‘Grateful and privileged’: A farewell from Priyanthi Fernando

Dear colleagues in IWRAW AP’s wider circle of partners, friends, and supporters, You would have been alerted in different ways that I am transitioning out of IWRAW AP as its executive director and that Priti Darooka will take up the position in October. The social media posts have made some very positive statements about IWRAW […]

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IWRAW Asia Pacific welcomes our new Executive Director

Thank you Priyanthi and welcome Priti!   At the end of August 2023, IWRAW Asia Pacific will bid a fond farewell to our outstanding Executive Director Priyanthi Fernando. During her seven-year tenure at IWRAW Asia Pacific, Priyanthi’s charisma, boldness, dedication, and expertise helped to steer our organisation through numerous complex challenges at both the external […]

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Promoting the Equality of Women: IWRAW Asia Pacific’s Journey

IWRAW Asia Pacific’s founder Shanthi Dairiam details the rich history of her work in establishing IWRAW AP as a Global South-centric feminist organisation, bringing women’s realities into international human rights standards through engaging with the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and its framework on substantive equality. Throughout the years of her activism, Shanthi’s efforts has galvanised the women’s rights movement globally to demand their human rights at the highest level, a vision that IWRAW Asia Pacific still holds close 30 years since our inception.

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Universalising Gender Equality Norms: CEDAW’s critical role in protecting women’s SOGIESC rights

IWRAW Asia Pacific’s white paper rebuts the anti-gender movement’s so called ‘gender ideology’ and expounds the fact that human rights—especially women’s rights—on the basis of sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, and sexual characteristics (SOGIESC) is a protected category within international human rights law as set out by the UN Treaty Body system.

Read the white paper

86th CEDAW Session

Albania, Bhutan, France, Guatemala, Jamaica, Malawi, Nicaragua, Philippines, Uruguay (October 2023)

88th CEDAW Pre-Sessional Working Group

Bahamas, Ireland, Israel, Lao PDR, Mauritius, Mexico, Romania, Saudi Arabia (October-November 2023)

87th CEDAW Session

Central African Republic, Chile, Djibouti, Greece, Italy, Malaysia, Niger, Oman, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan (January-February 2024)

89th CEDAW Pre-Sessional Working Group

Belize, Chad, Congo, Cyprus, Nepal, Paraguay, Saint Lucia, Viet Nam (February 2024)

88th CEDAW Session

Brazil, El Salvador, Estonia, Kuwait, Montenegro, Republic of Korea, Rwanda, Singapore (May 2024)

90th CEDAW Pre-Sessional Working Group

Botswana, Cabo Verde, Dominica, Equatorial Guinea, Lesotho, Libya, Malta (June 2024)

89th CEDAW Session

Benin, Canada, Cuba, Japan, Lao PDR, Netherlands, Saudi Arabia, Sri Lanka (September-October 2024)

91st CEDAW Pre-Sessional Working Group

Algeria, Austria, Grenada, Togo, Zambia (October 2024)