AWID International Forum, Istanbul, 2012. Photo: AWID
“There is no such a thing as a single-issue struggle because we do not live single-issue lives.” Audre Lorde’s immortal and lately often re-emerging quote epitomizes the entire premise of the 13th International AWID 2016 Forum - Feminist Futures: Building Collective Power for Rights and Justice that convenes in Bahia, Brazil, 8 - 11 September. The interconnectedness of today’s world and alarming global trends are urging rights and justice movements to rethink our responses, move beyond our customary silos of issues, sectors, locations and identities, and create powerful new alliances with interlaced agendas.
The Zika virus and the response in Brazil exemplifies the importance of engaging multiple sectors and movements to provide an intersectional approach, and for collective action that servers all oppressed people. What is so multidimensional about the Zika virus? The patriarchal policy response and thrust to control women’s bodies became immediately evident. Some activists rallied to highlight the reproductive rights of women infected with the virus and the devastating and discriminating abortion laws in the majority of affected countries. Similarly, activists also raised alarm at the lack of a rights-based approach towards children born with disabilities related to Zika. Further, the disproportionate effects of the virus on Black and poor communities had to be taken into consideration and necessitated a racial and economic lens in developing response strategies and action. Only by having an intersectional approach to an issue, and engagement of multiple movements working within all dimensions, can a comprehensive feminist response work. The 2016 AWID Forum is a space where the ideas and experiences of diverse voices and movements will converge to examine the lessons of the past, conjure fresh perspectives, and move us beyond our silos to build collective power.
