{"id":420015,"date":"2026-03-06T10:51:16","date_gmt":"2026-03-06T09:51:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.iucn.nl\/?p=420015"},"modified":"2026-03-10T14:23:43","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T13:23:43","slug":"international-womens-day-2026-why-gender-justice-is-urgent-for-women-defenders-in-the-amazon","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.iucn.nl\/en\/story\/international-womens-day-2026-why-gender-justice-is-urgent-for-women-defenders-in-the-amazon\/","title":{"rendered":"International Women\u2019s Day 2026: why gender justice is urgent for women defenders in the Amazon"},"content":{"rendered":"
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It has been 115 years since the first International Women\u2019s Day in 1911. <\/strong>After all these years, it seems like this day is needed more than ever\u202fin a time\u202fwhen anti-gender,\u202fanti-rights,\u202fand anti-democratic groups are\u202fgrowing. The\u202fanti-gender trend is systematically challenging rights related to gender equality, LGBTQIA+ individuals, and sexual health that were previously considered secure.\u202fThe consequences of this line of thinking and acting are dramatic and have devastating impacts on women (in all their diversity) and nature, already marginalised by patriarchal exploitation patterns. In light of International Women\u2019s Day, we highlight our project PIDDA Rights, which supports Amazonian women defenders in their struggle for intersectional equality and justice.<\/strong><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Header photo: Meeting of the Indigenous Kotsimba community in Madre de Dios \u00a9 Diego Perez \/ SPDA<\/mark><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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International Women\u2019s Day 2026, under the UN theme \u2018Rights. Justice. Action. For ALL Women and Girls<\/a>\u2019, is a call to move beyond the recognition of gender inequity and towards enforcement of gender justice: rights that exist on paper must be fulfilled and protected in practice, through justice systems that are accessible and work for all women and girls. This call is particularly urgent in the Amazon region, where defending territory and biodiversity comes with high personal costs and where the risks for environmental defenders are not evenly distributed. Women, Indigenous women, youth, and local communities often carry the greatest burden of environmental protection and human rights struggles. At the same time, they face intimidation, violence, and shrinking civic space while receiving limited protection. And even when there are legal tools to protect them, they often face limited access to these mechanisms and a cultural of structural impunity.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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Text continues below photo. <\/mark><\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Gold mining in Madre de Dios \u00a9 Tom Laffay<\/mark><\/em><\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n
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Access to justice for women environmental defenders<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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To challenge the reality of limited protection and restricted access to justice systems for women environmental defenders, IUCN NL and its Peruvian partner Sociedad Peruana de Derecho Ambiental <\/a>(SPDA) have joint forces since 2016 to strengthen the protection of environmental defenders. During the last three years this joint effort culminated in the PIDDA Rights project, allowing IUCN NL and SPDA to specifically focus women environmental defenders, made possible with the financial support of the French Development Agency<\/a> (AFD).<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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At its core, PIDDA Rights (Inclusive Protection of Environmental Defenders in the Amazon – PIDDA for its Spanish acronym) aligns with this year’s International Women’s Day theme: access to justice that is practical, inclusive, and enforceable for those women most exposed to risks and harm. The project has combined protection and capacity-strengthening measures such as incident reporting, emergency support, and legal assistance, while placing strong emphasis on tailored training, visibility, and advocacy.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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PIDDA Rights applies an explicit intersectionality lens: it recognises that threats and barriers compound differently for different people and that women defenders, particularly Indigenous women, face distinct and heightened risks and levels of violence. That is why our approach promotes intersectional-sensitive, locally-grounded and culturally-appropriate protection strategies and learning formats for women defenders.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n

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From lessons to action: four protection pathways<\/h2>\n<\/div>\n\n
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As nearly a decade of collaboration comes to an end, IUCN NL has led the capitalisation of lessons and recommendations<\/a> as a practical model that others can adapt in high-risk territories facing similar challenges. The idea is that women defenders across territories and regions can benefit from the tailored approach and insights developed under the project and its predecessors.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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Four interconnected strategies are highlighted to help strengthening the work of women defenders and to pave the way to improve access to justice systems:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n

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