women gaining ground

The challenges resulting from criminalization of sexuality and identity are gaining increased attention within the women’s rights, human rights and social justice communities.

CREA leads Women Gaining Ground (WGG), a Global South-led consortium of three organizations including Akili Dada and International Women’s Rights Action Watch Asia Pacific (IWRAW-AP). The consortium works across five countries in South Asia and East Africa through 16 strategic partner organizations.

The WGG consortium works to change norms, attitudes, laws and policies around the interconnected issues of sexual and gender-based violence and the lack of women’s political empowerment. WGG equips women and girls with the tools and skills to be architects of a society free from violence.

Since its inception in 2021, the consortium has initiated:

• Capacity-building sessions with young women and girls, and women with disabilities (WWDs)
• Outreach and advocacy with state and non-state duty bearers
• Work with women to increase their participation in local governance
• Learning sessions on the international treaties (the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women and the Convention on the Rights of Persons with Disabilities).

The consortium continually revisits assumptions, considers emerging and urgent challenges and changes in context, and addresses existing and new approaches to monitoring, evaluating and learning work.

our strategies

• Feminist Leadership and Mentorship: Capacitate new women leaders, including WWDs and young women, on feminist leadership, to build inclusive movements and alliances.
• Building Inclusive Movements and Alliances Leverage collective expertise, networks and access to key women’s rights advocacy and movement spaces nationally, regionally and internationally to ensure that young women and WWD leaders have equal knowledge and access to women’s rights advocacy and movement spaces.
• Direct Advocacy Support alliances between local partners and with existing women’s rights organizations partners to convince state and non-state duty-bearers, as well as explore spaces for dialogue among young women, girls and WWDs and duty-bearers.
• Research and Documentation Deepen our understanding of core issues of GBV and political participation of young women and girls and navigate regional and international advocacy mechanisms.
• Creating Counter-Narratives and Alternative Solutions Hold the media and non-duty-bearers accountable by creating alternative feminist content and stories to amplify the voices of marginalized communities.

partner organizations