MADRE

@madrespeaks.bsky.social

MADRE is advancing women’s human rights by meeting urgent needs and building lasting solutions defined by women and girls. MADRE.org

The Mau Forest is Kenya’s largest Indigenous forest and one of the country’s most important ecosystems. It is also the ancestral homeland of the Ogiek People, whose identity, culture, and livelihoods are deeply connected to the forest.

Collage of the Ogiek People in the Mau Forest with text overlay, The Mau Forest

A global mechanism for justice, the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW) is often described as a “bill of rights for women.” In a recent submission to the CEDAW committee, we demand accountability for Indigenous Peoples in Kenya.

In September MADRE Senior Fellow Dr. Laura Baron-Mendoza recently brought critical evidence to the UN Special Rapporteur on the Human Right to a Clean, Healthy and Sustainable Environment, urging the UN to protect environmental human rights defenders facing rising threats.@srenvironment.bsky.social

Widely known as “Little Miss Flint,” Mari continues to share her beliefs and stories, inspiring others to speak out for their communities. Her leadership reminds us that young people closest to injustice must have a hand in building long-lasting change that promotes human rights.

Mari Copeny smiling with text layered next to her: 

"Nobody seemed to be listening to the adults, but I knew that eventually they'd listen to me." 

Mari Copeny
"Little Miss Flint"

As the only youth organization in Samoa, Brown Girl Woke is building the next generation of leaders and encouraging them to use their voice, pursue passions, and reimagine what it means to make a difference in their communities.

We are partnering with Muslim Counterpublics Lab to examine the lessons and legacies for the 25th anniversary of the War on Terror at the Elliot School of International Affairs at George Washington University on Thursday and Friday, September 17-18!

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Layered text: 
When Will This War End? 

Lessons and Legacies of the Global War on Terror

Examine Reflect Mourn Resist Dream Organize

Washington DC
September 17-18, 2026

WarOnTerror25.org

One month later, Colombia is still healing after a 7.4-magnitude earthquake that killed 287 and left hundreds more missing. In moments like this, speed matters, and MADRE moves money quickly, straight to the people already doing the work and most impacted. https://bit.ly/46rHWqd

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Colombia: One Month LaterImage of a collapsed building

Colombia: One Month Later

On this day, 25 years ago, Representative Barbara Lee was the lone dissenter on the floor of the House for the Authorization for Use of Military Force: “Let’s just pause, just for a minute and think through the implications of our actions today.”

518 Versus One

25 years ago, Rep. Barbara Lee said, "NO AUMF" layered over a zoomed in picture of Rep. Barbara Lee speaking into a microphone.

August marked five years since the Taliban’s return. Afghan leaders, survivors, & the Afghan diaspora continue to demand that the US take accountability for its war crimes and human rights violations against civilians and confront its legacy of impunity. https://bit.ly/4xjuFen

Center the voices of Afghan victims particularly women and marginalized groups—in all accountability and peacebuilding processes. Thorough investigations into war crimes and human rights violations committed by U.S. and NATO forces, and include accountability for past alliances with and empowering warlords and rights abusers.Recommend transparent and concrete measures to address economic violence against Afghans, and target systemic corruption, with a focus on restoring public trust and supporting long-term development for Afghans.Ensure justice for survivors of sexual and gender-based crimes, with clear systems for addressing impunity, guided by Afghan women and feminists.

Many of the rights we enjoy at work today exist because workers joined forces in labor unions and fought for them. Today, we say “thank you” to them and to our union, MADRE United, for their part in shaping a global movement for economic and personal well-being in the workforce.

Support 
Your 
Local
Union

MADRE and MADRE STAFF UNITED logos

Join MADRE and our partners on Sept. 8 alongside the Human Rights Council in Geneva for a discussion of gender persecution in Afghanistan. See the flyer for full details.

Gender persecution and its inescapable consequences 

Domestic Violence and other GBV in Afghanistan

Examining how the Taliban's system of gender of gender persecution  intensifies domestic violence and gender-based violence in Afghanistan and identifying priorities for accountability and protection

Yesterday, we lost a feminist giant. The groundwork Gloria Steinem laid for feminist movements and activism inform many of the systems we've built today, challenging gender inequality. We're grateful to have learned from her example.

“If you say, I'm for equal pay, that's a reform. But if you say, I'm a feminist, that's a transformation of society.” - Gloria Steinem

Layered photos of Gloria Steinem

Photo attributions: 
Gloria Steinem, 1975.Credit: Jack Mitchell/Getty Images 

Photograph by Inez and Vinoodh for The New Yorker

Families in Colombia face their “new normal” of unimaginable loss and grief after a 7.4 earthquake devastated their homes. As they recover, our partners, who are often first responders, yet consistently the last to receive aid, can use your support.https://bit.ly/4yhOGTp

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Area in color: A pink wall decorated with blue, orange, and green handprints and cutouts of the moon and stars hang from the ceiling. 

Layered text on top: THE NEW NORMAL
As we enter the upcoming school year, families in Colombia face unimaginable loss after a 7.4 earthquake devastated their communities, destroying homes, schools, and more. Their “new normal” comes with grief as they heal and rebuild their communities.

There are many ways to make an impact and support feminist organizing. Writer Helen Benedict organized a literary benefit in support of MADRE, raising funds for global grassroots organizers and initiatives and showing how coming together inspires lasting change.

In Johannesburg? Join MADRE on August 31 for a dialogue on accountability for apartheid and shaping the draft CAH treaty. RSVP to wendy_gpobservatory@protonmail.com to secure your spot!

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“Faces of Resilience” captures the voices, courage, heartbreak, and unwavering determination of Afghan women who, under Taliban rule, continue fighting for gender justice, security, and lasting change in Afghanistan. Read the full publication. https://bit.ly/3s3zE70

"Faces of Resilience" 

Collage of Afghan Women Human Rights Defenders

As Muna Luqman, Founder of @Food4Humanity and MADRE partner, shares with @IPSnews: “The local women peacebuilders are the structure and the backbone of these societies.” We cannot afford to exclude women in negotiation spaces. Lasting peace depends on it. https://bit.ly/4wW1w9K

Side Profile of Muna Luqman in outdoor scenery. 

“The local women peacebuilders are the structure and the backbone of these societies. They are valuable. They should be treated as valuable assets. They should be supported and protected.” - Muna Luqman, founder of Food4Humanity in Yemen.

A 7.4 magnitude earthquake hit western Colombia yesterday, killing more than 180 and collapsing buildings in Cali, Pereira & Manizales. MADRE is moving emergency grants to our partners on the ground because they can't wait. Rush your gift so we can respond quickly: https://bit.ly/4wS6KDb

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Yesterday morning, a powerful 7.4 magnitude earthquake struck western Colombia, killing more than 100 and leaving buildings collapsed in Cali, Pereira, Manizales, and beyond.

When we ask, "Who gets to be free?" we interrogate systems that continue to threaten feminist human rights defenders with violence and withhold and exploit resources that keep environments from thriving. When we ask this question, we also think of Yanar. MADRE.org/YanarsFund

Despite intermittent access to humanitarian aid caused by Israeli blockades, our long-term relationships with local organizers and community members allow us to ensure we can deliver relief to Palestinians in Gaza. Peace cannot coexist with or grow from occupation. MADRE.org/Palestine

MADRE IN PALESTINE

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For years, MADRE has mobilized quickly to create networks with our local partners, including Middle East Children’s Alliance, the Culture and Free Thought Association, and Palestinian Medical Relief Society, to provide 
Palestinians in Israel’s occupied territories with food, water, emergency medical care, and psychosocial support. Image of a woman holding a baby in a medical bed overlapping an image of women in a room. 

In the West Bank, due to Israeli military roadblocks and restrictions, Palestinians are barred from reaching hospitals, restricting accessibility to health and reproductive care, with people experiencing pregnancy being at most risk. MADRE supports a grassroots group of Palestinian and Israeli midwives in demanding an end to the occupation that prevents pregnant people from accessing essential health care.Image of a woman with a megaphone in a field overlaps with background image of a destroyed building 

Despite decades of the Israeli government’s violence and oppression, Palestinian communities have cared for each other and mobilized in nonviolent collective action, with women often playing critical leadership roles to support their families and communities. They became and still are the backbone fighting to protect their people, rights, humanity, and for the immediate end to Israel’s horrifying genocide and occupation. Image of Palestinians behind barbed wire

“The failure to recognize the violent reality of living under siege, occupation, and apartheid makes no one safer. No person, no child anywhere should have to suffer or live in fear of violence. We cannot ignore the humanity in each other.” - Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib

Continuing a long-standing commitment, MADRE works alongside grassroots organizers to safely amplify Afghan voices and to advance the rights and safety of women, girls, LGBTQIA+ communities, and those most at risk under Taliban rule. Learn more: MADRE.org/Afghanistan.

MADRE IN AFGHANISTAN

Image of an Afghan woman surrounded by supplies, holding a "Thank you MADRE" sign

When the Taliban seized control of Afghanistan in 2021, MADRE partnered with local grassroots organizers and tapped into long-held partnerships to help women and girls escape escalating violence. They established safehouses and delivered urgent supplies. These trusted connections ensured MADRE could continue to bring life-saving humanitarian relief to communities, especially during the earthquakes in 2022 and 2023, showing 
the importance of community organizing in a crisis. Image of Afghan women in a room

Building on this foundation, MADRE provided vital documentation, advocacy tools, and training to women’s and human rights defenders both within Afghanistan and among those forced to flee. Through international partnerships, MADRE amplified the voices of Afghan women and LGBTQIA+ people fighting for justice and building the infrastructure needed to hold perpetrators of gender-based violence accountable.Image of women in a conference room with microphones 

These systems, including MADRE’s Access to Justice Program and reporting on gender persecution crimes in Afghanistan, led to two major milestones. In 2024, Afghan women were able to directly share survivor experiences at the International Criminal Court (ICC), and in 2025, the ICC issued arrest warrants against two Taliban officials for their crimes against Afghan women, girls, and the LGBTQIA+ community, recognizing these crimes as crimes against humanity.Image of Sign: "Gift from MADRE to the children & women of Bamyan Samar Orphanage" 

To learn more about our work, visit MADRE.org/Afghanistan.

A new report, featuring contributions from MADRE, Afghan LGBT, and the Gender Persecution Working Group, provides recommendations to overturn a crisis depriving Afghan women and girls of their right to education and safety. Download your copy today. https://bit.ly/4gQ3lzF

2 Afghan women with supplies

"Risking a Generation of Illiteracy"Nearly five years after the Taliban banned girls from secondary and higher education, the consequences extend far beyond the classroom.

Across Afghanistan, girls denied an education face increased risks of child marriage, labor exploitation, depression, and suicide. Years of conflict, economic collapse, and restrictions on learning have left students with minimal to no access to quality education, while marginalized communities face additional barriers to learning safely. 

Yet amid these challenges, Afghan teachers, women human rights defenders, and local communities continue to resist by creating lifelines for students despite immense personal risk and limited resources.

The US war on terrorism did more damage to Afghan women's and girls' rights than its claim to protect them. As the crisis worsens and communities see a rollback to their human rights, the US has a responsibility to repair the harm it has exacerbated.

The US based its position on the war against terrorism on supporting women's and girls' rights. This scapegoating provided justification for destructive foreign policies.

In 2021, the withdrawal of the US from Afghanistan, without consultation from Afghan civil society, left Afghan women and girls to fend for themselves as the Taliban rose back into power.“For over two decades, U.S. policymakers have used women’s rights to justify perpetuating the war on Afghanistan—despite spending almost 1,000 times more on military expenditures than on promoting women’s rights and enabling the exclusion of Afghan women from peace negotiations.” 

(Afghan Women Aren’t Liberated by Humanitarian Catastrophe by Jamila Afghani and Yifat Susskind, 2022)“Now, in many of the provinces where the Taliban reigns, women are being killed, girls prevented from going to school, women barred from work, and women’s organizations have shuttered or gone underground.” 

Without economic relief, the crisis is worse for Women, who are expected to be the main providers of food, medical well-being, and more for their families.

Yet as Afghan women and girls witness a rollback on their rights, feminist organizers continue to put their lives at risk against the Taliban, death threats, and more to advocate for women and girls. 

(The Taliban Takes Power, After 20 Years of a Failed US War, 2021)Now is the time to act. 

It is imperative that the US and other countries choose to center, mobilize, and support Afghan feminist peacebuilders to: 

safeguard women's and girls' rights 
remove conflict from civilians' lives 
protect Afghanistan’s future

This is the US duty and moral responsibility.