WUNRN
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IWE functions as a collaborating partner for start-ups and /
or organisations which operate at the margins of the society, do not have a
legal status or cannot receive funds on their own. IWE projects have included topic-specific initiatives that arise out of the shared needs, interests and analyses of members. Project ideas and proposals are presented, discussed and selected for collaboration at the Annual General Meeting of Members. Collaboration consists of the planning of the implementation of these proposals, fund-raising _______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________ |
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IWE’s funded projects (completed and ongoing): |
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1.
Women Reclaiming and Re-defining Cultures (WRRC) The
aim of the WRRC program was to enable women to repossess and reconstruct
cultural resources including religion and tradition, to provide women with
empowering resources vis-a-vis those who use cultural and religious
discourses to disempower women and deny their rights. It was implemented in 9
countries in Africa ( |
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2.
Iranian Women's Alternative E-broadcasting (IWAE) The
goal of IWAE is to build and maintain an electronic broadcasting platform
dedicated to Iranian women’s rights and concerns, which will provide vital
information on Iranian women’s issues, a space for shaping discourses on
gender equality as part of all political agendas, and a means for mobilizing
the political and civic participation of women from all sectors of Iranian society. This was a need expressed by Iranian women within
and outside of |
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3.
Radio Margin ( Radio broadcasting of Iranian youth from marginalised groups) “Radio
Margin” – which began under the tutelage of IWAE – is a progressive and
secular |
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4.
Multi-country capacity building programme This
programme was the beginning of one of the key strategies of IWE: development
of a continuing capacity building process - a process of sharing and learning
and enabling . Previous experiences of IWE’s members, working with
grass-roots and community-based women, taught the need for activists and
advocates to reflect on and consolidate their experiences, as well as how to
seize the opportunities that presented themselves. In 7 separate projects,
this ‘reflective capacity building’ progamme sought to enhance all aspects of
conceptualising, planning, knowledge–based advocacy necessary to strengthen
and sustain women’s organising and movement building in their various contexts.
[READ MORE…] |
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5.
Women’s Empowerment and Leadership Development for Democratisation (WELDD) This
is a 4-year (2012-2015) programme supported by the Dutch FLOW (Funding Leadership
and Opportunities for Women) Fund. Together with Shirkat Gah Women’s Resource
center in |
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Thematic initiatives under development : |
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1.
Sustainability of women activists, organizations and movements Feminist
activists are increasingly aware of the necessity of a holistic approach in
combining political interventions to protect the rights of others with
addressing the personal needs and well-being of the individuals and groups
they represent. Women’s human rights work is taking a huge toll on their own
personal well-being as well. Too often, their own subjectivities, emotional
and psychological needs are taken for granted or self-care is indefinitely
postponed by themselves. The negative impacts of this self-defeating circle
on the long term sustenance of women’s work and organizations has been shown.
(ref. UAF: What’s the point of the revolution….”). IWE is developing a
project to systematically address these issues. Related,
but possibly independent and separate projects under this theme
is the documentation of processes of resistance and
empowerment of women in various contexts, s told by
themselves, in their own voices. |
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2.
Women’s inheritance and property rights (WIPR) Women’s
rights to land, food security and livelihoods are being systematically eroded
at macro, meso and micro levels - the results from misappropriations,
legitimised in the name of ‘development’ on the one hand, or in the name of
‘culture’ on the other hand. This project derives from the work on women’s
inheritance and property rights (WIPR) that has been carried out as one of
the three thematic areas of the programme Women Reclaiming and Re-defining
Culture (WRRC). It aims to demonstrate the intrinsic connection between these
two domains and to develop strategies for women’s empowerment to counter this
interconnected chain of men-made disasters. |
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3.
De-secularisation and women’s rights as equal citizens This
project will advocate the promotion of women's rights as equal citizens in
the public sphere as indispensable to the democratisation process. At the
same time, it will raise awareness, develop political education and mobilise
concern to address the de-secularising impact of politicised religions, which
is eroding women's rights as equal citizens in the public sphere (i.e. the
sphere of non-familial relations outside the home, including economic,
social, cultural, religious and political sectors). |
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4.
Sexuality Health and Rights One
of the most fundamental stumbling blocks encountered and reported by IWE’s
project partners in previous and present programmes, is the difficulty of addressing
adequately the many and diverse issues around the denial and oppression of
women’s rights in sexuality. This has been exacerbated in the present context
of fundamentalist and anti-women ‘religious’ discourses and practices, which
are spreading in many parts of the globe, in particular, in Asian and African
countries, causing disastrous consequences for women’s rights and well-being.
Partners have expressed a need to share understanding/insights into our
concepts and positions around sexuality issues, especially to critically
reflect on our strategies (e.g. around sex work, trafficking….) in order to
at least, “do no harm”. IWE intends to develop a project to create safe
spaces for women / organizations to undertake deep reflection on our work on
sexuality and related issues, in order to critically examine our concepts and
strategies, in order to improve our work to promote and enhance sexual rights
for all / diverse groups of women. |
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5.
Reflexivity as essential tool in the work on Empowerment. IWE
has organized and supported some initial approaches and discussions on
“Reflexivity”. In the first workshop organised in Chiangmai, the participants
confirmed the importance and vital uses of Reflexivity to critically engage
with the social reality in which we live. Quoting from notes of the workshop:
“The whole idea of reflexivity is to understand how power shapes
relationship. Knowing your positionality is the core element- in terms of
power relation, knowing why you're taking the position, knowing how power is
played out -- important element of reflexivity-- to be critical when
positioning ourselves. Reflexivity by definition is critical questioning and
awareness”. IWE intends to develop ideas and methodologies to promote the
necessary reflexive approach to all our work, which will underpin our
principle objective to document, develop and share widely women’s empowerment
strategies, including their own narratives of their resistance and
empowerment processes. |