MENA WHRD Coalition
| Founded | February 2015 |
|---|---|
| Type | Non-profit NGO |
| Services | Protecting human rights |
| Fields | Media attention, non-violence, research, lobbying |
| Website | whrdmena.org |
The WHRD MENA Coalition is a regional coalition for women human rights defenders (WHRDs) in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). The organisation was founded in February 2015.
History and activities[edit]
The organisation was founded at a meeting of 45 WHRDs from the MENA region in Cairo in 2013.[1] In August 2014, they announced the launch of “The Regional Coalition of Women Human Rights Defenders”, and in February 2015 held their first general assembly meeting, electing members to Executive, Advisory and Emergency Committees.[2]
Founding member Zeina al-Aghar described the MENA WHRD Coalition in OpenDemocracy as "committed to amplifying the voices of hundreds of extraordinary women, who are, despite the dire situation, fighting stereotypes, pushing boundaries, and building new pillars for their societies."[3]
The organisation is seen as part of "cross-movement efforts to rethink strategies" and learn from activists working on similar issues in different countries. In December 2015, MENA WHRD Coalition met with the Mesoamerican WHRD Initiative (IM-Defensoras) - a WHRD network based in Mexico - to learn from each other and develop new strategies. Sara Abughazal, from WHRD MENA Coalition said the initiative showed that “networks are able to provide vital support, and most importantly break the feeling that a WHRD is alone. Because they provide a sense of belonging and act as a bridge to bigger movements, we realize no WHRD is an island.”[4]
In 2016, MENA WHRD Coalition condemned the targeting of women activists in Egypt by the Egyptian government in solidarity with the organisation Nazra for Feminist Studies.[5] The organisation also expressed solidarity with Kurdish women rights activists in Turkey who had been arrested.[6]
MENA WHRD criticised the proposed closure in Egypt of the El Nadeem Center for the Rehabilitation for Victims of Violence and Torture. According to FIDH, the Coalition stated that, "As El Nadeem center is mostly run by pioneering WHRDs of Egypt who have been on the frontline of pushing the gender agenda in the country, they have inspired their fellow activists in the region. The closure of the center will certainly send a message to the women rights movement in the region of potential implications they might face by their government if they continue their committed advocacy.”[7]
Azza Soliman, a human rights lawyer and founder of the Centre for Egyptian Women Legal Aid (CEWLA), and member of the Executive Committee of the WHRD MENA Coalition was banned from leaving Egypt in 2016 and accused of receiving foreign funding for her work.[8]
In 2017 MENA WHRD Coalition helped to launch the #SheDefends campaign to raise awareness about the ongoing struggle of women rights activists in the region. [9] The Bahraini activist Ghada Jamsheer, who featured in the campaign was subject to arrest and jailing in 2016 as a result of her activism to expose the corrupt practices in Bahrain.[10]
Commenting on the group's founding in 2015, Amal Elmohandes, Director of the Women Human Rights Defenders Programme at Nazra for Feminist Studies said that the group reflects the need to organise across the region in the aftermath of the Arab Spring, and the increased targeting and harassment of WHRDs by state security laws.[11]
References[edit]
- ↑ Ghazal, Sara Abou. "De «dårlige kvinners» kamp - Nye Meninger". www.dagsavisen.no. Retrieved 22 May 2018.
- ↑ MENA WHRDs Coalition (8 March 2015). "Founding Statement of the Coalition of Women Human Rights Defenders in the Middle East and North Africa". nazra.org.
- ↑ "On the international day for women human rights defenders: building bridges of solidarity and protection". openDemocracy. 2016-11-28. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
- ↑ "Our movements and collective struggles thrive despite backlash". openDemocracy. 2016-09-06. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
- ↑ "Statement from the Regional Coalition of Women Human Rights Defenders in Middle East and North Africa - ICAN". ICAN. 2016-03-23. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
- ↑ "WHRD MENA expresses utmost solidarity with Kışanak and Akat". ANF News. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
- ↑ "Egypt: Prominent human rights organization pioneered by WHRDs faces threat of closure". Worldwide Movement for Human Rights (in français). Retrieved 2018-05-22.
- ↑ "Urgent Appeal: Arrest of Prominent Human Rights Defender and Feminist Activist Azza Soliman - Cairo Institute for Human Rights Studies". cihrs.org. Retrieved 2018-05-22.
- ↑ "#SheDefends: Long live the struggle of WHRDs!". AWID. 2017-11-28. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
- ↑ "Bahrain: Human rights defender Ghada Jamsheer remains in jail despite poor health | No Peace Without Justice". npwj.org (in italiano). Retrieved 2018-05-22.
- ↑ "Middle East & North Africa WHRD Coalition - A Glimpse of Hope". ISHR. Retrieved 2018-05-20.
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