Norwegian Women's Lobby
| Formation | 27 January 2014 |
|---|---|
| Type | NGO |
| Focus | Human rights,gender equality,intersectional feminism |
| Location | |
| Methods | Law reform,political advocacy |
Membership | 10 NGOs |
| Website | www |
TheNorwegian Women's Lobby(NWL;Norwegian:Norges kvinnelobby) is a feminist policy andadvocacyorganization inNorwayand works for "thehuman rightsof girls and women in all their diversity, to eliminate all forms of discrimination against all girls and women and to promote a gender equal society. "[1]It is described as the country's "main, national,umbrella organization"forwomen's rights.[2]NWL understands women's human rights and discrimination in anintersectional perspectiveand works to represent the interests of all those who identify as women and girls.[1]NWL is funded by the government over thenational budget.The mission of the organization is to eliminate all forms of discrimination against women and girls on the basis of theConvention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women,theBeijing Platform for Actionand other fundamental international agreements relating to women's human rights. It works to integrate women's perspectives into all political, economical and social processes.
The implementation of theCEDAWconvention is a major focus for NKL, and it works to enhance the implementation, visibility and relevance of CEDAW within politics and society. It states that it "brings together both the key women’s organisations and the leading experts on women’s rights in Norway"[1]and that it has a focus on being a "cooperation partner for the government [and] to contribute to the representation of the Norwegian women's movement in international forums."[3]
NWL has ten member organizations with a total of nearly 50,000 members and was founded in 2014 by the Norwegian women's organisations on the initiative of theNorwegian Association for Women's Rights,and in accordance with the recommendations of the government-appointed Gender Equality Commission. It was inspired by theEuropean Women's Lobbyand also corresponds to comparable umbrella organizations in other countries such as theGerman Women's Counciland theCEDAW Alliance Germany,and theNational Women's Council of Ireland.Its member organizations include theNorwegian Association for Women's Rightsand theNorwegian Women's Public Health Association,the oldest and largest women's organizations in Norway, respectively.
History
[edit]
The Norwegian Women's Lobby was founded on 27 January 2014 by eight nationwide women's rights organisations and several experts on the initiative of theNorwegian Association for Women's Rights(NKF), Norway's oldest and preeminent women's rights NGO, founded in 1884. Its establishment was initiated by NKF PresidentsMargunn Bjørnholt,Karin M. BruzeliusandTorild Skard.The establishment of NWL was in accordance with the recommendations of the government-appointed Gender Equality Commission, whose chairHege Skjeiewas actively involved with NWL.[4]Its founding president wasMargunn Bjørnholt,a professor of sociology and the NKF President at the time. In 2017Ragnhild Hennum,a professor of public law, pro-rector of theUniversity of Osloand director of theNorwegian Centre for Human Rights,was elected president of the organisation.
The founding organisations were described by the Equality and Anti-Discrimination OmbudSunniva Ørstavikas "the very foundation of the efforts to promote women's rights in Norway."[5]NWL is led by the executive board. The organisation is advised by an independent body of experts, the Expert Committee that includes some of Norway's main experts in this area, e.g. CEDAW expertAnne Hellum.[6]
From its establishment NWL worked to increase awareness and understanding of the CEDAW, promote the participation and influence of women’s organizations in political decision-making processes and address areas where gender equality efforts were lacking, such asgender budgeting.[7]In line with its human rights focus NWL opposesracism,homophobia,transphobiaandableism.
Following negotiations between theSocialist Left Partyand theStøre government,NWL was awarded government funding over thenational budget.
The member organizations include Norway's oldest women's rights organization, theNorwegian Association for Women's Rightsand Norway's largest women's organization,Norwegian Women's Public Health Association.It also includes organizations such asLegal Aid for Women(JURK), the Norwegian Female Lawyers' Association and the Secretariat of the Shelter Movement (Krisesentersekretariatet). Most of the member organizations are also participating in theForum for Women and Development,which focuses ondevelopment issuesin theGlobal South.NWL by contrast has a broader focus on women's human rights nationally and internationally, with an emphasis on international human rights instruments.
In 2018 NWL and five other key NGOs organised thecustomary torchlight paradein Oslo in honour of that year'sNobel Peace Prizelaureates,Denis MukwegeandNadia Murad,who were awarded the prize for their work to end the use ofsexual violence as a weapon of war.[8]
Activities
[edit]NWL works for thehuman rightsof girls and women in all their diversity, to eliminate all forms of discrimination against all girls and women and to promote a gender equal society,[1][3]on the basis of human rights instruments and policy frameworks related to women's rights and gender equality, such as theConvention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Womenand theBeijing Platform for Action.[9][1][5][10]
The Norwegian Women's Lobby has a particular focus on theUnited Nationssystem and prepares shadow reports to the United NationsCommittee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Womenon Norway's implementation of theConvention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women;the 2017 report was coordinated by Supreme Court JusticeKarin Bruzelius.[11]
Expert Committee
[edit]NWL's expert committee is a permanent body of experts tasked with making policy recommendations in fields that affect women and girls and gender equality, and works under the sponsorship of the Norwegian Women's Lobby. Established in 2016, the expert committee was initially chaired by professor of sociologyCathrine Holst.The initial committee members also included supreme court justiceKarin Bruzelius,professor of public lawAnne Hellum,and professor of political scienceHege Skjeie,the former chair of the government-appointed Gender Equality Commission. In 2020 Nita Kapoor, Helga Eggebø, Johanne Sundby and Mari Teigen were appointed to the committee.[6]
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^abcde"The Norwegian Women's Lobby – Norway's feminist policy and advocacy organization".NWL. Archived fromthe originalon 2023-06-21.Retrieved2023-06-21.
- ^Çağatay, Selin; Liinason, Mia; Sasunkevich, Olga (2021). "Transforming Conditions of Feminist and LGBTI+ Activism".Feminist and LGBTI+ Activism across Russia, Scandinavia and Turkey.Palgrave Macmillan. pp. 83–142.doi:10.1007/978-3-030-84451-6_3.ISBN978-3-030-84451-6.
In contemporary Scandinavian countries, civil society is structured around one main, national, umbrella organization for women's, respectively, LGBTI+ people's rights (...) These organizations are: Sveriges kvinnolobby (Swedish Women's Lobby), Norges kvinnelobby (Norwegian Women's Lobby), RFSL in Sweden, LGBT Denmark, FRI in Norway, and Kvinderådet i Danmark (Danish Women's Council).
- ^ab"Norges kvinnelobby – en paraplyorganisasjon for den norske kvinnebevegelsen".Archived fromthe originalon 2023-06-19.Retrieved2023-06-19.
- ^Norwegian Official Report2011:18 "Struktur for likestilling" and Norwegian Official Report 2012:15 "Politikk for likestilling"
- ^abGratulerer, Norges kvinnelobby!Archived2014-01-29 at theWayback Machine,Gender Equality and Anti-Discrimination Ombud,29 January 2014
- ^ab"Expert Committee".kvinnelobby.no.Retrieved26 April2016.
- ^"Norges kvinnelobby krever plass på statsbudsjettet".10 November 2014.Retrieved20 June2023.
- ^"Fakkeltog for Nobels fredspris 2018".Norwegian Peace Council. 8 November 2018.Retrieved2018-11-26.
- ^Beijing Platform for Action,United Nations
- ^Norsk kvinnebevegelse slår seg sammen i ny lobby,Kureren, 29 January 2014
- ^"Foreword," inShadow Report to the CEDAW Committee, 2017: Supplementary information from the Norwegian Women’s Lobby to the UN Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women in relation to the 9th Periodic Report of Norway,Norwegian Women's Lobby, 2017
External links
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