Amid a worldwide backlash against women’s rights, and after its own aid cuts that further threaten those rights, it has never been more urgent for the UK government to speak up loudly for global gender equality, says the Gender and Development Network.
The era of anti-rights: what can you do about it?
With movements to roll back gender rights on the rise around the world, Kelly Mundy and Rachel Noble explain why the fight to protect them is more important than ever and set out three things we can do to support them.
No one should be left behind in the shift to a greener future
After decades of delay, the move from burning fossil fuels to renewables is firmly underway – but the fairness of this unfolding transition is not inevitable. In fact, there is a real danger the world will simply swap one exploitative and unjust system for another. Natalie Shortall introduces a new Oxfam paper that calls on the UK to get wholeheartedly behind a “just transition”.
From Personal to Powerful: in the face of growing attacks on rights, states must hold the line for gender justice
Three decades after the landmark Beijing declaration to advance women’s rights, right-wing, religious, and conservative actors are reversing and obstructing hard-won progress. This International Women’s Day, our new Oxfam campaign calls on governments across the globe to reassert their commitment to gender justice, bodily autonomy and sexual and reproductive health and rights, say Lata Narayanaswamy and Amina Hersi.
How the surge in land seizures and violence by Israel in the West Bank adds up to a brutal new level of oppression
The incursion of Israeli tanks into the West Bank this week is just the latest step in an intensifying and systematic crackdown. Bushra Khalidi on five repressive tactics the Israeli government has been using, including new laws that will accelerate annexation. The strategy, she says, is now clear: make Palestinian life unlivable.
Guest speakers are not enough: this Black History Month, we need to ask where NGOs go from here on racial justice
Oxfam GB racial justice lead Rhaea Russell-Cartwright reflects on how far Oxfam and similar UK-based organisations have come and what they should think about next to deliver on racial justice – including the implications of racist riots in Britain, the need for solidarity across borders and ensuring that celebrations of this month centre the experiences of our Black staff. It’s …
When inclusion is an illusion: sign language interpreters and the pitfalls for ‘inclusive’ development
How did a meeting for disabled people in Uganda end up using sign language that local deaf people couldn’t understand? Julia Modern reflects on how that failure is rooted in racialised ideas about who is an expert – and shares six tips for effective deaf inclusion. (And you can also watch a Ugandan Sign Language translation of the blog.)
The strength of unity: protests in Kenya
In this blog, Simon Maina shares his first experience in a protest and how young people in Kenya propelled their shared anger and hopes in demanding for change.
Violent pushbacks, a no-go zone and hostility: the triple threat for refugees at the EU’s ‘green border’
In the forests that divide Poland from Belarus, those fleeing war-torn countries face a harsh crackdown. Dominika Ożyńska of Polish organisation Egala describes how many are being forced back into Belarus and cut off from humanitarian assistance, as NGOs are banned from certain border areas. All of this is taking place amid growing public and political hostility and anti-migrant rhetoric.
‘I would expect more trust’: five things holding back LGBTQIA+ led organisations in the Ukraine response
LGBTQIA+ organisations responding to the crisis in Ukraine need better support from international donors, including more flexible funding and support to boost the visibility of the LGBTQIA+ community. Charlotte Greener shares insights from conversations with two LGBTQIA+ groups working in Ukraine and neighbouring Poland.