Women grant. Cases of child marriage are few and far between, and girls are speaking up when their rights are being violated.

Malawian law stipulates that girls can legally marry with parental consent at 15, but girls like Memory know firsthand, the pitfalls of early marriage. Child brides are almost always married to older men, and lack the standing to negotiate sex or birth control. Many get pregnant soon after marriage, when their bodies are too underdeveloped or too small to handle it. Girls younger than 15 are five times more likely to die in childbirth than women in their 20s, according to the International Center for Research on Women.

GENET has its eyes on the big prize: reforming the minimum marriage-age law. They organized a writing contest in 10 schools, asking girls about their feelings on child marriage. They hosted photo workshops where girls learned to tell their stories through art. The 1,750 responses turned into “I Will Marry When I Want To,” a publication used in meetings with members of parliament and other decision makers.

Memory’s younger sister is now a mother of two and admires her as an example of girl empowerment and success.

"It has been such a long journey, and I never thought I would be where I am [today]. It’s because of GENET that I can say 'I’m here now!'" said Memory.

Thank you for a great 2013!

lshapiro@globalfundforwomen.org (Laura Shapiro) — Fri, 10 Jan 2014 22:05:08 +0000

We are so grateful to all of our donors for their contributions. Thanks to you, we had a record-breaking December and can do even more to support women and girls in 2014. Thank you.

Winter of Discontent, Ukrainian Women Lead Dissent

zblumenfeld@globalfundforwomen.org (Zoe Blumenfeld) — Thu, 12 Dec 2013 23:34:46 +0000

Thousands of protesters have taken over Maidan - Ukraine's Independence Square - in Kiev because pro-Russian President Viktor Yanukovych refuses to sign a document that would build stronger ties with the European Union. Global Fund for Women advisor and board chair of the Ukrainian Women's Fund, Natalia Karbowska, shares her perspective on the protests and the women's rights movement in Ukraine.

What’s been the outcome of protests thus far?

Today is the 22nd day of protests and so far we don’t see any concrete steps that the government and President are making to respond to the demand of people at Maidan. However, one of the biggest achievements of protests is obvious – people united in the fight for their rights and for their freedom, and in the realization that their future is in their hands. It is important that they are united not under political parties’ agenda – many of them have different political views and support different parties. The most important is that they want to protect democracy and democratic values and show real dedication, durability, and mutual support.

The experience of Maidan shows that people in Ukraine – women and men of different ages, from different parts of the country, from small villages and big cities – are ready to take responsibility and do everything possible and impossible to change their country.

Does Russia, with its abysmal human rights record, have any influence on Ukraine's human rights situation or on women's rights?

Ukrainians came to Maidan and started massive protests not only because the association agreement was not signed as planned. The catalyst of this was the night of November 30 when police cynically and violently dispersed peaceful protest of students. Clearly this practice looks very similar to the one in Russia, where we observe serious violations of human rights, especially when it concerns people who don’t agree with the government. Moreover, human rights according to Russian rhetoric are a "Western concept" that contradicts with traditional Slavic values. One can clearly see the same trend concerning women’s human rights – real Slavic women should stay at home, take care of the family, and realize their potential in the kitchen. The religions and pseudo-religious organizations that promote this ideology are very strong, powerful, very well funded and united in the networks. They are implementing huge informational campaigns aimed at discrediting gender equality principles and human rights values. Unfortunately, the same campaigns are taking place in Ukraine as well.

How are women's movements organizing citizens?

In my opinion, Maidan is a very good example of gender equality. It is showing that in critical situations our society is ready to live beyond the traditional stereotypes. In all spheres of Maidan life women and men are involved equally/almost equally – from preparing food to staying in the front lines at barricades.

We can see hundreds of thousands of women at Maidan – women of different generations. This proves that in our country, women are not staying in the kitchens where our politicians are persistently sending them. Women have a voice and claim the right to express it.

Women’s rights groups from all regions are both at Maidan in Kiev and work in the regions; women politicians are at barricades together with men, they mobilize people, and they protect the rights of imprisoned activists. Many women’s rights groups officially stopped working with the government. Women’s groups [with women specific focus] were created in social networks and we see that these groups are very effective tools to mobilize people.

Remembering Nelson Mandela

zblumenfeld@globalfundforwomen.org (Zoe Blumenfeld) — Thu, 05 Dec 2013 22:49:15 +0000

Nelson Mandela with Global Fund for Women board member Gay McDougall on election day 1994.

“…For to be free is not merely to cast off one's chains, but to live in a way that respects and enhances the freedom of others.” Nelson Mandela, 18 July 1918 - 5 December 2013

We at the Global Fund for Women celebrate the life of Nelson Mandela: a great leader, human rights defender and one from whom we have learned the cost of defending ones beliefs. He has profoundly influenced why and how we undauntedly persevere in our mission to ensure human rights for women and girls. We are part of a movement grounded in Mandela's belief in a freedom that “…respects and enhances the freedom of others.”

Global Fund board member Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka was born and raised in South Africa and lived the grinding racism at the core of apartheid and the struggles to defeat it and its legacy. She says, Mandela embraced the cause and struggles of women and children. “When he opened the first democratically elected Parliament he said, 'Freedom cannot be achieved unless the women have been emancipated from all forms of oppression.' He was true to his word as women took their place in Parliament and his cabinet.

Phumzile was appointed deputy minister of Trade and Industry during Mandela's presidency. “Some of the key policies enacted during his presidency were free prenatal care postnatal care to mothers in the public health system and free health care to children up to the age of six. He also introduced a social wage in the form of a child grant paid to children of poor and unemployed mothers, as well pensions for older persons and a social grants paid to for disabled unable to work.”

“If there are dreams about a beautiful South Africa, there are also roads that lead to their goal. Two of these roads could be named Goodness and Forgiveness.”

Nelson Mandela is remembered as a leader of South Africa's anti-apartheid movement, Nobel Peace Prize winner (1993) and the first Black president of South Africa. However his legacy is broader than that. Though the path to Goodness and Forgiveness was fraught with brutality, racism, and long stints in prison, he traversed both roads with dignity and purpose. One outgrowth of that was the Truth and Reconciliation Commission. It's purpose: to help South Africans “…come to terms with their past on a morally accepted basis and advance the cause of reconciliation”

Global Fund President and CEO Musimbi Kanyoro, whose activism today was shaped by the anti-apartheid and U.S. Civil Rights movements, says the ability to forgive is one of Mandela's most enduring legacies for all struggles, including women's rights. “Nelson Mandela showed us what it means to stand for human rights. In not seeking revenge, he showed that justice is not just us. Justice is about us all, black and white and yellow and brown.”

For Global Fund board member Gay McDougall, the connection to Mandela and anti-apartheid is intensely personal and professional. She served as the Director of the Southern Africa Project for 14 years and was the only American to be appointed to the Independent Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC). She was with Mandela when he voted for the first time and says she feels fortunate to have been able to play a substantive role in the struggle, which dismantled an oppressive governmental system and replaced it with one of the world's most progressive constitutions.

“For nearly two decades, I was privileged to have a front-row seat to one of the greatest human dramas of the twentieth century: the defeat of apartheid,” said McDougall. “Since then I have worked in some pretty tough places: Rwanda right after the genocide, the killing fields in Cambodia, scenes of mass slaughter in Sierra Leone and Bosnia, and the remote battlegrounds of the civil war in Colombia. All of my later experiences have reinforced the lessons I learned in Atlanta and South Africa: that the true forces for justice come from inside each society; that real change is never achieved by one individual, although individual acts of courage and determination are essential. But it is vital to link those individual acts of valor into a strategy and a movement.”

Mlambo-Ngcuka noted that Mandela was keenly aware of the need for men and women to work together to fight gender based oppression. “He pointed out that, 'as long as we take a view that these are problems for women alone to solve, we cannot expect to reverse the high incidence of rape and child abuse.' This is why, Madiba (his tribal name) has remained a mentor to me.” Gay McDougall adds, “He has taught the world that it is important that you be true to your principles. And that when you work with other people who have the same commitment, you can even make a powerful regime, like the apartheid government was, to fall.” If committed groups of individuals and organizations can dismantle apartheid, surely we can bring an end to the oppression and discrimination of women and girls around the world.”

In his case we can say his life has touched and enriched many people,” said Mlambo-Ngcuka, “he is quick though to point out that it is not him but the collective that has made difference and the ANC for what he has achieved saying, 'If I have been able to help our country a few steps forward towards democracy, non -racialism and non-sexism, it is because I am a product of the ANC'.

As Dr. Martin Luther King once said when asked when civil rights leaders would be satisfied, he replied, “…we will not be satisfied until justice rolls down like waters and righteousness like a mighty stream.” So let us use Mandela's wisdom and actions fuel us as we drive our agenda for women and girls around the world.

14 Detained After Peaceful Demonstration in Fiji

zblumenfeld@globalfundforwomen.org (Zoe Blumenfeld) — Tue, 26 Nov 2013 23:26:54 +0000

By Sharon Bhagwan Rolls, Global Fund for Women board member and co-founder of FemLINKPACIFIC

Wearing t-shirts with the message, “C’mon Fiji, make budgets public now,” 14 members of civil society were detained and questioned by police after a peaceful demonstration earlier this month.

While these Fiji citizens who were detained at the non-violent gathering have not been charged with any offense, it begs the question: How do we communicate our peace and security at a time when there is a fine line between what is approved and allowed by the state?

How do we raise our voices for what we believe to be our right as citizens to communicate our priorities for peace, security, development, human rights, and dignity while upholding and demonstrating the values of non-violence?

After a military coup in 2006, and most recently a rejection of the 2012 draft constitution developed by Fiji’s own constitution commission, Fijians are rightfully critical of their government.

To keep an open dialogue about peace and non-violent resolution front and center, FemLINKPACIFIC revived our weekly peace vigil within the walls of Holy Trinity Anglican Cathedral. The space offers a place for members of our community to gather, whether in quiet, silent reflection or larger gatherings to address priority concerns such as the solidarity vigil following the murder of a Suva feminist.

But such a space is not enough. That’s why ever since the military coup, FemLINKPACIFC’s focus has been to provide a safe communication channel for rural and young women community radio producers and broadcasters. This mandate has required us to negotiate through media and civil society controls, including the Public Emergency Regulation, the Media Decree and a quagmire of political processes in order to ensure our network is able to still claim their rightful space to communicate their peace, development, human rights and equality priorities – their peace and security. This includes raising concern about the lack of budget transparency currently practiced by the unelected government.

Women including those 14 detained and questioned this month, have a right to demand accountability on national budget processes. They have a right to continue to advocate through peace actions including local action and community radio broadcasts that peace, security human rights and dignity are prerequisite for human security.

It is critical that as the Fiji Government promotes a zero tolerance campaign on violence against women activists. Civil society must feel safe and engage on key political issues.

As a Fijian, I hope we can quickly return to a parliamentary democracy. Together, we should be able to do this without the threats of intimidation especially when they are peaceful demonstrations such as vigils - whether in a church or public space.

About FemLINKPACFIC

FemLINKPACIFIC enables women to feature community media initiatives, including our community radio broadcasts, interactive dialogue with government officials, television simulcasts and even television current affairs programs. They share the qualitative and quantitative evidence they gather with government officials in order to inform the development process – to link women’s priorities to national budget processes as well as ensure that through localization of UNSCR1325, CEDAW and international campaigns, they still hold the government machinery accountable to women’s rights, peace and security.

What It Takes to End FGM

zblumenfeld@globalfundforwomen.org (Zoe Blumenfeld) — Tue, 19 Nov 2013 21:40:45 +0000

By Lydia Holden, Communications Lead for Grassroots Girls Initiative. Photo credit: Lydia Holden

Bouncing around in the back seat of the car, we descend potholed switchbacks into a dust bowl valley ravaged by commercial mining. Dr. Susan Chebet, founder of the grassroots organization Tumndo ne Leel, explains over the roar of dump truck drivers grinding the worn gears as they ascend, why this little village matters so much in her fight against female circumcision, also referred to as female genital mutilation (FGM).

“This area was a last bastion for female circumcision,” says Dr. Chebet. “People from the highlands would come down here to have the ritual performed. It was critical to introduce another rite of passage in this area to stamp out FGM in Kenya.”

Help Seed the Change!

Organic solutions are growing at Tumndo ne Leel, but more resources are needed. Dr. Susan Chebet and the girls want to know:

What creative activities can adolescent girls engage in at the Centre for Social Transformation and Empowerment to help them learn about their sexual and reproductive health?

Help seed the change by posting your answer on Growing Organic Solutions for Girls. Your idea will not only benefit Tumndo ne Leel, but it could be worth US$2,000 for this organization!

Dr. Chebet observed that after the government limited, and then banned FGM, it didn’t stop the practice, but instead forced it underground: “FGM would even still be practiced in the church, but they would cover up the girl’s cries by singing hymns.” Knowing that there needed to be an alternative rite of passage to replace the traditional ceremony, Dr. Chebet wrote the curriculum “A Coming of Age Concept.” Girls are given lessons in empowerment, self-esteem, morals and hygiene, incorporating effective traditional lessons with modern ways of thinking. Girls still learn the important lessons passed down from generations of women, but replace the physical act of cutting with a graduation into young womanhood ceremony. “We are circumcising our hearts and minds, not our bodies,” says Dr. Chebet.

We arrive at the basin of the valley and slowly drive through the dry village, which has experienced total crop failure for the last two years, to the school. “Girls in this area have limited access to education—very limited compared to boys,” says Dr. Chebet. “When girls turn 12, the family expects them to provide labor for the family and domestic responsibilities take over. That’s when FGM usually happens. Early marriage, for girls about 16 years old, and pregnancy are other factors that keep girls from finishing school. Those who support girls’ education are ostracized.”

Dr. Chebet and I are invited into one of the classrooms where a group of girls are waiting to share their stories with me. In the upper primary there are 45 girls; only four girls remain in the freshman year high school class. I ask the girls about the Tumndo ne Leel program and the recently opened Centre for Social Transformation and Empowerment, where women and girls gather for the trainings and find support.

“I want to go into the Tumndo program because my life is very hard and they will help,” says Sandra Cheruiyot, 15. “The program can assist me in the importance of education and how to stay a girl and not follow men around. If you get pregnant it is the end of education. Or the parents may chase a pregnant girl away from the home. Tumndo will help us know our bodies and stay healthy.”

We drive back across the river, that trickles but no longer flows, to visit the Centre for Social Transformation and Empowerment. There a group of women show me the Centre and give me a tour of the grounds—where they are planning to grow mangoes, build a fish farm, garden and keep bees to earn money for their girls to stay in school. They hope to add an office to the building and a library with computers as a safe space for girls to go after school.

“This is a model that has replaced FGM without force or coercion and communities are embracing it themselves and have turned it into a new tradition,” says Dr. Chebet as we slowly drive up and out of the valley. “The women are looking toward a modern future and use the Centre to continue to educate each other, their girls and the community.”

Learn more about what women's groups are doing to end FGM. Read a case study about The Gambia Committee on Traditional Practices Affecting the Health of Women and Children »

Haiyan: Women Face Long Road to Recovery

zblumenfeld@globalfundforwomen.org (Zoe Blumenfeld) — Wed, 13 Nov 2013 00:45:03 +0000

Woman carries her baby across an area damaged by Typhoon Haiyan at Tacloban city, Leyte province, central Philippines on Tuesday Nov. 12, 2013.

"This is the worst disaster I’ve ever seen," said Maria Angela Villalba, former Global Fund board member and executive director of grantee partner Unlad Kabayan Migrant Services Foundation in the Philippines.

"Women are very much burdened with keeping the family together, looking after children who are getting sick, and finding food to feed their family," said Villalba.

According to Villalba, communication and cell signals are so bad that people who moved to the cities for work don’t know if family members in affected areas are alive. Those seeking shelter squeeze into one of the few crowded and unsafe evacuation centers.

Changing the Story in the Philippines

The scenes are painfully familiar. Whether Haiti, Louisiana or the Philippines, the story is the same: risks to women and girls rise during natural disasters. Read about how investing in women before, during, and after the crisis can change the story »

"At least one evacuation center where mothers, children and the aged - reportedly about 100 of them - was repeatedly hit by the storm surges and all of them died from drowning," said Gigi Francisco of grantee partner, Development Alternatives With Women For a New Era in the Philippines. "We are so distressed; the number of dead people is climbing exponentially as each hour goes by."

Local women’s groups are best positioned to help survivors because they know what women and their families need during a crisis, according to Villalba. They also provide relief support to women with small children, pregnant women and lactating mothers long after the big aid agencies leave.

"When relief assistance is trickling down, that’s when we come in," said Villalba. "It’s a more effective way because right now everyone’s clamoring into relief piles; even the Department of Social Welfare is not distributing relief goods because they don’t have enough. They are afraid of a stampede once they are able to distribute the few items."

Working with migrant organizations and other women’s groups like grantee partner, Women’s Legal Bureau, Villalba and her team go to under-served areas to assess needs and deliver relief packages of food for children and infants, medicine, sanitary napkins, and underwear. After that, they begin the long road to recovery including trauma healing and providing seed funding to those whose businesses have been destroyed.

The Philippines is no stranger to natural disasters. During Typhoon Pablo in 2012, Unlad Kabayan Migrant Services Foundation was one of the only organizations providing sanitary napkins and milk for lactating mothers.

"Women who were lactating had hardly any milk in their breasts. The regular agencies told us 'we have a standard package and milk is not included.' We told them it was important and included it in own packages," said Villalba.

To support our grantee partners delivering local on-the-ground support to women and children in need, please donate today.

Standing With Our Sisters in the Philippines

zblumenfeld@globalfundforwomen.org (Zoe Blumenfeld) — Mon, 11 Nov 2013 21:47:13 +0000

The board and staff of Global Fund for Women stand in solidarity with those facing the enormous destruction and tragic loss of life that has resulted from Typhoon Haiyan, one of the strongest storms ever recorded. We hope that you, your relatives, friends and colleagues are safe.

We strongly encourage current grantee partners in the region to use their funds for immediate humanitarian needs. In addition to that, we will be providing additional funding to women’s organizations that are engaged in the relief efforts.

To support our grantee partners delivering local on-the-ground support to women and children in need, please donate today.

The unfortunate reality is that natural disasters often exacerbate existing inequalities and discrimination against women. Women and girls, who account for over half of the 200 million people affected annually by natural disasters, are typically at greater risk from natural hazards than men – particularly in low-income countries and among the poor, according to the Brookings Institution.

Global Fund for Women will continue to support grantee partners in their efforts to meet critical needs for food and medicine, to rebuild their communities and ensure women’s rights long after the immediate crisis is over.

Saving Lives in Mexico

zblumenfeld@globalfundforwomen.org (Zoe Blumenfeld) — Tue, 27 Aug 2013 06:14:11 +0000

In April 2007, Mexico City passed a law legalizing abortion within 12 weeks of pregnancy. The Supreme Court upheld the law in August 2008, ruling that it did not violate the Mexican constitution. Since then, in a massive backlash, 17 Mexican states have passed constitutional reforms defining life from the moment of conception until natural death. As a result of these reforms, many women will be forced into clandestine, unsafe abortion – the fifth leading cause of maternal death in Mexico – and many will likely face criminal charges.

Impact

100 life-saving abortions were facilitated by the network in one year.
7 women freed from prison, all of whom were imprisoned on homicide charges for terminating their pregnancies. One had a miscarriage, two others aborted due to rape, and the rest had aborted accidental pregnancies.

In response to this conservative backlash, an alliance of women’s organizations from Guanajuato, Veracruz, and Michoacán, spearheaded by Global Fund for Women grantee partner Las Libres, established the Articulación Interestatal Por el Derecho A Decidir de las Mexicanas (Interstate Articulation for Mexican Women’s Right to Choose).

The Articulación advocates for a woman's right to safe therapeutic abortion services by promoting laws and policies. They expedite procedures in both the legal and health domains; and push states to decriminalize and destigmatize abortion. In the states where the Articulación is present, women have access to safe abortion without being criminalized, and they get adequate legal support in cases where they face criminal charges. In one year, these networks facilitated potentially life-saving access to abortion for more than 100 women.

Read the Complete Case Study »

Government Accountability in Malaysia

zblumenfeld@globalfundforwomen.org (Zoe Blumenfeld) — Tue, 27 Aug 2013 05:43:53 +0000

Across the Asia Pacific region, as in other parts of the world, patriarchal and fundamentalist religious views routinely limit women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights and often sanction violence against women. Asia has the world’s largest population, and the highest number of unsafe abortions – about 9.2 million each year. Nearly half of the world’s unsafe abortions take place in Asia; almost one-third of abortions are carried out in South Asia alone. Taboos and lack of knowledge about abortion laws – even among service providers – continue to be an issue in Nepal, Pakistan, and India.

Photo credit: Eduardo Oliviera via ARROW.

An innovative leader in the field of women’s sexual and reproductive health and rights in Asia, The Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women (ARROW) is an invaluable network and resource center that enables women to better define and control their lives.

ARROW's research was used to:

Repeal EO 003 in Manila, Philippines, which eliminated government funding for contraception.
Provide free surgery for uterine prolapse in Nepal.
Amend Indonesia's abortion law.
Shape major laws on reproductive health in Malaysia and Vietnam.

ARROW’s far-reaching research and advocacy makes a big impact on society, as they've shaped the way governments think about reproductive rights in more than 120 countries. They closely monitor and conduct research on the actions of international bodies, such as the International Conference on Population and Development, and national governments. The evidence they collect is used to hold these powerful players accountable to their sexual and reproductive rights commitments.

ARROW is one of the very few research hubs in Asia Pacific bridging the information divide, bringing research into action, and training local organizations in evidence-based advocacy at the national, regional, and international levels.

Read the Complete Case Study »

Holding the Line in Poland

zblumenfeld@globalfundforwomen.org (Zoe Blumenfeld) — Tue, 27 Aug 2013 04:55:37 +0000

Working in a country with some of Europe’s most restrictive laws on abortion and contraception, The Federation for Women and Family Planning is one of the only organizations dedicated to protecting women’s reproductive rights in Poland.

Photo credit: ASTRA network.

“Poland is a member of the European Union and signatory to major international human rights instruments – yet, when it comes to women’s rights, we are a black spot on the map of Europe,” says Krystyna Kacpura, Executive Director of the Federation for Women and Family Planning.

In this highly complex and challenging context, the Federation has become widely recognized as the most influential advocate for women’s rights in Poland and one of the most powerful defenders of women’s reproductive freedoms in Europe. For many years, the group has tirelessly advocated for women’s interests, holding legislators and governments accountable, providing women with critical services and support, and mobilizing a much-needed opposition to the powerful anti-choice movement. Largely due to its efforts, a greater part of the Polish society has started recognizing reproductive rights as part of human rights.

Impact

Over 200 calls in the first three hours on its summer hotline for teens. For many, the hotline is their sole source of reproductive health information.
56 experienced volunteer attorneys provide free counseling services and legal representation through the Federation's country-wide network.
Stopped a total ban on abortion in 2011 by targeting legislators, organizing protests, and getting the media's attention.

In addition to its work in Poland, the Federation is also a powerful voice standing for women’s rights on the global stage. The organization actively engages in the United Nations and European advocacy spaces, including the European Union and the Council of Europe. The Federation created and leads the ASTRA and ASTRA Youth networks that unite Eastern and Central Europe’s groups working on reproductive rights.

In a recent example of its advocacy efforts, ASTRA Youth submitted a petition to the European Parliament on compulsory sexuality education in the European Union in 2011; this initiative is currently being considered by member states.

Despite the group’s multiple achievements and successes, the restrictions, taboo, and stigma surrounding sexuality and abortion in Poland remain.

“Over 20 years, the general funding provided by the Global Fund for Women was the most important for us. It allowed the Federation to exist, conduct our activities, and evolve. We could not have managed without you," said Krystyna Kacpura.

Read the Complete Case Study »

Our Bodies. Our Rights.

zblumenfeld@globalfundforwomen.org (Zoe Blumenfeld) — Tue, 27 Aug 2013 00:12:13 +0000

When a woman controls her body, there’s an astonishing ripple effect. According to a Guttmacher study, a majority of women said that birth control allowed them to take better care of themselves and their families, support themselves financially, complete their education, or keep or get a job.

Question of the Week: Why Do you Support a Woman's Right to Choose? Answer here »

But every day, approximately 800 women die from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth; 222 million women and girls worldwide still lack access to contraceptives; and only three percent of abortions in Africa are performed in safe conditions.

Since we opened our doors, Global Fund has supported a woman’s right to safe and legal contraception and abortion. We’ve seen major wins, including groundbreaking abortion legislation in Uruguay won by our grantee partners. And let’s not forget how Mónica Roa and her colleagues at Women’s Link Worldwide held the Colombian government accountable when they were disseminating false information about women’s health.

Today, hard won victories are being challenged, even lost. The culprits: rising conservatism, religious fundamentalism and significant decreases in funding for reproductive healthcare in the aftermath of the financial crisis.

Three Global Fund grantee partners are making sure we don't turn back the clock. Explore how they advocate for and deliver health care to women living in countries with some of the world’s most restrictive laws on contraception and abortion.

The Facts

222 million women and girls don't have access to contraception
47,000 women die yearly from unsafe abortions
800 women die daily from preventable causes related to pregnancy and childbirth

The Change Makers

Holding the Line in Poland

Government Accountability in Malaysia

Passing a law to ensure women have affordable access to contraception is one thing; implementing is quite another. That’s where The Asian-Pacific Resource and Research Centre for Women comes in. They hold governments accountable to their reproductive rights commitments by monitoring and reporting their findings. Read more »

Saving Lives in Mexico

After Mexico City passed a law legalizing abortion within 12 weeks of pregnancy, 17 Mexican states protested the ruling by passing constitutional reforms defining life from the moment of conception until natural death. As a result, many women are forced into clandestine, unsafe abortion – the fifth leading cause of maternal death in Mexico. It’s La Articulación Interestatal Por El Derecho A Decidir De Las Mexicanas’ job to keep pushing for policy changes despite major backlash. Read more »

Support

With generous support from the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, we deepened our partnership with five leading, high-impact women’s organizations. The support strengthened their capacity, and helped us understand, document, and share the most replicable aspects of their approach.

DONATE NOW

Join the David and Lucille Packard Foundation and over 20,000 supporters worldwide.

Invest in women.

Women's Safety A Concern For Zimbabwe Elections

zblumenfeld@globalfundforwomen.org (Zoe Blumenfeld) — Mon, 29 Jul 2013 21:10:54 +0000

By Rufaro Gwarada, Program Coordinator for Sub-Saharan Africa

I moved away from Zimbabwe almost 15 years ago. In the early years I inhaled all the news I could; watching in shock as my home country descended into crisis. Each visit home and conversations with friends and family became about what used to be, and with that came a resignation of sorts to the status quo as we carried on with our lives.

As Zimbabweans go to the polls in already controversial presidential and parliamentary elections on July 31, I write this with mixed emotions. I’m keenly aware of my position as a quasi-outsider, and feel unqualified to speak on happenings on the ground – I am not there, plus I have no desire to add to the general din of opinions and usual portrayals of Zimbabwe as a lost cause.

Being a Zimbabwean woman “experiencing” the election from thousands of miles away, I am watching, holding my breath, knowing I can’t cast a vote, but hoping that the civil society-led “Feya Feya Campaign” for free, fair, and credible elections will succeed. I hope that the shameful and dehumanizing specter of violence and intimidation, particularly against women, that characterized the disputed elections in 2008 will not rear its head again. I will myself to truly believe that unlike 2008, and in the wake of a peaceful and momentous constitutional referendum in March, these elections will not be contested in and on women’s bodies and that rape, physical assault, torture, and imprisonment will not be tolerated or excused.

The March referendum marked a milestone in the three decades since Zimbabwe’s independence as 95 percent of registered voters approved a new constitution. On paper, the new constitution bodes well for Zimbabwean women and girls, emphasizing gender equality and including legal changes and affirmative action measures that benefit women in the public and private spheres. For example, women are now guaranteed 60 seats in Parliament, out of 201 seats, and now have equal parental rights in guardianship and custody of children who are minors. But in the afterglow of the referendum and lead-up to presidential and parliamentary elections, prominent human rights lawyer, Beatrice Mtetwa was arrested for “obstructing the course of justice” and has since been navigating the legal system amid numerous contradictions, awaiting her fate.

Ms. Mtetwa’s experience is hardly isolated and reflects systematic intimidation, disregard for rule of law, and infringement of the rights of the courageous women and men activists, advocates, and change agents who believe in and envision a free and prosperous Zimbabwe. In their highly publicized State-led persecution and imprisonments, women like Beatrice Mtetwa, Magodonga Mahlangu and Jenni Williams, and Jestina Mukoko have become the public faces of a non-violent women’s struggle for peace, justice, and freedom that has been met with violence. Yet many more women suffer in silence or have lost hope for change.

Five years ago, Zimbabwean women who were opposition supporters; believed to be opposition supporters; whose male relatives, spouses, and partners were opposition supporters; or who came from areas considered opposition strongholds, bore the brunt of intimidation and retaliatory political violence leading up to and in the aftermath of a tightly contested election and the run-off that followed. As chronicled in a video by Global Fund For Women grantee partner, Research and Advocacy Unit, women who experienced so called “politically motivated” violence suffered in silence, or when they spoke up, did not get justice for the crimes committed against them.

So, even as Zimbabwean women celebrate victories won in the new constitution, and courageously gear up for the upcoming elections, there is still uncertainty around women’s safety. It is therefore important for us to stand with Zimbabwean women champions for change, seen and unseen, heard and unheard, saying 2008 is not forgotten and we will bear witness and speak out against, and demand accountability and redress for any violations of their rights, minds, and bodies during this election cycle and moving forward. Here’s to Feya Feya in Zimbabwe’s elections and beyond.

Board Member Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka appointed UN Women Executive Director

zblumenfeld@globalfundforwomen.org (Zoe Blumenfeld) — Wed, 10 Jul 2013 16:14:56 +0000

The Global Fund for Women congratulates our board member, Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, on her new position as Executive Director of UN Women.

Global Fund Board Chair Leila Hessini said UN Women picked the right leader for the right time in the life of UN Women. “Phumzile has always had an eye on women’s human rights, even in her work before South Africa’s independence.”

Fellow board member Gay McDougall called Mlambo-Ngcuka’s selection, "...an inspired choice, a dedicated leader. She will work hard for women."

Mlambo-Ngcuka was appointed Deputy President of South Africa in 2005, the highest office ever occupied by a woman in the history of her country. Prior to her role as Deputy President, she was the Minister of Minerals and Energy where she consistently won praise as one of the most effective ministers in the South African government. Mlambo-Ngcuka has been a long-time advisor to the Global Fund and joined the Board last year.

Mlambo-Ngcuka told us she is both excited and honored by her new role. “I took some time off after serving as Deputy President of South Africa to reflect on what to do next. I really want to continue my human rights journey by focusing much needed attention on women. So this is the right job at the right time.”

The Time is Now

Political, social and economic turmoil around the world coupled with “wars on women” on every continent, Mlambo-Ngcuka will shoulder daunting responsibilities as she leads UN Women into its next phase.

Formed in 2010, UN Women was established in part by Global Fund board member, Charlotte Bunch via the Center for Women’s Global Leadership as a way for the international community to organize around women’s human rights.

Michelle Bachelet, UN Women’s first Executive Director, gave the organization strong roots and now it’s prepared to grow, poised to reach its full potential as the strong and effective advocate for women’s rights envisioned at its creation, said Bunch.

Bunch added the head of UN Women must be an “institution builder,” someone who can, among other things, mobilize resources and hold countries and the UN accountable for their rhetoric about women.

"[She will need to] make women a central component of all UN system activities, from climate change to the rights of minorities and the elimination of poverty,” said Bunch. This has to be done at, “the global level as well as through a strong presence for women within all UN operations on the ground."

Global Fund for Women President and CEO Musimbi Kanyoro celebrates Mlambo-Ngcuka’s appointment and added, “This is one strong woman succeeding another strong woman. Now, for UN Women to succeed as envisioned, donors from the private and public sector must seriously invest in women. Phumzile will need to remind people that UN Women isn’t just about women, it tackles issues that affect the economies of countries and the health of their people.”

Staying Connected

Sitting on the Global Fund’s board is one way Mlambo-Ngcuka could stay connected to grassroots women’s movements, enabling her to advocate at a high level for women-led solutions.

"Staying connected means that she can have the audacity, strength, and risk to be able to say ‘I know organizations on the ground doing exceptional work,’” said Kanyoro.

Egyptian Women Want Democracy Not "Ballotocracy"

zblumenfeld@globalfundforwomen.org (Zoe Blumenfeld) — Wed, 03 Jul 2013 17:59:55 +0000

Reporting from Egypt: Hoda Elsadda, Global Fund for Women board member and Vice President of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, emailed us to say that international media is missing the point. Demanding the resignation of President Mohamed Morsi of the Muslim Brotherhood isn’t the end of democracy in Egypt, rather it is democracy in action:

"[The international media’s] insistence on repeating the Muslim Brotherhood mantra that the ouster of the first democratically elected president is the end of democracy is a gross abuse of the essential meaning of democracy and a reflection of the trivialization of democratic processes by reducing them to electoral politics only.

If this is the situation of democracy in the U.S. then you are well advised to take a step back and learn from Egypt. Egyptians refuse the definition of democracy as elections only (one brilliant Egyptian coined the term 'ballotocracy' to describe this abuse of the concept).

Mohamed Morsi has impeached himself by violating the contract made between him and the people who elected him. And just as a reminder, Hitler was also a democratically elected president whose election cost millions of lives and a world war. Well, we Egyptians want to get rid of Morsi and his clan right here and now and save the world and ourselves more bloodshed and agony.

A final word to the American administration: please, please, stop supporting dictators."

Documenting Sexual Violence and Gang Rape

As Egypt rejects “ballotocracy” in Tahrir Square, getting to this point was fraught with violence. Women have documented at least 101 cases of sexual violence in six days, according to Global Fund for Women grantee partner, Nazra for Feminist Studies.

Unfortunately, sexual violence and rape during times of conflict is not news for Global Fund for Women and our grantee partners. Fortunately, with social media, women’s organizations are documenting sexual violence in real time. Nazra for Feminist Studies has been instrumental in promoting anti-violence hotlines like Operation Anti Sexual Harassment and other support services for women being raped in the streets.

A Movement Demanding Democracy

During the 2011 Egyptian revolution, the impact of 20+ years of vital core support from Global Fund for Women played out in a big way. It helped build strong networks of women’s rights activists in the Middle East and North Africa, enabling women like Hoda and Mozn Hassan to mobilize quickly and lead during turbulent times. Today, these are the networks demanding democracy in their country today and standing against rape and violence as an intimidation tactic.

Firsthand Account of Violence in Istanbul

lshapiro@globalfundforwomen.org (Laura Shapiro) — Wed, 12 Jun 2013 16:41:36 +0000

Police unleashed tear gas and water cannons on a crowd of almost 5,000 people in Taksim Square Tuesday night, according to Deniz Nihan Aktan of Istanbul Feminist Collective and Global Fund for Women grantee partner, Filmmor.

Speaking to Global Fund for Women from her house near Taksim Square, Deniz described the scene as “horrible,” with police “attacking to kill the protestors.”

The demonstrations began over a plan to tear out the last green space in the center of the city, Gezi Park in Taksim Square, and to replace it with a mall. They quickly progressed into a movement critical of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his administration, well known for restricting the freedom of expression in civil society.

Deniz and her feminist colleagues organized in the park to take a public stance for women’s human rights. The group voiced their opposition to the government’s attempts to ban abortion, political violence against the LGBT community and the rising rates of violence against women.

Filmmor's Taksim Square protest, before and after the police broke it up

“We put up a tent in the park to claim our voice amongst the crowd, and we conveyed our demands in a legal way,” said Deniz.

Deniz’s voice cracked over the phone as she recounted her experience. It was 3:00 a.m. in Istanbul and she had witnessed many of her friends wounded by police that are supposed to protect citizens.

What should have been a peaceful protest, a solidarity movement among environmentalists, left wing activists, regular citizens, women’s and LGBT rights advocates, was met with escalating police brutality.

“He [Erdogan] is more concerned with holding onto his power than he is for the rights of his people,” said Deniz. “What they [the government] are doing is illogical and illegal.”

Global Fund for Women's Position on Trafficking and Sex Work

zblumenfeld@globalfundforwomen.org (Zoe Blumenfeld) — Tue, 04 Jun 2013 21:35:49 +0000

Human trafficking for sex work, domestic work, and labor exploitation is rising at disturbing rates. Poor economic conditions and widespread poverty can leave families desperate for work; making women and girls vulnerable to trafficking as they seek employment. Trafficking is an issue that touches many aspects of human rights including gender-based violence, girls’ access to education and safe, affordable health care.

We recognize that the forces that push or pull women into various exploitative personal and labor relations are complex and nuanced. Because of this, the most effective way to address trafficking is to use a holistic approach. Therefore our grants support initiatives led by women who are making decisions based on their lived reality. This means women are addressing the underlying gender, economic, social and political inequalities that perpetuate the violence and exploitation women and girls experience.

The Reality

In most parts of the world, women are forced to make choices amid unequal economic systems and patriarchal political and cultural realities that ignore women's agency, dignity and equality. We are particularly concerned about the impact of globalization, which has resulted in mass scale migration of women to work in unregulated and unprotected labor sectors such as agriculture, domestic work and prostitution.

We oppose the use of all forms of coercion, deceit and violence that result in the trafficking of women as articulated in the Protocol to Prevent, Suppress and Punish Trafficking in Persons, Especially Women and Children, supplementary to the UN Convention against Transnational Organized Crime (the Crime Convention), 2000.

We oppose the growing militarization of societies that creates and maintains conditions in which women and girls are further devalued and made vulnerable to increased violence and coercion.

Standing With Women

We strive to hear the voices of women in prostitution; we support their demands to be recognized as workers in the sex industry, with full labor rights and protections, full access to health care and benefits, and equal treatment under the law. We oppose the criminalization and stigmatization of sex work because it makes sex workers more vulnerable to disease, exploitation, violence and fear.

We support the struggles of women migrant workers in unregulated and unprotected labor sectors to claim full labor rights and protections, full access to health care, and benefits and equal treatment under the law.

In conclusion, we believe that it is only through strengthening the overall economic, social and political position of women in every society, and by ensuring that women have voice and agency in all societies, that women's human rights can be guaranteed and protected.

Ending Trafficking

Through advocacy and direct grants, we support organizations led by trafficking survivors or those working with women and girls who have been trafficked. These groups understand the complexity of trafficking, not just in terms of the root causes – poverty, lack of opportunities for employment locally, unequal access to education, women’s low social and political status, and armed conflicts – but in terms of the range of unique experiences of trafficked women and the need to fully ensure their agency and human rights. By challenging the inequalities facing women, we threaten the very conditions that allow trafficking to thrive.

Our grantee partners provide comprehensive, innovative programs, including:

Public education and information for women and girls in communities that are vulnerable to trafficking, particularly rural communities.
Individual skills building and training for women seeking employment in countries and communities with a high risk of trafficking.
Advocacy among government officials for stronger prosecution of trafficking rings.
Research, documentation, and publishing of information on trafficking statistics
Providing health care and information on reproductive health and HIV/AIDS that address the needs of women and girls who have been trafficked and/or experienced sexual abuse.
Offering psychological counseling, legal services, education, and vocational training for trafficked women and thier children.

Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era

zblumenfeld@globalfundforwomen.org (Zoe Blumenfeld) — Fri, 10 May 2013 00:41:21 +0000

Women at DAWN's 2011 training institute.

In the age of globalization, DAWN's network of feminist scholars, researchers and activists work for economic and gender justice – basic human rights often overlooked during rapid development.

Through research, advocacy, and training, DAWN creates a support system for women to organize around challenging issues affecting their livelihoods, living standards, and overall human rights.

When DAWN supported 25 women to attend the Rio +20 global development conference, decision makers couldn’t ignore their voices. Women from Papua New Guinea, Fiji, Rapa Nui, Vanuatu, Hawaii and Samoa lobbied for laws to protect biodiversity and their oceans, and they demanded government regulation of industries that destroy natural resources. They won and the government of Papua New Guinea agreed to a moratorium on deep-sea mining exploration – a major policy shift.

Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development

zblumenfeld@globalfundforwomen.org (Zoe Blumenfeld) — Fri, 10 May 2013 00:33:47 +0000

Woman at APWLD's Parliamentary Exchange in Timor-Leste.

APWLD has been a powerhouse of advocacy and activism for 25 years. With 180 member-groups from over 25 countries, they are a leading voice for women’s rights in Asia and the Pacific. With research and training, women are empowered to use law as an instrument to claim and strengthen their human rights.

A recent training on gender and politics included a parliamentary exchange that took Burmese women parliamentarians to meet their counterparts in Timor-Leste. The result? Daw Khin Waing Kyi, a representative in Burma/Myanmar’s House of Nationalities, was inspired to advocate for a 30 percent quota for women within the Burmese Parliament. Her proposal is pending review for the next election in 2015.

From parliamentarians to local women leaders, APWLD’s strength lies in its diverse membership. During trainings on how to utilize local political resources, a member of her city council’s Committee on Affairs of Women and Youth in Tajikistan used APWLD’s materials to develop leadership trainings for young women in her city. Another participant from Kyrgyzstan incorporated APWLD resources to create leadership development sessions for women living with HIV.

Tiwi’s Raincoat

zblumenfeld@globalfundforwomen.org (Zoe Blumenfeld) — Fri, 10 May 2013 00:24:20 +0000

At first, Tiwi’s work was caring for her family. But with the cost of living in Indonesia on the rise, Tiwi needed more money just to keep up. So, like many women between the ages of 20 and 50 in her country, Tiwi started working on contract, making leather goods for a local factory.

But there was a downside. Contract work allows factories to subvert minimum wage laws, ignore working conditions and undermine relationship and solidarity building amongst women workers who fiercely compete for contracts.

Despite these obstacles, Tiwi was promoted to a day laborer position. Unfortunately, day laborers are not entitled to transportation, a uniform, and meals like permanent factory workers. So during the rainy season, she worked outside without a raincoat because the factory only gave them to permanent workers.

Undeterred, Tiwi became involved with Global Fund for Women grantee partner, Yasanti, one of the only female trade unions in Indonesia. She and her colleagues learned the value and purpose of labor unions and leadership. Yasanti organizes local labor groups and connects women from different sectors to regional labor networks. An important advocate and voice, Yasanti speaks truth to business owners who can influence government.

Tiwi took the skills from Yasanti back to her factory, organized her coworkers, and called a meeting with the management to demand raincoats. The negotiations were successful: day laborers got raincoats and improved facilities to keep them dry during the rainy season.

Today, Tiwi continues to collaborate with Yasanti to fight for the rights of women workers in her community.

A Leader All Along

zblumenfeld@globalfundforwomen.org (Zoe Blumenfeld) — Fri, 10 May 2013 00:14:58 +0000

Community leader in Southeast Asia. Photo credit: APWLD.

When her husband’s alcoholism became so debilitating that he could no longer work, Kanthi Wijekoon had to make a difficult decision. She left her three small children in Sri Lanka with hopes of making higher wages as a domestic worker in Saudi Arabia.

While living and working in her employer’s home, she was sexually assaulted. When Kanthi complained, the employer’s wife retaliated by withholding food and burning her hand to the bone with a hot frying spoon.

Kanthi escaped by jumping a high wall surrounding the family’s home. But without a passport, she was quickly arrested and placed in Saudi jail with little food and poor sanitation.

In prison, she met over 700 Sri Lankan women; all had been arrested for running away or minor infractions like stealing food from their employers. In the long tradition of Sri Lankan women’s organizing, Kanthi didn’t resign herself to the sickening prison conditions. She organized and led her fellow prisoners to demand better treatment.

Remembering her local women’s organization, Kanthi wrote Global Fund for Women grantee partner, Rural Women’s Front for help. They sorted out legal aid and paid her fees. When she returned to Sri Lanka, they provided her with counseling. After hearing her stories of prison organizing, Rural Women’s Front knew Kanthi would benefit from leadership training.

Today, Kanthi is a recognized leader and role model for women in the rural Gampha district. Using skills from Rural Women’s Front, she was able to increase daily wages for women rice farmers. Kanthi now leads programs reaching more than 600 women every year, many facing the same struggles she once did.

Want to Change The World?

lshapiro@globalfundforwomen.org (Laura Shapiro) — Fri, 03 May 2013 00:02:40 +0000

Stand with the women who already do, always have and always will.

Stand with women. Stand with us.

Director: Abigail E. Disney
Producer & Editor: Will Barton
Associate Producer & Assistant Editor: Christine Zenyi Lu
Most Stills Courtesy of Alissa Everett
Song: "No Bad News" written and performed by Patty Griffin, courtesy of Almo Music Corp / One Big Love Music
Opening Animation: Tompert Design

25th Anniversary Gala

lshapiro@globalfundforwomen.org (Laura Shapiro) — Fri, 03 May 2013 00:02:30 +0000

Global Fund for Women 25th Anniversary gala, April 17, 2013, New York City

The Honorable Hillary Rodham Clinton delivers a rousing keynote speech. "I like the Global Fund because from the very beginning it has understood that women can be agents of change, drivers of progress, makers of peace—all they need is a fighting chance. That we have to stop seeing women as victims and start seeing them as the people who own their own lives and can help the rest of us understand the future that can be created."

Global Fund for Women Board Member, founder of Center for Women's Global Leadership, and activist Charlotte Bunch speaks on the vital role of women's human rights defenders. "...we can only realize that the changes that are needed in the 21st century; if we defend the defenders, if we build a stronger net of security and support for those activists on the front lines who are experiencing intense backlash that comes with any progress toward change, but that particularly comes for women who dare to step out and take that role."

Jacqueline Zehner receives the Global Philanthropist Award, presented by Barbara Dobkin, champion of women's rights and Chair of the American Jewish World Service and the Dafna Israeli Fund.

Jennifer Buffett receives the Global Philanthropist Award, presented by Barbara Dobkin, champion of women's rights and Chair of the American Jewish World Service and the Dafna Israeli Fund.

Mozn Hassan receives the Charlotte Bunch Women's Human Rights Defender Award, presented by Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

Mónica Roa receives the Charlotte Bunch Women's Human Rights Defender Award, presented by Cecile Richards, president of Planned Parenthood Federation of America.

An Inspiring Night

lshapiro@globalfundforwomen.org (Laura Shapiro) — Fri, 19 Apr 2013 21:30:46 +0000

View photos and videos from our 25th anniversary galas in San Francisco and New York, where we recognized extraordinary women leading the way for equality and justice worldwide.

San Francisco Gala

New York Gala

CNN’s Christiane Amanpour emceed the sold out event and the Hon. Hillary Rodham Clinton delivered the keynote speech. Cecile Richards of Planned Parenthood Federation of America presented the inaugural Charlotte Bunch Human Rights Defender awards to three extraordinary women: Mónica Roa from Colombia, Mozn Hassan from Egypt and Staša Zajovic from Serbia. Jennifer Buffett and Jacquelyn Zehner were honored with Global Philanthropy Awards.

The Rising Tide in Asia and the Pacific

lshapiro@globalfundforwomen.org (Laura Shapiro) — Thu, 18 Apr 2013 17:34:29 +0000

What happens when one of the world’s leading women’s rights foundations receives its largest single grant in history? We rise and team up with women-led organizations in Asia and the Pacific to propel progress for women, communities, and nations.

With a four-year, $5.9 million investment from the Dutch Foreign Ministry, women-led organizations are leading the charge to end violence and poverty. They are recruiting women to run for office and applying grassroots solutions to climate change.

Follow us through 2015 as we build on the successes of our Breakthrough Project and learn from a region where women’s rights are changing virtually overnight.

Our Impact

$1.1M

IN FLEXIBLE FUNDING

192,278

PEOPLE SERVED

11,544

WOMEN AND GIRLS TRAINED AS LEADERS

As of April 30, 2013

Our Grantee Partners

As of April 2013, Global Fund for Women awarded more than $1.1 million in grants to 52 women-led organizations working in 17 countries in Asia and the Pacific. Use this map to spot our grantee partners.

View FLOW grantee orgs in a larger map

The Stories

A Leader All Along

Tiwi’s Raincoat

Our Partners

Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development, Chiang Mai, Thailand

APWLD has been a powerhouse of advocacy and activism for 25 years. With 180 member-groups from over 25 countries, they are a leading voice for women’s rights in Asia and the Pacific. Read more »

Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era, Quezon City, Philippines

In the age of globalization, DAWN’s network of feminist scholars, researchers and activists work for economic and gender justice – basic human rights often overlooked during rapid development. Read more »

Support

This project is made possible thanks to the Government of the Netherlands Ministry of Foreign Affairs.

The Funding Leadership and Opportunities for Women (FLOW) project is a 80.5 million euro fund initiated by the Dutch Foreign Ministry to strengthen the rights and opportunities for women and girls worldwide. FLOW focuses on women's leadership in three priority areas: security (including violence against women and UN Resolution 1325), economic empowerment (with an emphasis on food security, land, water and economic rights) and participation and representation of women in politics and public administration.

We are grateful to the Government of the Netherlands for their investment in women.

DONATE NOW

Join the Dutch government and over 20,000 supporters worldwide.

Invest in women.

Roma Women Ditch the Script

zblumenfeld@globalfundforwomen.org (Zoe Blumenfeld) — Fri, 05 Apr 2013 18:34:02 +0000

Roma activists filming "I’m a Roma Woman" campaign in Budapest, Hungary.

When Katalin Bársony’s grandmother wanted to send her daughter to high school in Budapest, her husband said she would become an “outsider whore.” Her grandmother didn’t listen to him, went against tradition and as a result, Katalin’s mother became a well-known activist for Roma rights.

When it was Katalin’s turn to go to school, there was no question about her right to education. Even though only one in ten Roma children complete high school in Hungary, she went to university and bucked the patriarchal tradition and anti-Roma prejudice that prevented many of her girl friends from even getting through schoolhouse doors.

At the age of 23, Katalin directed the first-ever documentary series on Roma communities around the world. Mundi Romani, a project of Global Fund for Women grantee partner, Romedia Foundation, was broadcasted on TV stations all over Hungary and received numerous awards. After an episode uncovering the death of 28 Roma due to the worst lead poising in Europe’s history, the Roma refugee camp was closed and around 3,000 people relocated to a safer, nevertheless segregated, neighborhood.

“Things are changing and we are part of that change,” said Katalin, today the executive director of Romedia Foundation, where she uses film to change how people perceive Roma communities. Not an easy job, as hatred of Romahas been woven into Europe’s cultural fabric for hundreds of years.

A History of Social Exclusion

At 12 million, Roma are the largest and most discriminated minority in Europe. Roma communities are isolated in ghettos and have trouble getting jobs because employers don’t want to hire Roma workers. Roma students are segregated into substandard schools and often sent to institutions for children with mental disabilities. There is such an inequality in health care that infant mortality rates are doubled and the average lifespan for Roma is around 10 years lower than the rest of the population, according to an OSCE study.

On top of all this, Roma women experience high levels of violence and in many traditional Roma communities a woman’s job is only to support her family. When they do exist, data on Roma women show that they are less educated and fare worse economically than their male counterparts.

Katalin Bársony, Executive Director of Romedia Foundation.

Roma Women Rise Together

Despite these statics, Roma women are the most powerful agents of change as they relentlessly challenge the “customary” ways women are treated in Roma communities and in the society beyond. Global Fund has doubled our support for Roma women’s rights organizations over the past three years and we’ve seen some major wins.

Roma women activists advocated for and won the European Court of Human Rights condemnation of the Czech authorities’ practice of forced sterilization. In Macedonia, Roma women’s organizations are going beyond providing services to local communities by connecting with like-minded groups so they are better positioned to fight for social justice together.

Funding Change

Global Fund steps in with general support for Roma women’s organizations because often times, local authorities in Eastern Europe are unwilling to spend or be seen as spending on the Roma community and “women’s issues.” At the same time, spending on housing, education and health care, which should improve the situation of both the majority population and Roma women, often stops where the Roma neighborhood starts.

“If you just throw money at the problem, but neglect changing society, then nothing will happen,” said Gabriela Hrabanova, Policy Coordinator at European Roma Grassroots Organizations Network and RomaReact.

A New Future

One of the only ways to fight prejudice is to change cultural norms - change the way people perceive and relate with their Roma neighbors. This is a serious undertaking that requires work across generations. Knowing this, Katalin and her colleagues train Roma girls to use media so they can become advocates of a different vision for their community.

“You have to keep moving, even when it seems that the work is leading nowhere, the impact will come later,” said Gabriela about what motivates her. “You have to sacrifice to make life better.”

For Women, UN Arms Trade Treaty is Just the Beginning

zblumenfeld@globalfundforwomen.org (Zoe Blumenfeld) — Wed, 03 Apr 2013 17:28:08 +0000

By Shalini Nataraj, Director of Advocacy and Partnerships

For women around the globe who have struggled for decades to live free from the violence of militarism, the UN General Assembly vote to approve the Arms Trade Treaty (ATT) came as a victory of sorts.

While the treaty is not as comprehensive or concrete as human rights advocates would wish with regard to ending the scourge of arms and armaments freely flowing around the globe, it is a start. It is a beginning towards codifying, in international law, policies and mechanisms to afford some level of transparency and accountability to the peoples of the world. It is a beginning for the millions of women whose communities and countries are torn apart by conflict every day.

The ATT prohibits countries that export arms to sell weapons if they could be used to commit or facilitate serious violations of international human rights law. Most importantly, the ATT is the first treaty that recognizes the link between gender-based violence and the international arms trade. The ATT specifically makes it illegal to export weapons to countries or parts of the world where there might be a risk that the weapons will make women, men and children vulnerable to sexual violence.

The women in conflict situations and militarized societies can testify that the prevalence of weapons increases the occurrence of gender-based violence, as armed factions target women to “dishonor” and shame the other side. Also, highly militarized societies restrict women’s mobility and their ability to participate in the social and political issues that impact their lives.

Women’s organizations from all parts of the world such as the Democratic Republic of Congo, Liberia, Sierra Leone, the North-east of India, Colombia and the Balkan states developed sophisticated strategies to track the flow of small arms, document, and speak out about sexual violence as a result of conflict. Their goals are disarmament and reintegration of former soldiers, and they pressure their governments to bring perpetrators to justice. They demand transparency and accountability in national budgeting processes that place a higher priority on building war machines than on ensuring every citizen has the resources - food, clothing, shelter, education and jobs - to realize their full potential and live with dignity.

Although lacking in enforcement, hopefully the Arms Trade Treaty will cause some governments to pause, even a little, before putting profit and political interests first – above the lives of countless children, women and men.

Read about how Global Fund for Women works to build peace and end gender-based violence »

Your Signature Delivered to the UN

zblumenfeld@globalfundforwomen.org (Zoe Blumenfeld) — Tue, 26 Mar 2013 20:42:49 +0000

Global Fund for Women is excited to share that we delivered your signatures to the office of the UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon.

Thousands of people like you signed our petition, demanding world leaders make ending sexual violence a top priority. Secretary-General Ban and his colleagues heard your demands. This month, during the Commission on the Status of Women, the Secretary-General said:

"A new movement involving millions of people is taking shape before our eyes: saying no to silence, no to stigma, no to sexual violence in conflict, and YES to equality and empowerment. I am with them 100 percent.”

Ban Ki-Moon wasn't the only one listening. Under pressure from people in India and around the world, the Indian government approved a tougher sex crime law.

We are at a global crossroads, and now is the time to support local women's organizations so they can continue to advocate for new laws and work with their governments to implement them.

Hiking for Women's Rights

zblumenfeld@globalfundforwomen.org (Zoe Blumenfeld) — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 22:30:30 +0000

The three have crawled their way to summits, their backs pressed close to the ground by sharp winds. They’ve had wild moose at their heels and slid down wet trails in the rain.

Seven-year-old Sage and ten-year-old Alex have been hiking with their mother, Trish for most of their lives. From the peaks of Katahdin in Maine to Elbert in Colorado, they have hiked all over the US. Their next challenge: El Camino de Santiago, an ancient pilgrimage route spanning nearly 500 miles.

For Sage and Alex, hiking is more than exercise; it fuels their campaign to raise money for the Global Fund for Women. After reading about our unique approach to women’s rights, the family knew they wanted to get involved by asking their friends and family to donate in honor of their journey.

“A lot of girls around the world need education and health,” said Sage, explaining her reasoning behind choosing Global Fund for her fundraising goal of $5,000.

It’s no accident that Sage and Alex have such a keen understanding of philanthropy at such a young age. Trish intentionally raises her girls with a social conscience.

“Hiking is not just something we do for ourselves,” said Trish. “We believe it’s important, whenever possible, to do what you can to support causes you believe in. If everyone did that, a lot of our problems would be straightened out in short order.”

With hours of training required for their two-month journey, Alex and Sage try to keep it all in perspective.

“It seems like it’s going to be a great adventure,” said Alex. “I used to be nervous, but now I’m really excited.”

Read more about Sage, Alex and Trish on their blog.

10 Favorite Quotes for International Women's Day

zblumenfeld@globalfundforwomen.org (Zoe Blumenfeld) — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 19:34:42 +0000

Happy International Women’s Day! What better way to celebrate our favorite holiday than sharing the voices and photos of women we are lucky to know, admire, and support. Check out and share these inspiring images »

Hillary’s Legacy: Women and Girls Take A Front Seat

zblumenfeld@globalfundforwomen.org (Zoe Blumenfeld) — Fri, 01 Feb 2013 17:45:04 +0000

By Musimbi Kanyoro, President and CEO of Global Fund for Women and Leila Hessini Board Chair, Global Fund for Women; Director, Community Engagement and Mobilization at Ipas.

President Barack Obama has made it official: women and girls and gender equality are priorities for this administration and the country. With the stroke of a pen on 30 January 2013, the President signed a memorandum that will strengthen and expand U.S. government actions across multiple sectors to better promote gender equality and empower women and girls.

While signing - in the presence of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton - the President said, “promoting gender equality and advancing the status of all women and girls around the world remains one of the greatest unmet challenges of our time, and one that is vital to achieving our overall foreign policy objectives.”

For those of us who have spent the better part of our lives in the struggle for women’s rights and equality, this is a long time coming. We could be cynical and say, “We’ve been saying this for 30 years. What took you so long?” But we won’t. Instead we say, “Better late than never. Thank you” This would not have been possible without the tireless work of Secretary Clinton and Ambassador-at-large for Global Women’s Issues Melanne Veveer. Over the past 4 years, both women have raised the awareness about the strength and experience of women and girls as successful catalysts for change in ways never before seen in this country. We are also heartened by incoming Secretary of State John Kerry’s commitment to carry on with Secretary Clinton’s work.

The Presidential directive calls for an interagency working group on international gender issues chaired by the National Security Advisor, directs the Secretary of State to designate an Ambassador-at-Large reporting directly to the Secretary to head the office of Global Women’s Issues and acknowledging the importance of women’s voices and actions to development, ensures that the Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment at the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) will continue to play a prominent role in advising the USAID Administrator on key priorities for U.S. development assistance.

Now the real work begins, we must live up to the spirit of the directive and walk the talk in everything we do here in the U.S. and abroad. For starters we hope that:

The U.S. gets its own house in order by passing the Violence Against Women's Act, which has been stalled in Congress because of Republican opposition to the act covering Native American women among other things
Ratify The Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). Without ratification, how can the U.S. be taken seriously when pressuring other countries to improve their women's rights records?
Pass the International Violence Against Women Act (IVAWA), introduced by Sens. Kerry and Olympia Snowe (R, Maine) last year and also failed. IVAWA would provide funds for prevention and response work on violence against women outside the U.S.
The Senior Coordinator for Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment has real authority to shape policy and opinion at USAID
USAID, government agencies and the White House are open to the perspectives of women's organizations like the Global Fund for Women to advise them on critical issues, offer solutions and connect them to women's organizations that can make things happen.

We stand at the ready to help and await your call.

Global Fund for Women Condemns Violence in Delhi

zblumenfeld@globalfundforwomen.org (Zoe Blumenfeld) — Sat, 29 Dec 2012 18:34:36 +0000

Indian woman, 2009. Photo by Brad Hall.

Global fund for Women joins millions of people in India and the world in the outcry against the gang rape and consequent death of the college student in Delhi, India.

Unfortunately, this incident is but the end of a spectrum of violence that Indian women face every day. On Wednesday a teenage gang rape victim from Punjab committed suicide after police there refused to even file a complaint. Adding further insult, police in the latter case suggested the young woman either marry one of her rapists or accept a financial settlement.

Each and every day, Global Fund grantees in India, like Bangalore based Vimochana are battling the rising tide of crimes committed against women – from “accidental deaths” of young women killed for more dowry, to women who venture out of the home to sexual harassment and rape. In Bangalore city, touted as India’s Silicon Valley, Vimochana notes “there were 97 registered rape cases in 2011 in Bangalore city which means 7 women victims each month.”

Despite ostensible gains for women’s rights in India, more women in positions of leadership in government, more women business leaders and more women than ever going out to work in India’s booming tech and call center industries, violence against women is increasing.

The issue at hand is not one of just ensuring the safety of women on India’s streets. There is blatant disregard for women’s rights at the very highest levels of governance in the country. All major political parties have fielded candidates for state elections that have included candidates who have declared on disclosure forms that they have been charged with rape. Six elected state legislators have charges of rape against them. Reports of rape by the police of women and girls in their custody across the country and by armed forces in regions of India like the northeast and Kashmir are commonplace. In 2011, rape rose nearly 10% over the previous year, with more than 24,000 reported cases, and with more than half of the victims aged between 18 and 30. Even its most benign form, the social attitudes that prevail have families insisting daughters go back to violent situations in their in-laws’ homes, and police and judges urging women reporting rape to “settle out of court” or marry the perpetrators.

Musimbi Kanyoro, President and CEO of the Global Fund for Women, strongly called on world leaders to act and stop this senseless violence on women, “The rape of women is trivialized all over the world. Can this death and the uncountable daily deaths and suffering continue to count for nothing?” We say no.

Learn More About Our Position

"New Delhi rape brings global outrage" Global Fund's Shalini Nataraj writes about the rape in New Delhi in the San Francisco Chronicle.

Listen to Shalini Nataraj talk about rape and sexual harassment in India on National Public Radio's KQED Forum.

Taking Flight: Annual Report 2011-12

lshapiro@globalfundforwomen.org (Laura Shapiro) — Thu, 06 Dec 2012 23:53:15 +0000

“I will write peace on your wings and you will fly all over the world.”

Read our annual report »

Rising Stars: Women Spark Small Business Boom

lshapiro@globalfundforwomen.org (Laura Shapiro) — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 16:57:34 +0000

What do you get when you mix the deep knowledge and networks of Global Fund for Women with that of grantee partners and the financial expertise of MasterCard Worldwide? You get a solid business plan with probable high dividends.

In 2011, Global Fund and three grantee partners teamed up with MasterCard Worldwide to boost the potential of women business owners in the Philippines. The returns on this investment have been strong. In fact, in the first three months of the partnership, the Philippines had its first ever women-own women-run organic produce store.

Project Impact

432 women accessed credit, savings, and insurance services for their micro & community enterprises
108 micro-business received support in business incubation and financial literacy
339 women were trained in new business skills specifically related to entrepreneurship

As we watched the network of women business owners grow, we saw the face and focus of local economies in the Philippines change for the better.

"Business is like gambling. We take a gamble and we don't really know what will happen next. But if we learn the skills, at least we have an ace,” Pen Bullo, Coordinator, Unlad Kabayan Migrant Service Foundation.

Rising Stars: Women Spark Small Business Boom

lshapiro@globalfundforwomen.org (Laura Shapiro) — Mon, 22 Oct 2012 16:57:34 +0000

Project Impact

432 women accessed credit, savings, and insurance services for their micro & community enterprises
108 micro-business received support in business incubation and financial literacy
339 women were trained in new business skills specifically related to entrepreneurship

As we watched the network of women business owners grow, we saw the face and focus of local economies in the Philippines change for the better.

Meet the Now Generation

zblumenfeld@globalfundforwomen.org (Zoe Blumenfeld) — Fri, 21 Sep 2012 19:02:37 +0000

Forget the next generation, meet the now generation. Global Fund for Women knows that we don’t have to wait for young women to change their communities. They are fighting for gender equality now. Read more »

Seeds of Change: Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa

lshapiro@globalfundforwomen.org (Laura Shapiro) — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 22:55:14 +0000

Women are the backbone of agriculture and food production in Africa, working its arable land and feeding its population by producing 80% of its food. But African women farmers’ perspectives are excluded from conversations that determine agricultural policies and priorities, while discriminatory laws and practices deprive them of their land, their rights, and their livelihoods.

"Seeds don't care who you are, how tall, how poor or rich, or how much education you have." – Global Fund for Women grantee partner Daughters of Mumbi

The Global Fund for Women wants African women farmers front and center of debates on agriculture and food security, and we believe donors should fund their activities. So in 2011, we embarked on an initiative focused on supporting women's rights, agriculture, and advocacy training in Burkina Faso, Kenya, and Uganda. Watch the video to learn more about the initiative.

For more information on this initiative, please contact Margaret Youngs, Project Coordinator, at 415/248-4800.

This project was funded through a partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Seeds of Change: Food Security in Sub-Saharan Africa

lshapiro@globalfundforwomen.org (Laura Shapiro) — Tue, 21 Aug 2012 22:55:14 +0000

"Seeds don't care who you are, how tall, how poor or rich, or how much education you have." – Global Fund for Women grantee partner Daughters of Mumbi

For more information on this initiative, please contact Margaret Youngs, Project Coordinator, at 415/248-4800.

This project was funded through a partnership with the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation.

Breaking Through: Gender Equality in Asia & the Pacific

lshapiro@globalfundforwomen.org (Laura Shapiro) — Wed, 25 Apr 2012 16:49:20 +0000

In 2008, Global Fund for Women launched the Breakthrough Project –– a three-year, $2.2 million investment to catalyze strategic, breakthrough, actions to advance gender equality in Asia and the Pacific. A new, independent evaluation of the project documents impact and captures learning.

What injustices do women and girls in Asia and the Pacific face?

2.6 million

Girls and women in Asia each year who are never born due to prenatal sex selection or who die prematurely from abuse or maternal mortality.

48%

Of judges in India believe it is justifiable for a man to beat his wife. (Despite existing laws criminalizing domestic violence.)

0

The number of days off per week that most women domestic workers (i.e. live-in maids, cooks, nannies) are permitted.

How did Global Fund for Women catalyze change?

Grantmaking

Over $2.2 million in flexible funding
Long-term partnerships
Support for networking, knowledge sharing and collaboration
58% of grants to rural communities
Over 1/3 of funding for adolescent girls

Outcomes

125 high-impact organizations funded
71% increased organizational capacity and/or sustainability
71% expanded their networks
66% increased public visibility and/ or media coverage of their work

Impact

Benefitted 554,299 girls and women, men and boys
New laws against domestic violence passed in 3 countries
Increased women’s participation in local government in Nepal and India
Rural women increased access to land and financial services
Domestic workers secured basic rights at the ILO

Read the Report

Download PDF »

Read the External Evaluation

Breakthrough Evaluation: An External Rights-Based Evaluation of Grantmaking for Gender Equality by Brooke Ackerly

Download PDF »

Apoyando el Cambio en el Encuentro Feminista

lshapiro@globalfundforwomen.org (Laura Shapiro) — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:30:06 +0000

A la luz de la desigualdad, la militarización, y la reacción conservadora contra los derechos humanos, con el reverso de logros ya obtenidos, los movimientos de las mujeres se están dando cuenta de la necesidad de innovar sus estrategias y acciones. Iniciativas de vinculación y organización de las mujeres son fundamentales no sólo como un medio de crear consenso, sino también como una forma de preservar y sostener los movimientos de mujeres en sí.

Supporting Change at the Feminist Encuentro

lshapiro@globalfundforwomen.org (Laura Shapiro) — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 00:39:13 +0000

In the face of deepening inequality, militarization, and conservative backlash, with hard-won gains being reversed, women’s human rights movements find themselves needing to innovate their strategies and actions. Women’s linking and organizing initiatives are critical not only as a means of building consensus, but also as a way of preserving and sustaining the women’s movements themselves.

Free Your Gift

lshapiro@globalfundforwomen.org (Laura Shapiro) — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 21:41:16 +0000

What is general support?

Not all grants are created equal. Giving general support means trusting grantee partners to make their own decisions about how to allocate funds. Whether it is used for paying the electricity bill, or organizing a campaign against domestic violence, general support gives groups the freedom to respond to their own priorities.

“The flexibility and significance of the general support grant from the Global Fund for Women cannot be overemphasized”
– Leymah Gbowee, Global Fund grantee and recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize.

Why do we give it?

Experience tells us. What we’ve learned in over 23-years of grantmaking is that general support has helped build a resilient global women’s movement. Our grantee partners are more agile, harnessing windows of opportunity that can lead to social revolutions. We help them build the infrastructure that makes their projects work.

Why is it better?

It’s the gift of freedom and flexibility. An independent researcher found that our general support grants give organizations the freedom to be themselves. Research also found that groups use general support funds more carefully and efficiently. Grantee partners tell us they are more honest about their challenges and accomplishments than when reporting on restricted grants.

Don't take our word for it. A 2011 study on funding for medical research found general support yields higher impact results than restricted funding. Economists discovered that these grants lead to “higher-impact research.”

Percentage of grants from the largest private and community foundations designated for general operating support

How you can help

Only 20 percent of grants from the largest private and community foundations are designated for general operating support. The result is a struggling women’s rights movement trying to keep basic operations afloat. Study after study proves that women are powerful catalysts for change. But these women need money and freedom to provide the solutions that change the world. Donate now to support these women and be part of their solutions »

Learn more

The way you grant can have as much of an impact as the grant itself. Download our position paper, Trust Women: Give General Support
A Nobel Victory for No-Strings-Attached Grants, Chronicle of Philanthropy, December 6, 2011

Mapping Our Movement Building

lshapiro@globalfundforwomen.org (Laura Shapiro) — Thu, 10 Nov 2011 20:10:55 +0000

Learn with Us

Recently, we embarked on a project to utilize new data visualization technologies to explore our movement building impact geographically. We hope to understand the extent to which we have been successful in building strong networks and collective power in pursuit of common goals of women’s rights and social justice.

When you take a closer look, there is a high concentration of activity in conflict and post-conflict regions. The Balkans, parts of the Middle East, Colombia, and the Great Lakes region of Africa, including the eastern half of the Democratic Republic of Congo, all stand out as areas of more intense movement building activity. While relief aid is the traditional philanthropic response to conflict, Global Fund takes a different approach. By strengthening women-led civil society, including movements to protect women’s basic human rights and support women leaders, Global Fund uniquely meets a critical need in conflict regions.

We are learning that there’s a benefit to going beyond direct grant making and investing in developing networks of advisors and grantee groups. After decades of funding these networks, we now see the impact in the form of a robust, feminist movement with diverse populations and perspectives.

Learn more about movement building

Navigation Tools

Using data from the past 24 years of our grantmaking, we identified 19 indicators to measure the relationship between Global Fund’s grants, grantees partners and advisors.

Next, we weighted indicators based on the extent to which they were relevant to efforts to build strong networks and collective power in the pursuit of common goals. For example, Global Fund support to a grantee network, or to grantees that bring together a diverse population, is weighed more heavily than the length of time the Global Fund has supported a specific grantee.

Then, we pulled data toward these indicators on over 8,000 grants, 4,000 grantee organizations and 2,500 individuals in our portfolio. Working with a data visualization consultant, the data was adjusted according to the weights given to each indicator, run through an algorithm and plotted geographically.

And Still We Rise: Stories from our Annual Report

lshapiro@globalfundforwomen.org (Laura Shapiro) — Tue, 01 Nov 2011 21:42:50 +0000

We are pleased to share with you our 2010-2011 Annual Report. From victories at the International Labor Organization to the Arab Spring, collective work for women's human rights is bringing change. Our annual report tells the stories. Thanks to you, we continue to rise.

Celebrating the Life of Wangari Maathai

zblumenfeld@globalfundforwomen.org (Zoe Blumenfeld) — Mon, 26 Sep 2011 16:46:42 +0000

The passing of Wangari Maathai is shocking and untimely. Only two weeks ago we expected her here in the San Francisco Bay Area and little did we know that we would never see her again. Wangari’s contribution to global consciousness on the environment, women’s role in providing solutions through tree planting, and her leadership in making a difference to the political as well as social systems of Kenya will never be forgotten. The Global Fund for Women joins the world in the mourning of a heroine, and we celebrate her co-founding of our grantee and sister organization Nobel Women’s Initiative, whom we have had the privilege of supporting and partnering with since 2006.

"Mrs. Maathai, one of the most famous and widely respected women on the [African] continent, wore many hats — environmentalist, feminist, politician, professor, rabble-rouser, human rights advocate and head of the Green Belt Movement she founded. She was as comfortable in the gritty streets of Nairobi’s slums or the muddy hillsides of central Kenya as she was hobnobbing with heads of state. In 2004, she won the Nobel Peace Prize, with the Nobel committee citing 'her contribution to sustainable development, democracy and peace.' It was a moment of immense pride in Kenya and across Africa."

Attend a tribute screening of Taking Root, a film celebrating Maathai's work

Read "Wangari Maathai, Nobel Peace Prize Laureate, Dies at 71" in The New York Times.

Listen to a 2006 interview with Wangari Maathai on KPFA radio.

Historic Victory for Domestic Workers

lshapiro@globalfundforwomen.org (Laura Shapiro) — Thu, 16 Jun 2011 17:45:53 +0000

By Erika Guevara Rosas and Christine Ahn

Today millions of women workers from across the globe made history. On the 100th anniversary of the International Labor Organization (ILO), domestic workers secured the passage of the ILO Convention on domestic work for governments to ratify into law.

Juana Flores, a domestic worker with Mujeres Unidas Activas in San Francisco says that with this ruling, “domestic workers, for the first time, will no longer be invisible and unrecognized.” Under the Convention, domestic workers will have the freedom to associate and to collective bargaining. It abolishes all forms of forced, compulsory and child labor, and protects migrant workers by requiring employers to have written and enforceable contracts. Governments must now take measures towards ensuring that domestic workers receive equal treatment as regular workers, such as overtime pay, breaks, and a minimum wage. “Domestic work will be recognized as work equal to any other,” says Flores. “We all deserve a just wage, vacation and sick days.”

This victory at the ILO is also quite significant in other ways.

“Domestic work will be recognized as work equal to any other. We all deserve a just wage, vacation and sick days.”

For one, it was the result of incredible organizing by the most exploited women workers today who suffer multiple oppressions—as low-wage workers, as women, as racial and ethnic minorities, as indigenous people, and as migrants. Their work is generally viewed as unskilled work, a natural extension of women’s work in their own homes. Thus, many domestic workers endure very poor working conditions—many work long hours in difficult and unsafe conditions and are underpaid with no social security coverage. Many are vulnerable to trafficking, sexual, physical and psychological abuse, especially migrants. Despite their isolation, they organized at the local level, built alliances with other domestic workers within their countries and across regions, and then formed the International Domestic Workers Network to take their demands all the way to the ILO.

National Domestic Workers Alliance celebrate their victory. Photo by Jennifer Fish

Also significant is how with the ILO convention, domestic workers have succeeded in gaining the recognition of their contributions to the economy and to society. They have sought recognition as workers—not “maids” or “daughters of the family”—who have the right to the same protections as those won by the working class.

Domestic work is among the oldest and most important occupations for women worldwide. It is an industry that has roots in the global slave trade, colonialism and other forms of servitude. In today’s globalized economy and feminized international migration, several factors make domestic work indispensable for the economy outside the household to function. More women are joining the labor force and working longer and more intense hours. Fewer governments have public policies that help workers reconcile work and family life as more and more child and family care services have been slashed, posing serious problems for rapidly ageing societies. All these factors have increased the demand for domestic workers who maintain vital household routines, thereby allowing millions of others to go out to work.

The recognition of domestic work as labor is the result of over three decades of organizing by domestic workers associations, networks and coalitions, particularly through the Americas where there are more than 10 million domestic workers. In 1988, domestic workers groups from 11 countries met in Colombia to form the Latin American and Caribbean Confederation of Household Workers. Since then, they have lobbied their governments to improve labor conditions for domestic workers. The most successful so far has been in Uruguay, which currently has the most advanced legislation on domestic employment. The law, passed in 2006, puts domestic workers' rights on an equal footing with those of the rest of the country's labor force. Uruguayan domestic workers have been able to negotiate wage increases and improvements in working conditions and rights. In 2009 Chile passed a law to regulate and gradually make domestic workers' wages equal to the national minimum wage and recently mandated that domestic workers have days off on national holidays. Guatemala also created a special program to protect women employed in private homes and to provide domestic workers with maternal and health care for their children and hospital care in the case of accidents. Although nearly every country in the Americas has a minimum wage for domestic workers, it tends to be lower than the minimum wage for other workers, and in most cases it is not even implemented.

Even in the United States, domestic workers have won significant victories. According to Robert Shepard of the U.S. Department of Labor, “the majority of domestic workers are women and girls—oftentimes from predominantly migrant populations who work in isolated workplaces… are vulnerable to many forms of exploitation, from nonpayment of wages to trafficking.” In 2010, the Domestic Workers United in New York led successful advocacy efforts to pass a Domestic Workers Bill of Rights in New York, the first such U.S. law. Their success has sparked similar efforts in other states, such as in California.

As effective as the international campaign led by domestic workers to adopt the ILO Convention has been in changing the legal framework, the impact of the process of organizing and alliance building has been equally important. Domestic workers across the globe have successfully organized to create their own spaces of popular resistance to their conditions of oppression, exploitation and violence. They have inspired millions around the world that indeed, despite the multiple barriers they face, women can achieve social, economic and political transformation through collective movements.

Erika Guevara Rosas is the Regional Program Director of the Americas and Christine Ahn is the Senior Policy and Research Analyst at the Global Fund for Women.

The IMF: Violating Women since 1945

lshapiro@globalfundforwomen.org (Laura Shapiro) — Thu, 19 May 2011 19:45:31 +0000

By Christine Ahn and Kavita Ramdas

As Dominique Strauss-Kahn, head of the world’s most powerful financial institution, the International Monetary Fund (IMF), spends a few nights in Rikers Island prison awaiting a hearing, the world is learning a lot about his history of treating women as expendable sex objects. Strauss-Kahn has been charged with rape and forced imprisonment of a 32-year-old Guinean hotel worker at a $3,000-a-night luxury hotel in New York.

News and Updates from the Global Fund for Women

Meenu's True Story of Girl Power in India

Girls in Malawi Will Marry When They Want

Speak Up!

The Situation for Girls

Eyes on the Prize

Thank you for a great 2013!

Winter of Discontent, Ukrainian Women Lead Dissent

What’s been the outcome of protests thus far?

Does Russia, with its abysmal human rights record, have any influence on Ukraine's human rights situation or on women's rights?

How are women's movements organizing citizens?

Remembering Nelson Mandela

14 Detained After Peaceful Demonstration in Fiji

About FemLINKPACFIC

What It Takes to End FGM

Help Seed the Change!

Haiyan: Women Face Long Road to Recovery

Changing the Story in the Philippines

Standing With Our Sisters in the Philippines

More Violence Not the Answer for Syria

Saving Lives in Mexico

Impact

Government Accountability in Malaysia

ARROW's research was used to:

Holding the Line in Poland

Impact

Our Bodies. Our Rights.

The Facts

The Change Makers

Support

Women's Safety A Concern For Zimbabwe Elections

Board Member Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka appointed UN Women Executive Director

The Time is Now

Staying Connected

Egyptian Women Want Democracy Not "Ballotocracy"

Documenting Sexual Violence and Gang Rape

A Movement Demanding Democracy

Firsthand Account of Violence in Istanbul

Read more about the protests in Turkey

Global Fund for Women's Position on Trafficking and Sex Work

The Reality

Standing With Women

Ending Trafficking

Development Alternatives with Women for a New Era

Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development

Tiwi’s Raincoat

A Leader All Along

Want to Change The World?

25th Anniversary Gala

An Inspiring Night

San Francisco Gala

New York Gala

The Rising Tide in Asia and the Pacific

Our Impact

$1.1M

IN FLEXIBLE FUNDING

192,278

PEOPLE SERVED

11,544

WOMEN AND GIRLS TRAINED AS LEADERS

Our Grantee Partners

The Stories

Our Partners

Support

Roma Women Ditch the Script

A History of Social Exclusion

Roma Women Rise Together

Funding Change

A New Future

For Women, UN Arms Trade Treaty is Just the Beginning

Your Signature Delivered to the UN

Hiking for Women's Rights

10 Favorite Quotes for International Women's Day

Hillary’s Legacy: Women and Girls Take A Front Seat

Global Fund for Women Condemns Violence in Delhi

Learn More About Our Position

Taking Flight: Annual Report 2011-12

Rising Stars: Women Spark Small Business Boom

Project Impact

Rising Stars: Women Spark Small Business Boom