The year 2021 demonstrated the power of who we are – a feminist, membership-driven network. When we were designing online sub-regional members’ convenings as a participatory process to establish APWLD’s new strategic plan for 2022-2026, we wouldn’t deny there was a heavy doubt given the digital divide, Zoom fatigue and the limitations of online meetings to name a few. However, the processes and the actual convenings, which led to APWLD’s General Assembly, was one of the most engaging, participatory and critical processes in designing APWLD’s strategic direction. APWLD’s new strategy is a testament to the realities, struggles and feminist visions of our members and their communities, and consequently will guide us to the very right direction to win women’s human rights and Development Justice.
In this report, which we titled “And Still We Rise”, there are stories of our members, partners, allies and communities rallying together to support one another and create hope that shines over the darkness. Determined organising led to generating a change to shift power relations – ranging from young mothers in Kazakhstan using digital diaries to campaign for decent childcare benefits, to the passing of the Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Home Based Workers Act in Pakistan and women workers advocating for the Paid Pandemic Leave Bill in the Philippines, to securing vaccines for undocumented sex workers in India and internal migrant women workers in Nepal. These are collective achievements from the movement that pave our path forward for justice, human rights, freedom and equality.
In 2021, we took bolder and more creative actions to facilitate large cross-movement mobilisation and campaigns with new allies through an online May Day strike; engaged cultural activists to visibilise women’s experiences and acts of resistance, influence public and policy discourses as well as to support cultural activism; created spaces for critical learnings such as e learning series on UNCTAD, digital security, digital advocacy and media advocacy. Underpinning everything we do will be a continued focus on building a stronger autonomous feminist movement that advances accountability and solidarity.
Click here to download the annual report.
