View this email in your browser
Reclaiming Power to the People

Around the world, Authoritarian and Fundamentalist regimes have tried gaining ground well before the spread of COVID-19. Despite a global pandemic, anti-democratic governments and autocrats have attempted to exploit and use the crisis as an excuse to scale back civil liberties and undermine human rights.

Women and trans human rights defenders have heard this call. They are organizing, joining the movements, and seeking justice. In Hungary activists are calling for an end to civil war, in Belarus they are contesting unjust elections and demanding the restoration of democracy, and in Poland thousands of women began marching when their courts and government took away their right to abortions.
 
From country to country, we can’t help but feel the weight of countless oppressive acts deep down in our bones. But what these authoritarian and want-to-be authoritarians didn’t count on was the power of everyday people standing up and demanding to be heard.
Women and trans human rights defenders are mobilizing in their communities to counter rising authoritarian crackdowns. From all corners, activists are fighting back, and UAF is proud to stand alongside them as they:
  • Mobilized in Poland to protest recent efforts to revoke the Istanbul Convention, a treaty signed by EU Member States to prevent and combat violence against women and domestic violence.
  • Filed a precedent-setting case in Turkey to defend the right to protest and keep police accountable for their militarized use of force.
  • Opposed open solid waste dumping in Lebanon after the Beirut explosion, preventing the pollution of the local water supply.
 
As extremist and fundamentalist threats escalate, women and trans human rights defenders are responding like never before.
 
We must stand alongside women, people of color, immigrants, and the LGBTQI community, now more than ever. These brave activists, who are coming face-to-face with violence and oppression because of their own governments’ blatant actions and hateful rhetoric, need to know that they aren’t alone in this fight.
Make A Donation
Copyright © 2020 Urgent Action Fund for Women's Human Rights, All rights reserved.
You are receiving this email as a friend of Urgent Action Fund for Women's Human Rights.

Our mailing address is:
Urgent Action Fund for Women's Human Rights
660 13th Street
Suite 200
Oakland, CA 94612

Add us to your address book


Want to change how you receive these emails?
You can update your preferences or unsubscribe from this list.