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Perspectives and challenges of Indigenous women leaders of Ecuador in their political representation
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This article employs a decolonial feminist epistemology to analyse the challenges and opportunities faced by Indigenous women leaders within the Confederation of Indigenous Nationalities of Ecuador (CONAIE). The study focuses on their political participation, perspectives on feminism, advocacy for gender policies, and the role of religion in relation to gender roles and women’s political participation. The study is based on 11 semi-structured interviews conducted in two phases (2022 and 2025) with Indigenous women leaders from various nationalities, which were analysed through a reflexive thematic analysis. The research examines how patriarchal structures, both within CONAIE and at the state level, limit the substantive political representation of Indigenous women. It also explores the influence of religious discourses and community norms on gender hierarchies. The study also explores Indigenous women’s perceptions of feminism, particularly their critique of ‘white feminism’, which they perceive as disconnected from their realities and forms of collective organisation. The findings demonstrate that despite a significant proportion of the interviewees not self-identifying as feminists, they are actively engaged in the struggle for gender justice within their own communities. Their resistance strategies encompass the promotion of collective rights, as well as women’s rights, and the pursuit of enhanced participation in decision-making spaces. Nevertheless, their presence frequently remains symbolic, with actual power remaining concentrated in male leadership. The study also highlights the ambivalent relationship between religion and gender in Indigenous communities: while religion can provide spiritual strength and political legitimacy, it also reinforces traditional gender roles and restricts women’s leadership. This study makes a significant contribution to academic debates on feminist democracy by examining the political representation of Indigenous women and offering a feminist critique of Indigenous movements. It also proposes a situated and culturally rooted reading of the struggle for gender justice.
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Resources: Women’s leadership in politics and governance: understanding the potential of transformative feminist leadership
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This document includes the resources section for the special issue on 'Women’s leadership in politics and governance: understanding the potential of transformative feminist leadership'.
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Artificial Intelligence and Social and Gender Justice Activism in MENA: Spaces of co-optation, engagement and resistance
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Artificial Intelligence (AI) is being adopted and deployed across the MENA region in in ways that threaten to deepen existing inequalities and restrict rights. From surveillance technologies such as facial recognition, predictive policing, and smart cities, to algorithmic biases on social media and gig platforms, AI is reshaping civic space, labour markets, and gender dynamics. In conflict and humanitarian settings, AI has already intensified harm, most notably in Israel’s genocide in Gaza. The paper highlights risks to gender and social justice, power imbalances, and emerging feminist and regional responses.
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A Vision for a just Cymru: How the Senedd can fight injustice and inequality while protecting people and the planet
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This paper sets out Oxfam Cymru’s priorities for the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) and the next Welsh Government in the run-up to, and following, the Welsh election in May 2026. It presents 34 ambitious but achievable policy proposals—using the full scope of devolved powers—across four interconnected pillars of justice: Economic, Social, Climate, and Global. Each pillar is essential to building a fairer, greener, and more caring Cymru, and progress in anyone depends on action across them all. Together, these proposals form both a call to urgent action and a practical blueprint for the next Senedd.This paper sets out Oxfam Cymru’s priorities for the Senedd (Welsh Parliament) and the next Welsh Government in the run-up to, and following, the Welsh election in May 2026. It presents 34 ambitious but achievable policy proposals—using the full scope of devolved powers—across four interconnected pillars of justice: Economic, Social, Climate, and Global. Each pillar is essential to building a fairer, greener, and more caring Cymru, and progress in anyone depends on action across them all. Together, these proposals form both a call to urgent action and a practical blueprint for the next Senedd.
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Neend Udaao Andolan: Bhopali women’s responses to the ongoing environmental and health disaster surrounding the abandoned Union Carbide factory, Bhopal, India
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December 2024 marks the 40th anniversary of the world’s worst industrial disaster: the toxic gas leak on 2–3 December 1984 from the US-owned Union Carbide pesticide factory in Bhopal, India. Generations of people across the world have grown up with the story of the ‘Bhopal gas disaster’ and governments have passed laws to prevent such disasters from happening again; yet what people do not realise or recognise is that Bhopal is an ongoing disaster. After that terrifying night, Union Carbide locked up its factory and left all the toxic chemicals and waste inside the factory. In 2001, it merged with Dow Chemical, another US corporation. Poisons from the abandoned factory have seeped into the soil, water, and bodies of people living around the factory. Neither Union Carbide nor its current owner Dow Chemical have taken responsibility for the ongoing disaster in Bhopal. Generations of children born to parents who live in the bastis (working-class neighbourhoods) surrounding the abandoned factory bear the toxic burden of this corporate crime in their bodies. Pregnant mothers lose sleep worrying about drinking toxin-laden water and passing it on to their unborn children. Born out of the fear of being poisoned and a sense of injustice and as they experience unconscionable foot-dragging by the courts, governments, and corporations, women from these bastis have found creative ways to be heard and to demand for one of the most essential things to survive – clean drinking water. In their collective actions, they have articulated their sense of injustice by foregrounding their practical knowledges and embodied experiences. The women of Bhopal have centred justice and dignity to create a resilient community. In this article, we will narrate the stories of their continued struggle for justice, and Bhopali women’s resilience and leadership that has led to the delivery of clean drinking water to the affected areas.
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Tea Leaves a Mark: The voice of survivors of sexual and gender-based violence in Kenya’s tea estates
No full textFemale labourers in Kenya’s tea estates face sexual and gender-based violence, precarious employment and systemic inequality. Grounded in personal testimonies, this case study highlights the resilience of women navigating exploitative conditions and intergenerational poverty. Based on the women’s words, it advocates for actionable reforms, including strengthening reporting mechanisms, enhancing mental health resources, ensuring fair wages, promoting gender equity in leadership and facilitating unionization. It also calls for gender-responsive due diligence by international buyers and community-led initiatives to address stigma
Compounding Care Burdens: Women’s everyday experiences of climate preparedness and adaptation in Banaskantha, India
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As rapid climate change is increasing the occurrence of extreme weather events, there is a noticeable increase in co-located hazards which refer to climate events that overlap or occur concurrently (e.g. droughts followed by floods or overlapping with heatwaves). Regions that are historically unaccustomed to these patterns of high variability are now struggling to adapt to these unpredictable variations. Drawing on evidence from the ANTICIPATE project, we argue that such co-located hazards not only compound or intensify impacts due to the intersection of these extremes but also add an additional dimension of gendered vulnerability. Using the lens of intersectionality and care, we show how women are at the frontline of preparedness, for such extremes, despite absorbing a disproportionate amount of the impacts of these shocks and slow-onset hazards. However, owing to gendered vulnerability, their work remains unrecognised and hidden, thus leaving them out of decision-making spaces. In this paper, we demonstrate how women’s contributions towards building preparedness at an everyday level are crucial to household adaptation in the face of increasing climatic uncertainties.
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Dalit Women and Land Rights in India
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This essay deals with dalit women's land rights in India. 
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Impact Evaluation of the Rights in Crisis Programme 2023
No full textOxfam Pilipinas commissioned an impact evaluation of its Rights in Crisis (RIC) programme. The evaluation assessed the impact of RIC in reducing vulnerabilities and strengthening resilience in withstanding disasters and its post-disaster effect. It looked at the overall design of the RIC, including the individual designs of projects under the programme, to determine its relevance, effectiveness and contribution towards the overall humanitarian and disaster response of Oxfam, its partners, local government units (LGUs) and partner communities
Leadership dynamics in health: a social network analysis of men and women leaders in RMNCAH-N and immunisation in sub-Saharan Africa
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Social networks are a critical asset for leaders and can help facilitate collaborations, mentorship, and enhance visibility. However, women face unique challenges accessing and leveraging networks for change. As part of a larger mixed-methods study, we conducted a social network analysis (SNA) among leaders in reproductive, maternal, newborn, child, and adolescent health and nutrition (RMNCAH-N) and immunisation to document the extent and value of women and men's networks in sub-Saharan Africa. We conducted an online survey among 741 leaders, 163 of whom contributed to the SNA. We asked leaders to identify up to ten members of their network and indicate the extent to which they communicate, share resources, and value the relationship. Network visualisations and metrics were generated to analyse the peer leadership network and identify the most influential leaders. Leaders from NGOs and national-level organisations have the most influence within the network. Women have slightly broader networks with overlapping ties while men have more diverse networks, and more efficient access to those networks. Women are slightly better connected to the most influential elements within the network including women at national-level government organisations, women at national-level NGOs, and men at national-level NGOs. Most connections were between elements of the same gender; while respondents connected with more members of their own gender, they did not necessarily value those members highly. Gender diversity appears to enhance collaboration, resource-sharing, and value creation. These results highlight the importance of fostering collaboration and connectivity across diverse organisational types and addressing systemic inequities to create more inclusive and balanced networks.
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