The Indigenous World 2023: Defending the Rights of Indigenous Women

Written on 30 March 2023. Posted in Defending the Rights of Indigenous Women

The strategy adopted by the Indigenous women's movement to confront the structural inequalities they face in all countries of the world has been to walk together, influencing strategic spaces from the local to the global both socially and politically. This has meant having a presence in the community assemblies on their territories, reaching out to national spaces with proposals for governments and also contributing to international spaces such as the UN.

On the basis of this strategy, Indigenous women realized that if the Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) were to produce a specific General Recommendation in their regard this would be a milestone in the discrimination and violence they suffer. A recommendation would require UN member states to implement policies and programmes and ensure budgets focused on the effective protection of their rights.

This article is part of the 37^th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. The photo above is of an Indigenous person in Tanzania. This photo was taken by Geneviève Rose, and is the cover of the Indigenous World 2023 where this article is featured. Find the Indigenous World 2023 in full here.

Indigenous Women: Walking together on the Path of Change, Committee on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) for Indigenous Women and Girls

The path taken by the Indigenous women's movement in getting CEDAW to develop a specific recommendation on Indigenous women and girls reached the global stage in 2004 when Indigenous women succeeded in getting the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues to adopt a specific recommendation requesting that CEDAW pay special attention to Indigenous women's issues.^[1]

Collective construction from the local to the global, 2013 to 2021

Over the course of these eight years, different collective actions were carried out in the seven socio-cultural regions of the world to inform and gather input from the Indigenous women's movement.

An International Meeting for the Analysis and Deepening of CEDAW was held in 2013. It was at this meeting that the initiative for a General Recommendation on Indigenous Women was approved. In 2015, the International Indigenous Women's Forum (FIMI) conducted a global consultation that resulted in a policy position^[2] and a formal letter to the CEDAW Committee experts.

In addition, the IXPOP Collective^[3] submitted a formal request to the CEDAW Committee to draft a General Recommendation. This proposal was also disseminated during the International Political, Cultural and Sports Meeting of Women in Struggle in Chiapas, Mexico.

In Ecuador, the recommendation was presented during a course on Women's Human Rights in Latin America and the Caribbean, organized by the Institute of Higher National Studies and the Women's Human Rights Education Institute (WHRI).

The Regional Meeting of the Americas and the Continental Network of Indigenous Women of the Americas (ECMIA) held regional consultations to gather the priorities of Indigenous women in the Americas.

An expert meeting on Indigenous women's rights, organized by Madre, FIMI, the Centre for Women's Global Leadership (CWGL) and WHRI, was held in 2019. In the same year, the Permanent Forum again recommended that CEDAW produce a specific General Recommendation on Indigenous Women.^[4]

Through the Asian Indigenous Women’s Network (AIWN) and the African Indigenous Women´s Organization (AIWO) regional networks, advocacy activities were carried out at regional Indigenous women's meetings.

The International Indigenous Women's Forum and the organization Madre launched the campaign “CEDAW for Indigenous Girls and Women: Let's walk together for change”^[5] with the aim of providing materials on the process and inviting input to the General Recommendation.

In addition, ECMIA submitted an input document to the CEDAW Committee to inform the development of the General Recommendation on Indigenous Women and Girls. AIWO organized the virtual event “Indigenous Women of Africa and CEDAW”.

Indigenous women leaders participated in the Equality Generation Forums held in Mexico and France in order to raise the profile of the Indigenous women's agenda, including the General Recommendation on Indigenous Women and Girls. In addition, the declaration adopted by the Second World Conference of Indigenous Women (2WCIW) noted the need for a CEDAW General Recommendation on Indigenous Women and Girls.

The year in which Indigenous women's advocacy paid off

Indigenous women reached 2022 having survived the COVID-19 pandemic and the adversities of a globalized world. Prior to CEDAW’s publication of the recommendation, they began their collective advocacy actions at the Commission on the Status of Women 66 (CSW66) where the side event “Contributions to the Upcoming CEDAW General Recommendation on Indigenous Women and Girls” was held, co-sponsored by the Mexican government’s National Women’s Institute, FIMI and UN Women.

Regional meetings were held in the Americas, Africa, Asia, the Arctic and the Pacific In May. The first was held in Mexico between experts from Abya Yala, members of CEDAW, UN Women, UNESCO and government representatives.

In June, a commission of 30 global Indigenous women leaders participated in the 82^nd Session of CEDAW in Geneva where they had an opportunity to discuss with the CEDAW Committee of Experts, and at which a first reading of draft General Recommendation 39 (GR39), including the contributions of Indigenous women, took place.

After a long process of negotiation, drafting and consultation, the CEDAW Committee adopted the landmark GR39 on 26 October in Geneva, Switzerland.

General Recommendation 39, CEDAW/C/GC/39 (GR39),^[6] promotes the voices of Indigenous women and girls as agents of change and leaders both inside and outside their communities. The text addresses the different forms of intersectional discrimination frequently committed by State and non-state actors, as well as Indigenous women’s key role as leaders, knowledge holders and transformers of culture within their families, villages and communities.

Once adopted, GR39 forms part of the Convention and is thus binding on States Parties. This means that States will have to give an account of the concrete measures implemented in response to the provisions of the General Recommendation on the rights of Indigenous women and girls in their periodic reports.

Indigenous women's voices, building change from the local to the global

GR39 gives Indigenous women hope that laws and agreements will be upheld, and that better living conditions can be guaranteed for Indigenous young women and girls. It was developed through consultation and dialogue with Indigenous women's organizations from across almost the whole world, and this enriches this strategic tool by broadening the vision of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women.

In the context of CSW66, Indigenous activist Tarcila Rivera Zea emphasized that GR39 responds to a global scenario and that Indigenous women are proud to have combined their collective efforts to achieve it.

She recalled that: “We initiated the process for the General Recommendation in 2004 during the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues considering that, as women and girls, we have specific features due to our ethnic origin and the multidimensional nature of violence.” She went on to emphasize that: “We hope this General Recommendation will be ethically, morally, culturally and politically binding on member states and that women with disabilities will be included in the recommendation, as well as women in all our diversity.”

It has taken 15 years for the adoption of GR39 to become a reality and for it to be recognized that Indigenous women and girls have specific characteristics by virtue of their cultural and ethnic background. The Indigenous women's movement recognizes that the text of GR39 highlights the multidimensional nature of the discrimination they suffer.

Indigenous women hope that GR39 will enable governments to set a precedent in their understanding of the collective rights of Indigenous women when it comes to exercising justice or drafting public policies to eradicate discrimination in all its dimensions.

Sara Mux Mux, a Kaqchikel Maya from Guatemala, explained that this recommendation will be a key instrument because it will contribute to the intercultural and decolonizing interpretation of human rights, and noted: “The States will be held accountable and this will allow us to bring about change in the face of the inequality and the invisibility of Indigenous women.” In addition, it will provide important elements for fulfilling the obligations of States Parties in the face of discrimination, racism and violence. GR39 alludes to the subordination of Indigenous women, and this responds to an oppression that finds its roots in a structural colonization that continues to be perpetuated.

Faith Nataya Saningo of the Maasai people of Kenya noted that this GR implies access to justice for different communities, “the recognition of Indigenous Peoples and the implementation of concrete actions that safeguard our rights” being necessary. CEDAW’s GR39 implies justice and will help to raise the profile of the situations being experienced by Indigenous Peoples.

According to Eleanor Dictaan-Bang-oa of the Philippines, this recommendation is important because it relates to recognizing Indigenous women and girls. “Political will is required for its implementation. We are talking about violence, and it often happens in the name of tradition,” Eleanor explained.

Teresa Zapeta Mendoza, a K'iche Maya from Guatemala, recognized the valuable alliances established to achieve such a historic and strategic recommendation. She added that she hopes it will result in reparations for the colonialism and inequalities found in the seven regions of the world and affirmed: “(...) in FIMI we are continuing to build bridges because this is a path. Adoption has been just one stage, and we have empowered ourselves along the way, recognizing our capabilities. Now, our commitment is to monitor implementation and participate effectively and actively in the CEDAW sessions to make contexts and demands visible from the grassroots level.”

In summary, GR39 guarantees rights to self-determination and autonomy; to the integrity of lands, territories and natural resources, culture, cosmovision and environment; the right to access justice; the right to a life free from gender-based violence, including psychological, physical, sexual, economic, spiritual, political and environmental violence; the right to participate as leaders in political and community life and as human rights defenders; the right to health, guaranteeing recognition of Indigenous health systems, knowledge and practices; the right to food and water security, and to the survival of Indigenous Peoples and cultural integrity; and to high-quality and culturally-sensitive education.

The process followed by the Indigenous women's movement in achieving CEDAW’s GR39 is an example of how to build consultations and consensus around the drafting of a recommendation that reflects the reality and voices of Indigenous women globally. It is also a clear example of how to collectively mobilize in strategic spaces with governments, international human rights institutions, civil society organizations and the donor community.

“Wodum” Global Observatory for Indigenous Women against Violence, a tool for advancing Indigenous women's rights^[7]

In this long path of struggle, through advocacy and visibility, the collective voice of Indigenous women has brought proposals for change and transformation of the structural inequalities and discrimination exercised against Indigenous Peoples, and against Indigenous women and girls, in particular.

The Observatory for Indigenous Women against Violence is one initiative that has been heavily promoted since 2010 as a global tool with which to raise the profile of the multiple forms of violence. From a holistic point of view, it conducts in-depth analyses of the historical and current causes and their impact on the lives of women and girls. It is a platform that provides relevant, accessible and useful information for follow-up, monitoring and advocacy actions in relation to compliance with international agreements signed by States in order to bring about a life free from violence for Indigenous women and girls.

One of the gaps constantly faced is the lack of statistical and qualitative data broken down by gender, ethnicity and generation. This is why Indigenous women are working on their own system of case records, reports and studies based on intercultural research, the methodology for which requires a focus on decolonization, resistance and rebellion on the part of Indigenous Peoples and women. This work also invites an evaluative analysis of how much and how States comply with agreements signed on an international level and their implementation at different levels in order to influence decision-making spaces and to follow up and monitor the realization of our rights.

CEDAW's GR39 is undoubtedly an essential instrument in the search for better living conditions for Indigenous women and girls due to its broad recognition of their individual and collective rights and its binding nature, as well as the call to States, institutions and wider society to deconstruct the colonial, racist and sexist vision that is still prevalent today. The power of information that comes from the women's own voices on the problem of the violence they are suffering is essential to understanding and finding relevant and effective solutions.

The Observatory will, in this regard, continue to follow up and monitor compliance with GR39 as a key action in the fight against discrimination as a form of violence that has perpetuated exclusion and denied the rights of Indigenous women and girls around the world. This takes into account the fact that, unlike other international instruments, GR39 addresses violence from a holistic and multidimensional point of view.

According to Indigenous women’s experience of advocacy work in international forums, there is a need to move beyond the rhetoric and the statements, documenting actions taken and measures adopted, good practices and progress in combatting State violence, including initiatives developed by Indigenous women themselves and their organizations. In this context, the Observatory is intended to be a means and a tool through which to raise the visibility of this problem but also a way of identifying strategies to be followed and viable alternative solutions.

In light of GR39, the Indigenous women's networks across the seven regions of the world will use the resources produced as tools to influence States and wider society in order to propose changes, and make demands and proposals for public policies with decent budgets at all levels while exercising their rights to political participation and representation and continuing to connect and articulate the voices of women from the local to the global and vice versa.

Indigenous women are convinced that translating CEDAW's GR39 into substantive change in the lives of women and girls will involve enormous challenges and require real commitments from States Parties, institutions, UN agencies, the media, international cooperation, civil society, and the Indigenous Peoples and women, themselves, including Indigenous girls.

The International Indigenous Women's Forum (IIWF/FIMI) is a global network that brings together Indigenous women from seven socio-cultural regions. FIMI is focused on advocacy, capacity building, economic empowerment and leadership development.

This article is part of the 37^th edition of The Indigenous World, a yearly overview produced by IWGIA that serves to document and report on the developments Indigenous Peoples have experienced. The photo above is of an Indigenous person in Tanzania. This photo was taken by Geneviève Rose, and is the cover of the Indigenous World 2023 where this article is featured. Find the Indigenous World 2023 in full here.

Notes and references 

^[1] Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues. “Report on the third session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues”. 10 to 21 May 2004. Available at: https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N04/384/68/PDF/N0438468.pdf?OpenElement

^[2] FIMI, ECMIA, CONAMI, AIWO, etc. “Posicionamiento global de mujeres indígenas para el Foro Generación Igualdad y más allá”. Available at: https://fimi-iiwf.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/Global-Statement-GEF-and-Indigenous-Women-ESP.pdf

^[3] See https://ixpop.gt/

^[4] “Report on the 18^th session of the Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues”. 22 April to 3 May 2019. Available at: https://documents-dds-ny.un.org/doc/UNDOC/GEN/N19/144/83/PDF/N1914483.pdf?OpenElement

^[5] “CEDAW para las mujeres y niñas indígenas”. Available at: https://www.madre.org/CEDAW4IWG-SP

^[6] OHCHR. “General recommendation No.39 (2022) on the rights of Indigenous women and girls”. OHCHR, 26 October 2022. Available at: https://www.ohchr.org/en/documents/general-comments-and-recommendations/general-recommendation-no39-2022-rights-indigeneous

^[7] See https://observatoriomujerindigenas.fimi-iiwf.org/

Tags: Women, Global governance, Human rights, IWGIA