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MADRE and the International Indigenous Women's Forum Participate in the 10th AWID International Forum on Women's Rights and Development

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October 27-30, 2005
Bangkok, Thailand


MADRE and the International Indigenous Women's Forum (FIMI/IIWF) —a network of Indigenous women leaders from around the world—recently participated in the 10th AWID International Forum on Women's Rights and Development in Bangkok, Thailand. Held October 27-30, 2005, the conference was a landmark event: it brought together nearly 2,000 women's rights activists from over 120 countries, including human rights defenders, labor activists, development practitioners, grant makers, students, and community organizers. Through numerous panels and workshops, participants explored ways to successfully promote change for women's human rights and sustainable development around the world. MADRE and FIMI representatives attended plenary sessions and workshops on topics including: peace-building in Latin America, mobilizing resources for women's human rights work, and confronting challenges to women's leadership within the feminist movement.

A MADRE/FIMI Panel: Indigenous Women's Visions of an Inclusive Feminism

Together, MADRE and FIMI hosted a panel called, "Indigenous Women's Visions of an Inclusive Feminism." The panel was moderated by Mirna Cunningham, the President of MADRE's sister organization in Nicaragua, the Center for Indigenous Peoples' Autonomy and Development. Panelists included Monica Aleman (MADRE Program Coordinator and FIMI Coordinator), Lucy Mulenkei (of MADRE's sister organization in Kenya, the Indigenous Information Network), Vicky Tauli Corpuz (Chair of the UN Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues and Executive Director of the Tebtebba Foundation in the Philippines) and Tarcila Rivera Zea (of MADRE's sister organization in Peru, CHIRAPAQ). The discussion focused on strategies for incorporating Indigenous women's feminist perspectives into the international women's movement, where feminism has historically been shaped by racism and colonialism. Panelists promoted a more inclusive feminism, one which makes room for a diverse range of cultural, linguistic, and social and political perspectives, including (but not limited to) those of Indigenous Peoples. Panelists addressed the role that Indigenous feminism can play within the Indigenous Peoples' movement, particularly in promoting gender justice in relation to self-determination and collective rights. Panelists also spoke of drawing on Indigenous women's feminism to transform the predominant, neo-liberal development model into one that is sustainable and rights-based.

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Violence against Indigenous Women: A consultation with the UN Division for the Advancement of Women (DAW)

While at the AWID conference, FIMI provided strategic recommendations for a comprehensive study on violence against women currently being conducted by DAW. FIMI, supported by MADRE, is a member of a task force made up of UN agencies and non-governmental organizations charged with advising DAW on various aspects of the study. Participants in this workshop brainstormed specific areas of concern in relation to the study. For example, Vicky Tauli Corpuz highlighted the importance of linking globalization and militarization to violence against Indigenous women.

FIMI maintains that violence against women must be understood as a human rights violation mediated by specific histories and social, political, and economic conditions. FIMI advises that the study include the experiences of Indigenous women, for whom gender-based violence is shaped by ongoing colonization and militarism, racism and social exclusion, poverty-inducing economic policies, and gender discrimination in Indigenous and non-Indigenous contexts. FIMI will continue to play an active role in advising the study beyond the AWID Forum.

MADRE and FIMI representatives returned from the conference in Bangkok inspired by the opportunity to share their perspectives and experiences and to learn from the work, ideas, and strategies of women's human rights activists around the world.

Quotes from the MADRE/FIMI panel, "Indigenous Women's Visions of an Inclusive Feminism":


"The feminist movement to a certain extent has been �ethnic blind,' in that they haven't really dealt effectively with the whole issue of discrimination on the basis of your nationality or on the basis of your ethnic origins. So that has to be an ongoing struggle, which means that we should contribute in reshaping feminism to be more inclusive."
Vicky Tauli Corpuz, Philippines

"One key element of building the Indigenous women's movement is that we have been very strategic about making alliances and identifying moments of opportunities [...] and we need to acknowledge and recognize that we have learned the lessons of doing advocacy and doing the work at the international level."
Monica Aleman, Nicaragua

"Change has come but there is still some great work to be done, and the most important thing that can be done is inclusiveness—to include Indigenous women in the processes [�]—and try to get more awareness on issues of feminists, so that we can be able to work with every other partner that we have globally."
Lucy Mulenkei, Kenya

"We have seen ongoing violations of our human rights and fundamental freedoms as armed conflicts rage on our lands and as our seeds are pirated by industries that contaminate our bodies and ecosystems with genetically modified organisms�these are not only �Indigenous problems,' as you can see, these are the crises that threaten to undermine development and human rights around the world."
Tarcila Rivera Zea, Peru

"The thing that pushed Indigenous Peoples to become involved in the UN is the fact that many of our rights as Indigenous Peoples are not really recognized in international human rights law, nor in the human rights charters—they only deal with the issue of the individual. And yet many of our problems as a people [are] related to the violation of our collective rights, which means our collective right to self-determination."
Vicky Tauli Corpuz, Philippines

"You, as [a] feminist movement, have a lot of experience, you've made gains but you're also facing a lot of threats. And you're beginning to understand that you cannot solve those problems if you continue conducting feminism the way that you have done until today. You have to change if you want to guarantee that women all over the world will be able to exercise the rights that you have struggled for. At the same time, [...] we as Indigenous women, as members of our Indigenous communities, we have also learned and gained a lot. We would not be sitting here if we didn't have our International Indigenous Women's Forum, if we didn't have the confidence to come say what we can share with you. We wouldn't have the confidence to come say 'we can teach you something but you can also teach us a lot of things.'"
Mirna Cunningham, Nicaragua