On August 13th IANGEL celebrated its seventh anniversary at our virtual gala, “In It To Win It“.
Executive Director, Andrea Carlise, spoke about IANGEL’s passion for gender equity and progress toward achieving its goals.
A transcript of Andrea’s gala remarks is below and you can listen to them by clicking the play button.
Full Audio Transcript:
Good evening everyone, I’m IANGEL’s Executive Director, Andrea Carlise. As we celebrate IANGEL’s 7th anniversary along with the 100th anniversary of the 19th Amendment and the 55th anniversary of the 1965 Voting Rights Act, we must continue stridently to push for gender and racial justice and to expand voting rights. Despite these challenging times, IANGEL is compelled to continue fighting for transformative gender justice.
Exercising our voting rights is all the more necessary now as we grapple with the unprecedented times we find ourselves in. The virus is forcing those of us with the privilege to do so to slow down our frantic lives while we shelter in place and work remotely. I implore all of us to use this time for reflection and to connect to our true values – individually, as a nation and as human beings around the world.
This is a time for reckoning with the inequities that have been laid bare both by the pandemic and by the continuing violence against marginalized communities who have never had the advantages of true equality. These systemic inequities, deeply-rooted in a colonized society where white male supremacy runs rampant, have been left unaddressed for far too long. IANGEL takes an impassioned stand against these inequities. Through education, advocacy and pro bono engagement, we leverage the impact of our limited resources through a global network of volunteers and advocates. Our goal is to make reproductive freedom, peace & security, and leadership & empowerment a reality for all women and girls. And IANGEL’s network is strengthened by our partnerships with bar associations and civil society organizations across the globe.
2020 has brought tragedy and unexpected challenges. But we recognize that in tragedy comes transformation. Since we began sheltering in place in March, IANGEL has turned its attention to addressing the needs of the marginalized and vulnerable. We embarked on a new partnership with the Cooperative Restraining Order Clinic and hosted our first webinar on the trauma-informed representation of survivors of gender-based violence and trafficking. Recognizing that shelter-in-place has created opportunity for abusers, deepened economic violence and the stress and loss of control that we all feel, this webinar focused on protecting survivors during COVID-19.
IANGEL has also ramped up its advocacy efforts. We joined the Opportunity for All Coalition in support of California Proposition 16, to repeal former Prop 209 and allow affirmative action in public hiring, contracting and education. Prop 16 will be on the November 3rd ballot in California and will bring us closer to dismantling systemic racism and gender discrimination. IANGEL is also conducting groundbreaking research to support a movement for girls autonomy globally. We have partnered with the Berkeley Law School pro bono program on our Girls’ Rights research project. You’ll hear more about this innovative project directly from a former LL.M. researcher who is now a volunteer shortly.
IANGEL is also advocating for the Abortion is Healthcare Everywhere Act, introduced in the US House of Representatives on July 29th. The world’s most vulnerable are harmed by the Helms Amendment – the U.S. law that bars U.S. foreign assistance funds from being used for abortion services. The way that the law is interpreted and implemented denies reproductive rights, and censors critical health information. This historic legislation replaces the amendment with proactive language stating that U.S. funding shall be used to provide comprehensive reproductive health-care services and information, including abortion services, training, and equipment.
Highlighting another area where COVID-19 has had a significant impact, IANGEL recently submitted an addendum to our paper on Women, Culture and Climate Change focusing on the challenges and opportunities the pandemic has presented. You heard earlier from Special Rapporteur Karima Bennoune to whom we submitted the paper. IANGEL is very proud to be working with Karima and submitting papers to the UN Office of the Human Rights Council. I am proud and honored to serve as IANGEL’s Executive Director to further its vision of a world where all people will have the same rights to basic human dignity, fairness, and self-determination, regardless of gender. Thank you all for joining us to help make that vision a reality.