IANGEL Celebrates 10 Years!
On March 15, 2023, IANGEL celebrated its 10th Anniversary! Ten years ago, we started our journey to harness the power of pro bono legal services and connect it to the cause of gender equality locally, nationally, and globally. With amazing support from volunteers, donors, NGO partners, and advocates around the world, we celebrate a decade of impact to defend and advance the human rights of women and girls through education, advocacy, and engagement of volunteer resources. Help us celebrate this milestone by nominating an accomplished feminist leader for our Amel Zenoune Zouani Rights & Leadership award, to be presented at our gala celebration later this year; the deadline is May 15, 2023. Or donate to support our work, in honor of a feminist that inspires you. We are all in this together!
Fun Fact: IANGEL was founded on March 15, 2013 – the 80th birthday of Ruth Bader Ginsburg. When we celebrate IANGEL’s anniversary, we celebrate the legacy of the legendary and inspiring champion of gender equality, RBG.
Welcome New Board Members: Kawser Amine and Mahwish Moazzam
IANGEL extends a warm welcome to two of our newest board members, Kawser Amine and Mahwish Moazzam. Kawser is the Founder and CEO of Women’s Solidarity for Peace and Leadership (WSPL) and the Amine Soccer Academy. She is a former athlete with the Afghanistan Women’s National Soccer team, as well as a women’s rights activist, author, speaker and changemaker, and uses her experience and expertise to shed light on the plight of women in Afghanistan. Mahwish is a lawyer and a feminist scholar from Pakistan. She earned her L.L.M. at UC Berkeley School of Law, with a specialization in International Law, and also served as an associate editor for the Berkeley Journal of Middle Eastern & Islamic Law, She is currently a doctoral candidate at UC Berkeley, focusing on feminist legal theory. IANGEL is thrilled to welcome Kawser and Mahwish to our board of directors.
Going “Beyond Borders” for Gender Equality: IANGEL at CSW67
On March 15th, 2023, as a parallel event in connection with the UN’s 67th meeting of the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW67), IANGEL presented “Beyond Borders: Advancing Equality in the Digital Age.” This engaging webinar was well attended by feminist activists around the world, and featured speakers from five different countries, discussing the role of technology in promoting gender equality globally. Topics included the impact of technology on global education, using technology to overcome political and governmental challenges, and to increase engagement and impact of civil society activists. To listen, visit our Youtube channel here.
Teen Information on Reproductive Justice in Schools Now
Since the fall of Roe, lawmakers in the United States continue to write and pass laws that endanger the rights and safety of women and people that can become pregnant. Now more than ever, young people need to understand their legal rights, and make decisions based on accessible and factually accurate information. In partnership with the Berkeley Law’s Reproductive Justice Project, IANGEL’s Teen Information Project for Reproductive Justice (TIP) has developed a new curriculum to educate teenagers about their legal reproductive rights. The updated TIP curriculum has recently been completed, and will begin to be presented to bay area teens in April of 2023. Thanks and kudos to Haleigh Cotton, Kristy Lam, Ayeza Bajwa, and the outstanding team at Berkeley Law’s RJP, and to IANGEL VP Rebecca Hooley for leadership and guidance on this project.
IANGEL Joins Campaign to End Gender Apartheid
On International Women’s Day, March 8, 2023, an international campaign was launched by women’s rights leaders, international legal practitioners, activists and other stakeholders, to call on states to recognize the crime of gender apartheid and end the systems of gender apartheid in the Islamic Republic of Iran, and in Afghanistan under the Taliban. The oppression of women and girls in these regimes is severe and outrageous, as women and girls are deprived of basic human rights. IANGEL is proud to join the global coalition to raise awareness of these issues and to call on governments around the world to stand up strongly and to demand change. Learn more: https://endgenderapartheid.today/
*pseudonyms
IANGEL Supports Education for Women and Girls in Afghanistan
Since the Taliban returned to power in Afghanistan, they have issued a series of discriminatory laws and policies that dehumanize women and girls. Severe restrictions against education, employment, travel, health care, and access to public spaces, are a violation of human rights amounting to gender apartheid. In addition to joining the international advocacy movement to EndGenderApartheid.today, IANGEL is providing direct support to brave women teachers In Afghanistan who are determined to continue to teach women and girls, no matter what. Hear the voices of Freshta (a pseudonym) and her students learning English:
Amplifying Advocacy for Global Gender Justice
Since January of 2023, IANGEL has endorsed multiple equality initiatives, amplifying voices for change on issues of reproductive rights, empowerment, and security, including the following:
- Signed on to the CSW67 Zero Draft Policy recommendations, identifying the critical concerns for the achievement of gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls.
- Endorsed the reintroduction by Rep. Jan Schakowsky and Sen. Cory Booker of the Abortion is Health Care Everywhere Act, to fully repeal the Helms Amendment and allow US foreign assistance to fund safe abortion services.
- Endorsed the Resolution of Rep. Nikema Williams in Support of Beatriz and Access to Abortion in El Salvador introduced 3/23/23. Despite carrying a fetus with no chance of survival, and medical staff agreeing that the pregnancy threatened her life, Beatriz was denied an abortion by the government of El Salvador. Only after intervention by the Inter-American Commission on Human Rights was she able to obtain the life-saving abortion, and she is pursuing justice now before the Inter-American Court of Human Rights. This case has the potential to shape reproductive rights not only in El Salvador, but throughout Latin America and the Caribbean. #JusticiaParaBeatriz. Learn more about Beatriz’s case here.
- Endorsed the reintroduction of the Global Health, Empowerment and Rights (HER) Act, a bill that would permanently repeal the Global Gag Rule, a policy that barred NGOs receiving U.S. global health aid from providing legal abortion services or support. The Global HER Act will help the U.S. build sustainable global partnerships for long term progress on critical health issues.
- Signed a letter to Sen. Barbara Lee urging increased funding for international family planning and reproductive health programs and to address policies that limit the effectiveness of these programs in the State, Foreign Operations and Related Programs FY 2024
Appropriations bill.
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