Anna Nikoghosyan is queer feminist activist and scholar from Armenia. She is the Executive Coordinator of the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition (WHRDIC) since February 2023. Her activism and writing focus on intersectional anticolonial feminism, queerness, critique of
neoliberalism and militarisation. Follow her on @Anna_Fem
Noor: Tell us about the “SPREADING THE ECHO!” campaign that was recently launched by WHRDIC and why is it important to talk about the Women and Human Rights Defenders who are imprisoned for their human rights work and activism in tandem with the 16 Days of Activism?
AN: On the occasion of the International Women Human Rights Defenders Day on November 29, the Women Human Rights Defenders International Coalition has launched the “SPREADING THE ECHO!” campaign. During one month, from November 20 till December 20, we are featuring the profiles of 50 women human rights defenders (WHRDs) from around the world imprisoned for their human rights work and activism.
16 days of activism against gender based violence is an internationally renowned campaign that calls for the prevention and elimination of violence against women and girls. WHRDs are women who engage in the defense of human rights, and people of all genders who engage in the defense of women’s rights and rights related to gender and sexuality. Apart from different intersecting layers of oppression they are subjected to and are fighting against, WHRDs are particularly exposed to various forms of gender based violence, therefore, #SpreadingTheEcho campaign is in line with the concept and values of to the 16 days of activism and is carried out both in parallel and in addition to it. The campaign wouldn’t come to reality if not the valuable contribution from the WHRDIC members and allies.
Noor: What advocacy strategies and tactics have been successful in raising awareness about violence against WHRDs?
AN: The members of the WHRDIC are international, regional and grassroots organisations working on the spectrum of women’s rights and human rights and are based in the Global South and North. Our collective action is designed to mobilise constituencies and influence governments, donors and international and regional human rights systems through enhancing awareness and influencing policy development in regard to the rights of WHRDs. For this purpose, we use an intersectional perspective, and call attention to abuses of individuals or specific WHRD populations – this includes efforts to secure release from detention, prevent targeting of
marginalised groups, and call for accountability of perpetrators.
The WHRDIC’s contributions in the past, since its inception in 2005, have changed the landscape of how WHRDs are seen and understood. We have published groundbreaking materials based on WHRDs’ lived experiences and influenced individual activists, government and UN policy makers and NGO programming. Our ideas, and those of our members, have been catalysts for centering gender in the HRD political universe and for raising awareness on specific challenges, including gender based violence and harassment, that WHRDs face in their work and activism.
From the movement end, we and our members have convened numerous strategic meetings to build and strengthen networks and to enhance our collective global impact. Critically, our actions are fundamentally about solidarity. Always from an intersectional grounding, we think, lobby, coach and demand.
Noor: How can the international community and transnational feminist solidarity networks provide effective support to WHRDs facing violence?
AN: I believe that the first step is to keep their cases under scrupulous attention, including on media and in international advocacy spaces. One of the hashtags used in the “SPREADING THE ECHO!” campaign is #WeRemember, because oppressive forces and governments think that through time imprisoned defenders will be forgotten. Different activist groups and organisations have proven that this is never the case. Continuous and persistent, our collective demands need to be strengthened, echoed and amplified. As mentioned in our campaign, “The echo is spreading as soon as the words of resistance are passing her lips.” We believe in the power of echo and are calling everybody to join the struggle!
We want the authorities responsible for the unfair detention and imprisonment of WHRDs to know that we are here, in solidarity with defenders and activists. We also want WHRDs behind the bars to feel that we keep raising awareness about the injustices they have faced and that we demand their immediate, unconditional release from prisons from the highest platforms. Hundreds of WHRDs are currently imprisoned because they are seen as a threat to the system; this means that the system is, indeed, threatened.
Noor: How the rise of the far right across contexts is affecting the ways in which (their tactics) and the extent to which WHRDs are being targeted and imprisoned, in a broader context of their attempts to suppress feminist organizing?
AN: The far right across contexts are using various tactics to suppress feminist organising, such as purposefully spreading gendered misinformation, organising smear campaigns, pushing for conservative laws and policies that will restrict both women’s rights and freedom of association. In many countries, the charges WHRDs face are for “threatening national security”, “receiving funds from abroad for the purpose of political propaganda”, “producing fake news against the state”, or “disrupting public order” – agendas that the far right is quite successful to feed into.
Noor: What would transnational solidarity look like with regards to these threats? How can feminist movements effectively resist the far-right forces targeting WHRDs?
AN: The right wing narratives, including anti-gender movements, are on the rise. They go hand in hand with fundamentalist discourses, traditional power structures of authority and proliferating wars and militarisation. I believe that in order for feminist movements to effectively resist the anti-rights narratives we should work in three main directions: development of our own narratives which will not be reactionist to the pre-given framework set by the right wing; creation of necessary prerequisites for setting joint strategies to combat anti-rights narratives, misinformation and co-optation of our own language by neoliberal agendas; countering anti-rights movements in particular contexts and settings by concrete actions that were proven to be successful and effective.