The Dialogue Building Movements is the result of a partnership between the ELAS Fund, the British Council, the Open Society Foundations Brazil and UN Women, which aims to strengthen the women's movement in defence of democracy and against the criminalization of women's activism.   

 

The Dialogue will include the participation of organizations from black women, indigenous, LGBT, youth, domestic workers, students, secondary school students, bloggers, activists who took to the streets in the Feminist Spring, social media activists, community leaders, as well as experts and strategic guests from the fields of communication, mobility, public managers, academics, intellectuals and artists. 

 

 

Gender experts say that women's rights are under threat in Brazil. In May 2016, the Ministry of Women, Racial Equality and Human Rights was abolished. In addition, all ministries are now occupied by men. Laws restricting rights already won by women, such as PL5069, were passed. These measures caused Brazil to fall 22 places in the World Economic Forum's gender equality ranking, the Global Gender Inequality Index. Cases of violence against women are multiplying throughout Latin America, with shocking crimes such as the gang rape of a 16-year-old girl in Rio de Janeiro and the brutal murder of a young Argentinian woman, which sparked protests in several Latin American countries.  

 

"This meeting is important because of the dialogue, the exchange of experiences and the networking between women's movements from different countries. For example, one advocacy and mobilization strategy could inspire others. The streets of the world and Brazil are taken over by women in defense of their rights. In Brazil, we have seen, in recent years, the resistance of the feminist and women's movements in defense of their bodies and their rights, against various forms of violence, against racism, in defense of indigenous territories, for rights in the countryside and the forest, for public education and without discrimination based on gender, race and ethnicity. With boldness and plurality, women are redefining progressive and emancipatory political forces," says Nadine Gasman, representative of UN Women Brazil. 

 

"The idea of the Dialogue is to analyze the socio-political context from the women's point of view: what is their vision of the context we are living in today? How can we together prevent the situation of women from getting worse?" explains KK Verdade, executive coordinator of the ELAS Fund. 

 

O Diálogo Mulheres em Movimento: Direitos e Novos Rumos será realizado na cidade do Rio de Janeiro, de 25 a 27 de janeiro de 2017, e será transmitido ao vivo pela p&