Highlights of recent Global Fund for Women grantees challenging violence.

San Francisco, CA—On January 31st, 2011, the Global Fund for Women Board approved $1.8 million in grants to 128 women's rights groups in 64 countries around the world.

“Women are challenging violence by first making it visible and then resisting pressure from their communities to ignore or accept violence as normal. It is remarkable how women continually find innovative ways to end violence against women and girls. Some engage directly with religious leaders, while others fight for laws that protect women,” - Dr. Zeina Zaatari, Regional Director for Middle East and North Africa.

While our grantees work to improve all aspects of women's human rights, we're highlighting the work of women challenging gender-based violence as it remains a critical priority for feminist activism and is among our core funding priorities. Here are a few examples of the diverse ways in which our grantee partners are contributing to a powerful global women's movement to end gender-based violence:

• In Ukraine, the Kharkov Gender Resource Center established the nation's first Gender Museum and toured its large-scale exhibition, “World Without Violence,” across the country and globally to raise public awareness of the issue. Grant in this docket: $14,000
• In Southeast Nigeria, the Center for the Eradication of All Forms of Violence Against Women, a network of our grantees, is transforming traditional societal values that perpetuate gender violence by educating and engaging traditional and religious leaders to become allies in the movement to end gender violence. Grant in this docket: $9,000
• Our first ever grantee in the Maldives, the Maldivian Network on Violence Against Women is promoting women's local political participation as a way to advance laws and policies that protect women. Grant in this docket: $9,000
• In Argentina, the Instituto de Género, Derecho y Desarrollo, builds links between the indigenous and women’s movements to learn from each other and work collaboratively to end gender violence. Grant in this docket: $10,000
• In Egypt, Nadim Center in Egypt addresses violence against women at the individual and systemic level by providing counseling and legal aid services to women survivors of domestic and state violence while advocating for protective laws. Grant in this docket: $52,000 over two years

Learn more about other groups we support!

For more information about our work, or to schedule an interview, please contact:
Deborah Holmes

Vice President of Communications
Ph: 415-248-4800
dholmes[at]globalfundforwomen.org

About the Global Fund for Women

The Global Fund for Women is the world’s largest public foundation investing exclusively in women’s rights globally. Since 1987, the Global Fund has played a vital role in catalyzing a global women’s rights movement by mobilizing nearly $85 million dollars from more than 20,000 individuals and institutions to invest in over 4,200 women’s groups in 171 countries. By funding and linking grantees, donors, activists and policymakers, we have fostered a global network of women and men committed to a world of equality and social justice.

The Global Fund for Women is chosen among The Nation's top ten progressive causes worthy of attention and funding this year. They highlight our support to women's organizations in Gaza, who are providing crucial care to their communities amid war and the Israeli blockade.

By Maame Yelbert-Obeng

Last month took me to Dakar, Senegal, along with my colleague Muadi Mukenge, to participate in the Third African Feminist Forum (AFF). It was a week of incredible connections, feminist discussions on a range of issues facing women on the African continent, and I had a blast!

Women dance at the African Feminist Forum. Photo courtesy AFF.

The Global Fund for Women joins hands with the international community in celebrating the release of pro-democracy leader and Nobel Peace Prize Laureate Aung San Suu Kyi. We hope this will be the first step in ensuring democratic processes in Burma. Her release comes six days after Burma's first elections in 20 years, widely condemned as a sham.

Photo by KET [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

The Women's League of Burma, a grantee partner, shared a statement celebrating the release of Suu Kyi. The group also posted its critiques of the recent elections through video updates on their YouTube Channel.

To date, GFW has supported 14 women's groups in Bangladesh, India and Thailand, advocating for the rights of Burmese refugees including minorities, with over $450,000 in grants.

News updates about Suu Kyi's release:

• BBC
• The Independent