Feminism

To deal with the dramatic consequences of the global environmental and climate crises, international attention is also growing for civil society environmental movements and their louder feminist demands.

Gender justice, democracy and socio-ecological sustainability are politically and economically inextricably linked. Barbara Unmüßig, President of the Heinrich Böll Foundation, gives an insight into her own experiences and develops recommendations for action for politicians.

Left-wing identity politics must be more about foregrounding people’s common concerns and not their common characteristics, says Dr. Julia Ehrt, Executive Director at ILGA World.

An example of misunderstood identity and representation politics on the part of the UN: the international intervention to include Syrian women in the negotiation process was not a success.

Feminist leadership requires an active experience of meaningful engagement - a deliberate effort to create the deeper human connections of trust, inspiration, empathy and solidarity. In an age of extreme uncertainty, these connections cannot be an after-thought.

A democratic, human rights oriented ‘We’ has to be interested in bringing transparency into the thicket of identity politics.

We want to create a space for power-critical engagement with debates around identity politics.

Despite the authoritarian atmosphere, the contemporary feminist and queer movements in Poland are becoming more diverse, informal, intersectional, and focused on countering misogyny and homophobia in locally defined contexts.

Statements we encounter in conversations about left-wing identity politics which it is important to respond to.

Why are identity politics and criticism of discrimination often equated with one another and what consequences does this have for dealing with the ongoing reality of social violence in a serious way?

 Lou Herbst talks to Ed Greve about the opportunities and limitations of an anti-discriminatory identity politics, intersectionality and what ultimately leads to a divided society.

Physical or sexual violence is part of women's everyday experience in many places - also in the workplace. Often it is about abuse of power. There have also been cases of gender-based violence in some non-governmental organisations in recent years. Protective measures have been taken as a result. But is that enough? An interview with Christine Ash Büchner.

In the 1990s, excesses of ethnonationalism led to the devastating Balkan Wars. Today, left-wing liberal agents are trying to free themselves from these destructive forces.

Porntip wanted out of her abusive marriage and filed for divorce. But her husband wouldn't leave. Then the Thai government's COVID-19 response locked them both behind the same front door in the northeastern Khon Kaen countryside. His drug abuse continued, and the tensions between them increased. As did the beatings. He often told their two daughters he wanted to kill their mother.

Gender-based violence is usually defined as violence against a person because of their actual or perceived gender. Discriminatory social norms, attitudes and practices promote notions of male privilege, dominance and violence, leading to widespread acceptance of GBV, but also to its invisibility.

Ms. Silvia Sartori, Senior Project Manager of ENERGIA, the International Network on Gender and Sustainable Energy, speaks about why gender matters in the energy debate, how a ‘victimization narrative’ inaccurately represents women, and what can be expected from the Gender and Energy Compact launched in September 2021.

This article is an effort to ground feminist leadership in what the author(s) deem to be its essence: transformative collective power for the common good of all nature.

In the face of political oppression and persecution, the digital space offers many people in Zimbabwe the only lasting opportunity to exchange ideas and organise. We spoke with Fungai Machirori about the potentials and shortcomings of the internet, feminist digital activism in Zimbabwe, and the hopes placed in each new generation.

Most regions in the world have been – to some extent – affected by climate change, and Southeast Asian countries are no exception. Within the group of people who are affected,  recognition needs to be accentuated on the disproportionate impact of climate change along gender lines.

What if leaders of all stripes, from diverse sectors, started to follow the kinds of feminist leadership approaches that have been championed by activists from all over the world for decades. How might this type of leadership help us to navigate our way through these splintered, uncertain times?