In solidarity with Loujain al-Hathloul and all Saudi women, this week, we are asking Irene Natividad, president of the GlobeWomen Research and Education Institute and a Women 20 (W20) delegate to the 2020 G20 summit being hosted by Saudi Arabia, to refuse to attend. Email Irene to stand with Saudi women

Dear John,

This November, Saudi Arabia is set to host — either physically or virtually — this year’s G20 summit, including the Women 20 (W20) subgroup to advise on gender equality and women’s economic empowerment— all while brave Saudi women activists remain imprisoned for their human rights work.

How can you be an advocate for gender equality and a voice for women, yet participate in an event hosted by a patriarchal and misogynist kingdom notorious for its abhorrent women’s rights record? So in the months leading up to the summit, we are asking each delegate to prioritize the well-being of Saudi women and decline to attend this year’s W20 summit. This is why we are reaching out to Irene Natividad.

Ask Irene Natividad to stand up for Saudi women and refuse to attend this year’s W20 summit!

Irene Natividad is president of the GlobeWomen Research and Education Institute. We know Irene cares about the rights and freedoms of women of all nations because, on June 25, 2018, she tweeted: “The fact that the women activists who fought for Saudi women's right to drive were jailed underscores the fact that women's lives there remain circumscribed by men. These new liberties need to be anchored in real basic rights as equals to the men in their countries.”

Ask Irene Natividad to stand up for Saudi women and refuse to attend this year’s W20 summit! If we flood her inbox with emails asking her to drop out of the summit, maybe she will reconsider her attendance.

Already, delegate Lyric Thompson has announced she will not be attending the summit. Regarding the protests for racial justice happening right now in the U.S., Thompson’s organization, the International Center for Research on Women, said: “Injustice – whether targeting people on the basis of their race, gender, class, religion, age, orientation, ability, origin – will persist as long as we do not act to disrupt it.”

That’s why they are also acting to disrupt Saudi repression. Announcing that she would not be attending the W20/G20, Thomson said: “We have decided not to participate in this year’s meetings in Saudi Arabia, and stand in solidarity with women’s rights activists in the country and around the world who are linking arms in the name of equality and justice for all.”

Help us ask Irene Natividad to join Lyric Thompson in dropping out of the W20 summit, in solidarity with Saudi women, dissidents, human rights defenders, and people who stand for justice everywhere.

In solidarity,
Medea, Ariel, Ann, Asia, Carley, Caty, Cody, Emily, Jodie, Kelsey, Leila, Leonardo, Makena, Mary, Michelle, Nancy, Teri, and Yousef