OUR WORK
SUPPORT WOMEN HUMAN RIGHTS DEFENDERS
SOUTH ASIA WOMEN'S PROTECTION FUND
The Women’s Regional Network, in partnership with Urgent Action Fund for Women’s Human Rights, provides emergency support for the safety and protection of women human rights defenders at risk in Afghanistan, Pakistan and India.
Behind women-lead movements are the activists who need support and protection to continue creating cultures of justice, equality, and peace. Click here to learn more about the Protection Fund.
If you are a women human rights defender, click here to to apply for life-saving support.
“(WHRDs are) courageous women who defy patriarchy every day, everywhere in the world, to champion human rights. They hold communities together in times of war — and hold the key to building peaceful communities when the guns go silent. In so many male-‐dominated institutions, they campaign for women’s voices to be heard.”
-Hina Jilani Former UN Special Representative of the Secretary General on Human Rights Defenders; Supreme Court of Pakistan
SOUTH ASIA WOMEN'S RIGHTS TRIBUNAL
WRN hopes to launch a South Asia Tribunal on Women’s Human Rights in solidarity with civil society groups across the sub-region in order to:
-
Create a legitimate community-led public platform to amplify women’s testimony across caste, class, religion, ethnicity and national borders.
-
Demand accountability from the state, end human rights violations committed with impunity, and seek justice for women.
Launching a Tribunal is no small feat. The first step of this on-going process was preparing the Scoping Study, authored by WRN Member and human rights defender Rita Manchanda. Click below to read the full report to learn more about the impact of speaking truth to power.
WRN TRIBUNAL PREPARATORY COMMITTEE MEMBERS
AFGHANISTAN
Abdul Wazeed (Zia) Moballegh
Country Director, Heinrich Boll Stiftung
Judge Homa Alizoy
Head Judge Juvenile Court of Afghanistan and Women’s Rights Activist
Najiba Ayubi
Director, Killid Group; Co-Founder the Afghan Independent Media Consortium
Nargis Nehan
Policy Coordinator, Office of the President of Afghanistan
Palwasha Hassan
Research Consultant and founding member of The Afghan Women’s Network
Raz Muhhumad Dalili
Founder, Sanayee Development Organization
Sima Samar
MD Chairperson, Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission
PAKISTAN
Bushra Gohar
Former Member of Parliament, Pakistan, Central Member, Awami National Party
Hina Jilani
Former United Nations Special Representative of the Secretary General on Human Rights Defenders; Advocate, Supreme Court of Pakistan
I. A. Rehman
Secretary-General, Human Rights Commission of Pakistan
Anis Haroon
Former Chairperson, National Commission on the Status of Women
Kishwar Sultana
Director, Insan Foundation Trust, Member, Provincial CEDAW Committee
Rukhshanda Naz
Former Head, UN Women Pakistan (KP-FATA); Executive Director, Legal Aid, Awareness Services (LAAS)
INDIA
Abha Bhaiya
Founder, Jagori Rural, Global Coordinator- India, One Billion Rising
Dr. Syeda Hameed
Former Member, Planning Commission of India, Renowned Author
Geeta Ramaseshan
Senior feminist advocate, former Coordinator, High Court Mediation Centre
Rita Manchanda
Research Director, South Asia Forum for Human Rights
Saumya Uma
Assistant Professor & Assistant Director - Centre for the Study of Social Exclusion & Inclusive Policy (CSSEIP), National Law School of India, Bangalore
Vrinda Grover
National Advocate, International Commission of Jurists, Founder, Working Group on Human Rights in India and the UN
TRIBUNAL GLOBAL ADVISORS
Corinne Kumar
Secretary General, El Taller International; International Coordinator, Courts of Women; Founding Member, Asian Women’s Human Rights Council
Hauwa Ibrahim
Lawyer and author of Practicing Shariah Law: Seven Strategies for Achieving Justice in Shariah Courts
Mary Jane Real
Founding member and former Coordinator of the International Coalition on Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRD IC) & Regional Coordinator of Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD)