WHRD campaign opening message from Executive Director #NimamaVijijini #WHRDStories

Defenders Coalition, which is the National Coalition of Human Rights Defenders in Kenya is proud to announce the launch of its campaign #NiMamaVijijini #WHRDStories

The campaign will be deliberate in recognizing the contribution of Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) in the promotion  and protection of human rights in Kenya as well in various communities across  the globe. 

Defenders Coalition is happy that increasingly, the role of WHRDs in challenging violence against women and girls, advancing sexual and reporoductive health rights, environmental and climate justice and seeking economic justice for themselves and their communities is gaining momentum. It is a true testimony that their sacrifices have been self-telling but their stories of triumph and heroic acts remain untold.

Through this campaign in the months of March and April, we shall publicly acknowledge the fact that the term “woman human rights defender’ cannot be limited to just women but also those human rights defenders who engage in promotion and protection of women’s rights and gender equality as well as all women working on any issue related to human rights and fundamental freedoms, individually and in association with others in any region of the world.

While on this subject matter, our focus will be on the unique roles, risks, and vulnerabilities of WHRDs, including gender non-conforming individuals, active in the defence of human rights and who may become a target for attack or violation because of who they are—because they are women as well as for what they do—their work of defending human rights.

Throughout the campaign period, Defenders Coalition shall bring to light that in addition to gender, there are many economic, social, cultural and geographical factors that affect how WHRDs experience a violation and how best we can respond to their needs for safety, wellbeing and protection. We shall be creating a platform for bold conversations on how class, religion, age, language, sexual orientation, geographical location and ethnicity influence the nature of violations towards WHRDs because they are exposed to different forms of attacks including physical and online violence because of who they are and what they do. 

We shall take the opportunity to underscore the convergence of the different types of violence that affect women and the difficulties in distinguishing between these different types of violence. We shall be sharing information on the lived experiences of the risks, threats and challenges that WHRDs have faced. We shall not stop there. We shall share stories of true power that lies within their grassroot organizing to overcome the risks, threats and challenges and for better communities. 

We call on you to join us to positively influence the perceptions of WHRDs by members of the public by publicly recognizing their substantive contribution to human rights movements. More importantly, we urge you to support us in creating awareness on how best WHRDs can become self aware of their work and their identity as human rights defenders. This will build confidence among them so that they can  take advantage of the existing capacity building, networking and protection mechanisms at their disposal.

We are honored by your continued support, partnership and the will to share your positive messages of Power. 

Continue following us on your communication platforms including social media and our website to continue sharing the power stories as will be released during the period.

In Solidarity, 

Kamau Ngugi

Executive Director – Defenders Coalition