Gender Policy

Joumana Seif has been working in the human rights field since 2001 and supported the democratic movements in Syria with a focus on political prisoners. She left Syria in 2012, a year after the start of the uprising against the Assad regime.

War and armed conflict almost always go hand in hand with sexual violence – rape, sexual slavery, forced marriage. On occasions when it seems pertinent, such as in the context of the current war in Ukraine, politicians and the media talk about the issue and condemn the violence, but their rhetoric is short on substance.

The elimination of violence against women is tied to the elimination of all forms of heteropatriarchal, homo- and transphobic, (neo-)colonial, racist, capitalist, ableist violence.

Since 2020 a war has been ongoing in the Tigray region of northern Ethiopia. The conflict quickly spread to the neighboring regions of Amhara and Afar, leading to a humanitarian crisis. Sexual violence is being employed deliberately and systematically as an instrument of war by all parties to the conflict in northern Ethiopia. 

The Global Feminist Pitch is back to support feminists from Latin America, Asia, Africa, Middle East and (South) Eastern Europe. This year we are looking for ten feminists who will write on the topic of feminist mobilisation in their region. Apply now!

In March 2020, the OECD Global Forum on Environment focused on "Mainstreaming Gender and Empowering Women for Environmental Sustainability". This summary report on the OECD-Forum highlights selected environment-related sectors and policies, and how they should be discussed from a gender-responsive perspective.

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.

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?

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.

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.

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.

This two-day digital conference, organized by the Humboldt University of Berlin’s Department of Diversity and Social Conflict in cooperation with Brown University and the Heinrich-Böll-Foundation, aims to bring together researchers, activists, and community organizers to discuss how discourses on gender and sexuality have evolved in the Middle East and Europe amid the rise of far-right and authoritarian movements.

More than 50 people were injured in attacks on journalists and civil society in Tbilisi in early July in connection with Pride Week. The German Federal Government and the EU should strongly urge their Georgian partners to address the violence through prompt and comprehensive legal and political action. 

2020 was expected to be the feminist super year - the anniversaries of the UN Resolution on "Women, Peace, and Security" and the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action were supposed to be celebrated, and discussions about the lack of their implementation to be held. Instead, this became the year that, according to UN Women, would destroy 25 years of feminist achievements.

On 15 June, the majority of Hungarian MPs ­– representatives of the Hungarian Civic Alliance (FIDESZ) and the Movement for a Better Hungary (Jobbik) – voted for a bill that contained several provisions added to the original draft act, originally intended to enhance the protection of children and tighten sanctions against pedophile offenders. These new provisions introduce an explicit, harsh ban on the "portrayal and the promotion of gender identity different from sex at birth, the change of sex and homosexuality" for persons under the age of 18.

Queer feminism allows us to understand that patriarchy harms all of us and only an intersectional approach enables collective liberation and working together in solidarity. Queer resistance can also be fun - and sometimes a dandy outfit is enough to make patriarchy shake. We talked to Yvee Oduor about activism and mobilization of genderqueer people in Kenya.

The queer community is not free from exclusions and the fight for resources.. Class plays as much a role as ideas about femininity and masculinity. Black trans*women from rural areas, who are often poor, face particularly strong discrimination. Therefore, the queer community itself must address its own internalised prejudices, distorted perceptions, and exclusions. A conversation with Seoketsi Mooketsi (Seopowerr).

We must resist the patriarchal system. But as long as it persists and continues to exist, queer people in Nigeria are seeking ways to simultaneously resist the system all the while not putting their own lives, joy, and happiness at the center. Queer feminism allows for the development and testing of new ways of existing - new ways of living in community with others, new ways of organising and distributing resources, new ways of making sure that people’s needs are met. Hbs in conversation with OluTimehin Adegbeye, on the meaning and opportunities of queer feminism.