When Women Organise, Democracy Survives: Why Gender Justice Cannot Be a Casualty of Global Crises

• Women-led civil society organizations are critical to democracy but are facing an increasingly hostile environment marked by shrinking freedoms and reduced funding.
• Gender justice is often treated as a peripheral issue, yet its erosion accelerates democratic backsliding.
• Urgent action is required to provide flexible funding, protect civic space, and include feminist movements as central political actors.

The Crisis Facing Feminist Civil Society

• Funding Disparities: Resources are shifting toward short-term security and humanitarian interests, marginalizing long-term investments in gender justice.
• Legislative and Digital Backlash: Restrictive laws are frequently weaponized against feminist and LGBTQ+ movements; meanwhile, digital spaces often amplify misogyny while excluding women from governance decisions.
• Systemic Risk: Women human rights defenders face constant surveillance, harassment, and physical threats, often with little to no accountability from institutional authorities.

Necessary Structural Shifts

• Protective Financing: Move away from short-term project funding toward flexible, core, and long-term financial support for movements operating under pressure.
• Enabling Environments: Repeal restrictive laws targeting assembly and expression, and ensure digital governance prioritizes human rights and gender equality.
• Political Inclusion: Treat feminist movements as essential political actors—not mere beneficiaries—by granting them influential roles in international debates, climate negotiations, and peacebuilding.

Collective Action

• Forus Initiative: The "March With Us" campaign aims to create platforms for women and gender-diverse activists to tell their own stories through podcasts, multimedia, and international advocacy, countering fear with solidarity and accountability.