Women's Human Rights to Water, Food and a Healthy Environment
Globally, unsustainable economic development and the run on natural resources put communities dependent on these resources under immense pressure. Women suffer disproportionally from the negative impacts of large-scale development projects. This 4-pager aims to shed some light on the question why, and on possible ways to turn the tide and enable women to claim their human rights to water, food and a healthy environment.
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External link / 31 May 2018
A human rights perspective on women and the environment (Annual Report 2017)
Although the human rights to water, food and a healthy environment have been incorporated in international legal instruments, in many countries these rights are violated on a massive scale. Women suffer disproportionally, because it is mostly still their role to feed the family and fetch water, but also because they lack decision-making power over the use of natural resources.
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Publication / 14 February 2016
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Video / 3 November 2017
Reality of Mine: India
This short video takes you to Panna, India, where traditional adivasi women successfully oppose forced evictions. The three part series 'Reality of Mine' gives a voice to women affected by mining in India, Kenya and South Africa. With the support of international NGOs Both ENDS and ActionAid, they have begun to stand up for their rights.
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Video / 31 May 2016
Women's rights undermined in South Africa
The population of the informal settlement Masakhane, South Africa is highly affected by the pollution and environmental damage caused by the the coal-fired Duvha power station. Before the mining and power station developments, families had access to and control over the land, even if they did not own it. Farming used to be the main source of livelihood. Today, mining companies and investors own most of the land, and as a direct consequence people have lost a lot of their farming and grazing land. This video shows testimonies of victims and their efforts to turn the tide.
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Video / 3 November 2017
Reality of Mine: South Africa
In this video we see Maria Mkhatswa, who is claiming the right of her people to have access to clean water, like they had years ago, when the coal mining industry had not yet polluted the whole area. The three part series 'Reality of Mine' gives a voice to women affected by mining in India, Kenya and South Africa. With the support of international NGOs Both ENDS and ActionAid, they have begun to stand up for their rights.
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Video / 3 November 2017
Reality of Mine: Kenya
In this video, Trivinia Mwanga Mwamburi from Kenya takes you with in her fight to get the land back which was taken from her because of the expansion of large scale salt mines. The three part series 'Reality of Mine' gives a voice to women affected by mining in India, Kenya and South Africa. With the support of international NGOs Both ENDS and ActionAid, they have begun to stand up for their rights.
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Letter / 19 October 2022
Both ENDS' input to the 'Consultation Feminist Foreign Policy' of Ministry of Foreign AffairsZa
In May 2022, Minister Hoekstra of Foreign Affairs and Minister Schreinemacher for International Trade and Development Cooperation announced that also The Netherlands will work towards implementing a Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP). This means that within its Foreign Policy, the Netherlands will pay more attention to inclusivity in general and specifically to women's rights and gender equality, including LGBTIQ+. This feminist lens will be central to all aspects of foreign policy; security, trade, diplomacy and international cooperation.
To foster an inclusive process and acquire insights in what a Dutch FFP should look like, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs opened an internet consultation. Both ENDS welcomes the FFP and therefore gladly shares its input and suggestions.
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Event / 24 March 2022, 16:00 - 17:30
NGO CSW66 Forum Event: Feminist Action for Climate Justice
What does feminist climate action look like and what does it lead to? Join us to hear from grassroots activists who will share their lived experiences and recommendations for equitable, just, and sustainable strategies to tackle the most pressing issue of our time. Global Greengrants Fund and the Global Alliance for Green and Gender Action (GAGGA) will formally launch our joint campaign commitment to support these frontline climate solutions alongside the UN Women Generation Equality Forum’s Feminist Action for Climate Justice Action Coalition. Register today to learn how to mobilize more and better support for feminist climate action.
Register here!
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Publication / 26 November 2020
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External link / 20 July 2021
Women’s rights and Non-Timber Forest Products (Annual Report 2020)
As a source of food, water and income, and for their cultural and spiritual meaning, forests and Non-Timber Forest Products (NTFPs) help ensure community resilience. Both ENDS has a long history of collaboration with partners such as the Non-Timber Forest Products Exchange Programme (NTFP-EP) and Keystone Foundation, which support forest communities in promoting the NTFP concept for forest conservation and livelihood enhancement.
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Event / 14 March 2022, 11:00 - 12:30
CSW66 Side Event: Feminist solutions for the environmental and climate crisis
Join us at the 66st UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW66) for a critical conversation about the intersections of climate, gender and sustainable development. Land defenders and gender rights advocates will join ministry representatives from Sweden, Chile and the Netherlands in a discussion about feminist leadership in protecting land, promoting climate solutions and supporting truly sustainable development strategies. In this session, we aim to explore how governments and feminist climate movements can best work together to tackle the root causes of the climate crisis.
Register here!
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External link / 19 June 2020
Nepalese women lead local advocacy on climate change (Annual Report 2019)
In 2019, Karambot Women's Agriculture Group (Nepal) convinced their municipality to fund its proposed irrigation plan, after they followed a planning and budgeting training.
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Publication / 4 November 2022
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News / 8 March 2017
International Women's day is still urgently needed
Today is International Women's Day. A day originating from women's strikes against poor working conditions in the textile industry, some 100 years ago. Since then, a lot has improved for women but, unfortunately, men and women obviously still don’t have equal rights. In 1949, Simone de Beauvoir already warned that ‘women’s rights will never be vested. You have to stay vigilant your whole life’. Recent developments such as the tightening of abortion laws in some countries confirm this view and show that even in the ‘free West’ women’s rights are still far from self-evident.
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Publication / 24 September 2024
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External link / 29 May 2019
Women say “no” to mining (Annual Report 2018)
Mining often has a huge and devastating impact on the environment, including water, air and forests. It can profoundly affect nearby communities, not only by harming local ecosystems, but also by exacerbating or provoking societal tension. In many places across the globe, women are leading resistance to mining and the 'extractivist' model.
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Dossier /
Global Alliance for Green and Gender Action (GAGGA)
GAGGA rallies the collective power of the women's rights and environmental justice movements to realize a world where women can and do access their rights to water, food security, and a clean, healthy and safe environment.
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News / 24 November 2022
Women Barefoot Ecologists won a Gender Just Climate Solutions award at COP27
At this year's UN Climate Conference COP27, Bhavya George, Climate Change coordinator of our partner organisation Keystone Foundation won one of the Gender Just Climate Solutions awards. Her project "Women Barefoot Ecologists", which also is supported by the Global Alliance for Green and Gender Action (GAGGA), won in the category "Transformational Solutions".
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Blog / 7 December 2020
Five years of GAGGA: “Once you understand what gender justice is about, your perspective will change for good”
By Annelieke Douma and Tamara MohrAlmost five years ago, the Global Alliance for Green and Gender Action (GAGGA) started its journey to bring together the often still quite separate worlds of environmental justice organisations and the women's rights movement. At Both ENDS, Annelieke Douma and Tamara Mohr have been coordinating the GAGGA programme. Together they look back at five years of learning, connecting and enjoying the fruits of this innovative programme.
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Event / 27 February 2019, 14:00 - 15:30
Webinar: Realizing women’s land rights in Africa
This webinar will feature experiences from several grassroots initiatives and highlight how they fight for women's improved access to and control over land and other natural resources and to scale up women's land rights.