Standing firm in dignity and resilience
"Women play a critical role in addressing the causes and consequences of conflict by organising and advocating for the rights of the most vulnerable.
They have shaped international human rights frameworks, brokered ceasefires, coordinated humanitarian relief and led reconciliation efforts."
This International Women’s Day we honour the work of Women Human Rights Defenders fighting for positive change in their communities. These women work on all manner of human rights issues, present on the frontline of key struggles for peace, justice and a brighter future. Women play an undervalued role in the defence of civil liberties, protection of communities and promotion of human rights: often the architects of transformational changes that benefit us all.
The Pinoleras Women’s Network
“A woman’s emancipation begins with economic independence.”
Historically, women have played a key role in revolutionary processes. Nicaraguan women are no exception.
The April 2018 uprising triggered incredible violence against countless women - brutal persecution, arbitrary deprivation of freedoms, harassment, and psychological and sexual violence executed by the Ortega and Murillo administration. This unleashed a high rate of forced displacement of young girls, teenagers, and women under conditions of total vulnerability.
Even though it is true that migration and forced displacement are a constant in the region, scenarios of extreme poverty and violence reinforce the decision to leave one’s native land, fleeing to unknown destinations to save one’s life and that of the family in the case of mothers or women who are the providers in their homes. And while adapting to the receiving country—to its different customs, communication codes, and social, economic, and political structures—many needs arise.
The Pinoleras Women’s Network was founded in 2020 in response to the collective needs of the Nicaraguan community in exile. Leaving Nicaragua was not a choice, but a response to a repressive context, with deep emotional impacts on the lives of women and their families. The Network provides a space of emotional healing and freedom: to listen, share advice, recognize each other, and rebuild. The Network is a sisterhood that develops self-managed entrepreneurial actions, with the understanding of economic self-sustainability as a cornerstone of a dignified life.
Starting in 2020, the Network carried out psycho-social support, training, and advocacy work with over 30 participants from Nicaragua, El Salvador and Argentina.
The Network members have built an economy centred around the ‘Pinoleras Fairs’ - gastronomic and artisan fairs that provide opportunities to develop economic independence, share struggles, and advocate for participation in Costa Rican society. The fair is also a space for sharing and developing collective memory, embracing a small piece of home.
Alongside organising the fair, the Network links women with training opportunities, legal advice, and other support. They work in alliance with women from across Costa Rica, Nicaragua, and beyond to develop legal, psycho-social, and mobilisation actions.
Read more about the Network in PBI Nicaragua’s ‘Voices in Resistance’
How PBI UK supports women human rights defenders
Through our field experience, we have seen how a holistic strategy centred on the needs and experiences of women supporting their communities should be at the heart of any protection and advocacy strategy. PBI UK are working with the UK government and other policymakers to ensure they are aware of how best to support and protect women defenders, and we are calling for a comprehensive approach to ensure defenders are able to operate in an environment that allows them to defend and promote human rights.
We are also working hard to increase public recognition of the legitimacy of women human rights defenders, and tackle ongoing impunity for perpetrators.
