Louder! Welcome
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SPRING 2021 NEWSLETTER WHEN TIMES GET TOUGHER, WE GET LOUDER! WELCOME I do hope this newsletter finds you and your family in good health as we embark a new, hopefully less challenging year. As this widespread and devastating pandemic continues to sweep across the world, we’re mourning lives needlessly lost but also the disproportionate impact on women and girls. In this issue, we recognise the COVID-19 response efforts undertaken by partners in our five focus countries. Their efforts in many cases have been made possible through your generous support. Read more on pg. 3. Despite the global health crisis, it’s important not to overlook recent steps forward for women and girls. I hope you enjoy reading about partners’ PHOTO: CAROLINE HAWORTH (FRONT) AT achievements in 2019-20. We review WOMANKIND’S 30TH ANNIVERSARY CELEBRATION their progress through the lens of IN LONDON LAST YEAR, SURROUNDED BY STAFF, Womankind’s three core aims: ending TRUSTEES, AND FRIENDS OF WOMANKIND. violence against women and girls (Pg. 6 & 7), realising women’s economic rights (Pg. 8 & 9) and championing women’s Your solidarity and generosity have participation and leadership (Pg. 12 & 13). kept Womankind and our partners hopeful for 2021 and beyond. Another exciting development from 2020 was our refreshed brand and website! A bold, feminist and determined new look will be key in helping us achieve our ambitious aims for the rights of women and girls. Thank you for standing alongside us Caroline Haworth during these recent challenging times. Chief Executive, Womankind Worldwide Womankind Worldwide, Wenlock Studios, 50–52 Wharf Road, London N1 7EU, United Kingdom +44(0)20 3735 5558 [email protected] womankind.org.uk NGO in special consultative status with the Economic and Social Council of the UN Charity Reg. no 328206. Reg no. 2404121 2 WELCOME WOMANKIND RESILIENCE FUND: CRITICAL SUPPORT IN A TIME OF CRISIS The global COVID-19 pandemic has deepened many existing inequalities for women and girls. More violence at home: The UN recently reported that globally 243 million women and girls have been subjected to sexual or physical PHOTO: STAFF FROM THE POLYCOM DEVELOPMENT violence perpetrated by an intimate PROJECT DISTRIBUTING HAND SANITISER, SOAP, AND partner in the past 12 months. More SANITARY PRODUCTS DURING LOCKDOWN IN KENYA women are likely to be at risk as security, health and money worries manifold during COVID-19. This can heighten. contribute to poor mental health and restricts a woman’s ability to Girls are at increased risk: Due earn an income. to lengthy school closures, our partners are reporting sharp How Womankind Worldwide increases in cases of child responded: and forced marriage, teenage pregnancy, and Female Genital As the negative impact of the COVID-19 Mutilation (FGM). pandemic on women and girls was becoming clear, we established the Not able to earn a living: Women Resilience Fund to provide flexible informal workers are on the support to our partners as they faced frontlines of COVID-19. Women these unprecedented challenges. working as street and market Utilising funds from a generous legacy vendors, newspaper sellers, waste donation left to Womankind, we reached pickers and domestic workers, 42 partners across the world with whose economic and working grants of approximately £10,000 each – conditions were already precarious providing transformative, fully flexible before the crisis, have seen their funding to women’s rights organisations livelihoods disappear overnight. on the frontline of this crisis. Increase in unpaid care work: For generations women have taken on the bulk of unpaid care and Womankind Worldwide, Wenlock Studios, FIND OUT MORE: 50–52 Wharf Road, London N1 7EU, United Kingdom domestic work. With children at home due to school closures and Read how our partners have +44(0)20 3735 5558 been putting their resilience [email protected] womankind.org.uk caring responsibilities for older relatives, women have seen their grants to use on pages 4, 8 & 9. unpaid care workload increase WOMANKIND RESILIENCE FUND: CRITICAL SUPPORT IN A TIME OF CRISIS 3 WOMANKIND RESILIENCE FUND: DEAF WOMEN INCLUDED (DWI), ZIMBABWE Womankind partner DWI was one of the first recipients of a Womankind Resilience Fund grant. Founder Agness Chindimba (right) says: “Hunger among many women with disabilities is real. Livelihoods Womankind has shown us they have been lost. Many are are true friends of DWI as they have suffering because they can no ensured, despite the pandemic and longer vend so they have no the challenges it has brought, we food. Basic needs and rights have continue doing our work. become luxury.” Child marriage in the disabled community is likely to increase “as many households seek to put food on Offer online training for deaf the table by any means necessary.” women, teaching business skills and entrepreneurship. Courses will Women with disabilities faced specific enable women to find alternative challenges – for example, school livelihoods in agriculture or lessons offered by radio during school gardening. closures simply were not accessible for deaf children. As Agness explains, Provide masks, sanitary products “when girls with disabilities fail and food relief for those most at to access education their future risk of poverty. is doomed; education gives one freedom and independence to make choices on one’s life.” DWI are using the funds to: SUPPORT OUR WORK: Help women at risk of poverty Produce 13 programmes about and violence during these the links between COVID-19, unprecedented times. disability and human rights to air on Zimbabwean national television, Visit womankind.org.uk alongside news briefings in Sign /donate Language. 4 WOMANKIND RESILIENCE FUND: DEAF WOMEN INCLUDED (DWI), ZIMBABWE OUR IMPACT 2019-20 AT A GLANCE At the end of each financial year, we look back on the work made possible through your support. With what was to come, we are thankful so many projects in 2019-20 focused on strengthening local feminist movements as it may have contributed to their rapid and skilful response to the COVID-19 outbreak. We are now working closer than ever with partners, who in turn are working more frequently with each other. Together we’re creating stronger, more unified movements which will be ready for anything! In 2019-20 We worked more collaboratively than 15,180 ever with individuals PARTNERS have been leading the 27 projects directly delivered in 2019-20. supported through our projects with partners. 41 Women’s movements can We supported transform whole communities. In 2019/20 WOMEN & GIRLS to access key decision- 1,075,500 making spaces individuals were and influence 15 international indirectly impacted by our work. policy. We demanded reform to In 2019-20 we worked with partners on: international frameworks by 9 projects that focused on violence submitting over against women and girls. JOINT 4 projects that focused on women’s STATEMENTS economic rights. 15 12 projects that focused on women’s to world powers. participation and leadership. OUR IMPACT: 2019-20 AT A GLANCE 5 WOMANKIND’S GOALXX #1 : ENDING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN Strong, inclusive women’s movements are an essential element of preventing and responding to violence against women and girls. Below we review progress accomplished with partners that aimed to reduce violence against women and girls by strengthening local women’s movements. In our 30-year experience of working One example of work done on this issue with women and girls, we have seen is with partners Setaweet in Ethiopia. In that young women and girls, those a project funded by the players of the under 30 years of age, are impacted Postcode Lottery in 2019-20, Setaweet by all of the issues that adult women delivered ‘Gendershops’ to male and are impacted by. For example, UNICEF female students in local secondary estimates 1 in 10 girls will experience schools. Through these workshops, some form of sexual violence before students were given the space to they reach adulthood, while as many identify and challenge issues like sexual as 700 million adult women around the harassment, toxic masculinity, and world were married before age 18. consent. Crucial training in teaching young people about girls’ rights to live Young women and girls consequently free from harassment. have fewer opportunities to exercise agency in their lives, and less power PHOTO: SELAM (18) PARTICIPATED IN THE over the decisions that affect them GENDERSHOPS HELD AT HER SECONDARY SCHOOL most. Through work with partners in IN ADDIS ABABA, ETHIOPIA. each of our five focus countries we are determined to address this imbalance of power in young women’s lives. 6 WOMANKIND’S GOAL #1: ENDING VIOLENCE AGAINST WOMEN Women’s rights organisations rarely get the time and resources to plan strategically to ensure their survival and SUPPORT OUR WORK: continued support of women in their We’re proud to work with partners communities. who deliver women-led, practical Before the COVID-19 outbreak, we services, such as shelters and supported Association for Women’s legal advice, so that survivors of Sanctuary and Development (AWSAD) violence can access justice and staff to travel to the World Conference rebuild their lives. on Women’s Shelters in Taiwan. By Help us end violence against attending and networking at the women and girls by visiting conference AWSAD staff were able to womankind.org.uk/donate share their experience of managing shelters in Ethiopia with organisations running similar services across the world. continue to deliver their services and On their return AWSAD used their support women who have experienced new learnings to strengthen their violence as long as their vital services own strategic planning. Now with a are required. strengthened strategy AWSAD can HEAR HER VOICE: SEMIRA Semira (right) was living with relatives when she was abused by someone close to the family.