A project of the Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID)
"In the last ten years, right-wing political-religious movements have emerged as a global force, presenting a growing threat to human rights, democracy and pluralism, with particularly negative consequences for women’s rights. The Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID) is an international feminist membership organization that works to strengthen the impact and influence of women's rights advocates, organizations and movements worldwide. AWID’s Resisting and Challenging Religious Fundamentalisms initiative seeks to contribute to greater strategic thinking, dialogue and advocacy on religious fundamentalisms by women’s rights organizations and movements. Looking across regions and religions, it develops knowledge and a deeper understanding of how religious fundamentalist movements work and grow and their impacts on the human rights of women. It also shares strategies used by women’s rights advocates to resist and challenge religious fundamentalisms. A number of publications and materials have been generated by the initiative, available through the AWID portal.
The analysis here draws on the results of a global survey of over 1,600 women’s rights activists, interviews with over 50 key experts, and a series of case studies that feature a broad range of strategies to counter fundamentalist movements in different regions of the world. We also explore the links between religious fundamentalisms, women’s rights and a number of key international policy themes, including global and neoliberal economics, international development, and fundamentalist influence on the international human rights system.
In AWID’s research findings, the most commonly identified need in challenging religious fundamentalisms is a greater global effort to find effective solutions to their causes. The initiative responds to the call for more international and inter-regional dialogue on the issue, and continues to explore what women’s rights, human rights and development actors can do to mount a stronger and more effective challenge to the rise of religious fundamentalisms.
