Interviews

Featured

INDIA: ‘Muslim girls are being forced to choose between education and the hijab’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the recent ban on the hijab, a headscarf worn by Muslim women, in educational institutions in the Indian state of Karnataka with Zakia Soman, a women’s rights activist and co-founder of the Bharatiya Muslim Mahila Andolan (Indian Muslim Women's Movement, BMMA).
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HONDURAS: ‘We must address the roots of the conflict: the handing over of natural resources’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the criminalisation of environmental, land and territorial defenders in Honduras with Edy Tábora, director of the law firm Justicia para los Pueblos (Justice for the Peoples) and coordinator of the group of defence lawyers of eight defenders of the Guapinol river who were recently released from detention.
Featured

KENYA: ‘The denial of resources for civic education has been a massive blow for civil society’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the upcoming elections in Kenya with Paul Okumu, head of the Secretariat of the Africa Platform (AP).
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INDIA: ‘An effective civil society is essential for advancing human rights’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the recent ban on the hijab, a headscarf worn by Muslim women, in educational institutions in the Indian state of Karnataka with Aiman Khan and Agni Das of the Quill Foundation.
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INDIA: ‘The hijab ban is just another tool used by right-wing politicians to remain in power’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the recent ban on the hijab, a headscarf worn by Muslim women, in educational institutions in the Indian state of Karnataka with Syeda Hameed, co-founder and board member of the Muslim Women’s Forum (MWF).
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AFGHANISTAN: ‘Our fight for accountability has become a thousand times harder under the Taliban’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Horia Mosadiq, an Afghan women human rights defender (HRD) and founder of Safety and Risk Mitigation Organization (SRMO).
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UZBEKISTAN: ‘Advocacy for labour and human rights is a marathon, not a sprint’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the recent civil society victory in eliminating state-imposed forced labour in Uzbekistan’s cotton industry with Allison Gill, a human rights lawyer and Forced Labour Director at the Global Labour Justice - International Labour Rights Forum (GLJ-ILRF).
Featured

UGANDA: ‘Our government cares only about profit, not people’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project and its potential impacts on the climate and on the health and livelihoods of local communities with Nyombi Morris, founder of Earth Volunteers.
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TANZANIA: ‘The government is trying to silence those who are against the pipeline’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project and its potential impacts on the climate and on the health and livelihoods of local communities with Tanzanian climate justice activist Baraka Lenga.
Featured

EAST AFRICA: ‘The pipeline project would open up critical ecosystems to commercial oil exploitation’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) project and its potential impacts on the climate and on the health and livelihoods of local communities with Omar Elmawi, coordinator of the Stop the East African Crude Oil Pipeline (#StopEACOP).
Featured

SRI LANKA: ‘The ongoing protests have put the government on the defensive’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about protests in response to deepening economic crisis in Sri Lanka with Ruki Fernando, a human rights activist, writer and consultant to the Centre for Society and Religion (CSR) in Colombo.
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SRI LANKA: ‘By peacefully protesting, we hope to protect our democracy’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about protests in Sri Lanka in response to the country’s deepening economic crisis and civil society’s role in supporting protesters with human rights lawyer Bhavani Fonseka of the Centre for Policy Alternatives (CPA).
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ITALY: ‘The constitution now contemplates the interests of future generations’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Edoardo Zanchini, National Vice President of Legambiente Onlus, about the recent legislative vote that introduced environmental protections in the Italian Constitution, and civil society’s role in making it happen.
Featured

CSW66: ‘Advocacy for policy change takes time and a long-term commitment’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about women’s rights and the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) with Helen McEachern, CEO of the Cherie Blair Foundation for Women.
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CSW66: ‘Violence against women continues at pandemic levels in the UK as elsewhere’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about women’s participation and the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) with Zarin Hainsworth, director of the National Alliance of Women's Organisations (NAWO), a UK civil society network that works for women’s empowerment by advocating for women’s rights at the national and international levels.
Featured

CSW66: ‘Women need more access to real political decision-making power’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about women’s rights and the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) with Terry Ince, founder, and convenor of the CEDAW Committee of Trinidad and Tobago (CCoTT), a civil society organisation (CSO) focused on advocacy, education, and public awareness on and for the Convention for the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW).
Featured

CSW66: ‘Global-level policy-making is disconnected from women’s realities’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about women’s human rights and the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) with Wanun Permpibul of Climate Watch Thailand (CWT) and Misun Woo of the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law and Development (APWLD).
Featured

CSW66: ‘Grassroots environmental defenders are highly underrepresented in decision-making’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about women’s rights and the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) with Joy Hayley Munthali and Dorothy Kazombo Mwale of the Green Girls Platform.
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AFGHANISTAN: ‘Education is our basic right, it’s an Islamic right, it’s a human right’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about girls’ right to education in Afghanistan with Matiullah Wesa, founder and president of PenPath.
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CSW66: ‘UN member states should make efforts to honour their commitments at home’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about women’s rights and the United Nations (UN) Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) with Eucharia Abua, Senior Programme Officer on Gender and Reproductive Justice at African Girls Empowerment Network (AGE Network).
Featured

TUNISIA: ‘We are just students fighting for the future in times in which our opinions are disregarded’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the impacts of the climate crisis in Tunisia and civil society responses with Aziza Fakher, a biology-geology engineering student and member of Youth for Climate Tunisia (YFC Tunisia).
Featured

UKRAINE: ‘International organisations are clearly not up to their historic responsibilities’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Oleksandra Matviichuk, head of the board of the Center for Civil Liberties (CCL), about human rights violations in Ukraine amid the Russian invasion and civil society’s response.
Featured

UKRAINE: ‘The presence of international organisations is key to ensure safe humanitarian corridors’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Sasha Romantsova, executive director of the Center for Civil Liberties (CCL), about Ukrainian civil society’s response to the Russian invasion.
Featured

UKRAINE: ‘If we share information, leaders won’t be able to turn blind eye to human rights violations’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Yaropolk Brynykh of Truth Hounds about Ukrainian civil society’s response to the Russian invasion.
Featured

RUSSIA: ‘The shutdown of media sources threatens to create information vacuum for Russians’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about anti-war protests in Russia and the government’s violations of digital rights with Natalia Malysheva, co-founder and press secretary of Roskomsvoboda.
Featured

GREECE: ‘Together we can do more’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the state of civil society and civic space in Greece with Sotiris Petropoulos, director of Higher Incubator Giving Growth and Sustainability (HIGGS), an initiative that seeks to strengthen Greek civil society organisations (CSOs) through education and support programmes and activities.
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UAE: ‘Many leaders remain silent in the face of systematic human rights abuses’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Kristina Stockwood of the Gulf Centre for Human Rights (GCHR) about the current state of civic space in the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and the government’s efforts to improve its international reputation by holding the Expo 2020 event in Dubai.
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RUSSIA: ‘These protests are key to the preservation of Russian civil society’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the ongoing anti-war protests in Russia and the repressive government response with OVD-Info’s spokesperson Maria Kuznetsova.
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GUATEMALA: ‘Anti-rights groups seek to maintain the privileges of some at the expense of the rights of others’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with the team of Visibles about recent anti-rights developments in Guatemala.
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RUSSIA: 'Any tactic that protesters use will likely be banned and declared a crime'

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about anti-war protests and the growing restrictions on civic space in Russia with Nelya Rakhimova, coordinator of the Coalition for Sustainable Development of Russia (CSDR).
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POLAND: ‘If lots of tiny actions are performed by many people, we can achieve big things’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Magdalena Demczak, co-founder and director of Akcja Menstruacja (Menstrual Action), about the work her organisation is currently doing to help Ukrainian refugees.
Featured

ALGERIA: ‘The authorities are arresting human rights defenders to suffocate civil society’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the situation of human rights and civic freedoms in Algeria with Rachid Aouine, Director for SHOAA for Human Rights.
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CHILE: ‘The drafting of the new constitution is a historic opportunity for women’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Mariela Infante Erazo, director of Corporación Humanas, about the impacts of the pandemic on women and girls in Chile, and about her hopes for advances coming from the inauguration of a new government and the process to develop a new constitution.
Featured

LEBANON: ‘Abuses against women are the direct product of the gender imbalances of a patriarchal society’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Iraqi women and girls and civil society’s role in combatting gender inequalities in Lebanon with Ghida Anani, founder and director of ABAAD – Resource Centre for Gender Equality.
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TURKMENISTAN: ‘There is nothing resembling real civil society – and no conditions for it to emerge’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Farid Tukhbatullin, founder and director of the Turkmen Initiative for Human Rights (TIHR), about the upcoming election and the environment for civil society in Turkmenistan.
Featured

YEMEN: ‘Women are completely absent from decision-making bodies; politically we don’t exist’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about gender inequalities in Yemen and the role of Yemeni civil society in tackling them with Bilkis Abouosba, founder and chairperson of the Awam Foundation for Development and Culture, a civil society organisation (CSO) founded in 2008 to support women’s political participation.
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MEXICO: ‘Human rights defenders constantly put their freedom and their lives at risk’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Antonio Lara Duque, a human rights lawyer with the Zeferino Ladrillero Human Rights Centre (CDHZL), about the situation of Indigenous rights defenders in Mexico, and specifically about the situation of Kenia Hernández, a criminalised and unjustly imprisoned woman Indigenous leader.
Featured

CHILE: ‘Domestic and care work still falls overwhelmingly on women’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about International Women’s Day and civil society’s role in combatting gender inequalities in Chile with Cecilia Ananías Soto, founder of Amaranta, an independent civil society organisation (CSO) based in the Chilean city of Concepción, in the Biobío region.
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TURKEY: ‘We continue to organise and demonstrate so that no voice is left unheard’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about International Women’s Day and Turkish civil society’s role in eliminating gender inequality with the team of the We Will Stop Femicide Platform, a Turkish civil society organisation (CSO) aimed at ending femicide and ensuring women are protected from violence.
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ZAMBIA: ‘Our aim is to break societal biases against girls’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the upcoming International Women’s Day and Zambian civil society’s role in advancing women’s and girls’ rights with Pamela Mateyo and Mwape Kapepula, co-founders of WingEd Girls.
Featured

IRAQ: ‘We've submitted many bills, but parliament refuses to adopt a law against GBV’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about International Women’s Day and civil society’s role in combatting gender inequalities and the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on Iraqi women and girls with Alyaa Al Ansari, executive director of Bent Al-Rafedain Organisation (BROB).
Featured

AUSTRIA: ‘Unfortunately, times of crisis have rarely proven to be a catalyst for gender equality’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about International Women’s Day and civil society’s role in combatting gender-based violence (GBV) in Austria with Hannah Steiner and Sophie Hansal of the Network of Austrian Counselling Centres for Women and Girls.
Featured

PAKISTAN: ‘As a result of patriarchal norms, women experience discrimination at all levels’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the upcoming International Women’s Day and Pakistani civil society’s role in eliminating inequality and malnutrition with Farrah Naz, country director of the Global Alliance for Improved Nutrition (GAIN).
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SYRIA: ‘The pandemic added another layer to women’s diminished access to healthcare’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the upcoming International Women’s Day and Syrian civil society’s role in eliminating gender inequality with Maria Al Abdeh, executive director of Women Now for Development (WND), a Syrian civil society organisation (CSO) aimed at fostering a democratic, free and just society in which women can play meaningful roles and reach their full potential.
Featured

POLAND: ‘Abortion rights will inevitably be at the forefront of this year’s International Women’s Day’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the upcoming International Women’s Day and Polish civil society’s role in advancing women’s rights with the team of the Helsinki Foundation for Human Rights (HFHR).
Featured

UK: ‘Education can equip the next generation to disrupt the culture of gender-based violence’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the upcoming International Women’s Day and UK civil society’s role in eliminating gender inequality with the team of Bold Voices, a social enterprise that seeks to create spaces for young people to discuss and share experiences of gender inequality and gender-based violence.
Featured

AUSTRIA: ‘If anything changed for women under the pandemic, it was for the worse’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the upcoming International Women’s Day and civil society’s role in combatting gender inequality in Austria with Judith Goetz, a political analyst and scholar who studies gender and right-wing extremism.
Featured

ZIMBABWE: ‘Young women should be at the centre of discussion of the issues affecting them’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the upcoming International Women’s Day and Zimbabwean civil society’s role in eliminating gender inequality with Margaret Mutsamvi, Director of the Economic Justice for Women Project (EJWP).
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BULGARIA: ‘Women’s rights organisations are working together towards the goal of a feminist Europe’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks about the upcoming International Women’s Day and Bulgarian civil society’s role in eliminating gender-based violence (GBV) with Iliana Balabanova, founder and president of the Bulgarian Platform of the European Women’s Lobby (BPEWL).
Featured

MYANMAR: ‘If we fail to take appropriate action, the junta will commit more crimes’

Interviews
CIVICUS speaks with Kyaw Win, founder and Executive Director of the Burma Human Rights Network (BHRN), about the situation in Myanmar one year after the coup.

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