Farewell from Caroline Haworth

Dear Womankinders , peers, partners, supporters, and allies,

I started to work on women’s rights internationally in 1993, just before Hillary Clinton’s women’s rights are human rights speech at the Fourth World Conference on Women in Beijing in 1995. Beijing took place 20 years after Roe versus Wade and produced a radical blueprint developed by feminists and built on half a century of international legal and social progress on women’s rights. The next year, UNAIDS was established.  

In the light of the courage, intersecting voices and vibrant transnational activism of HIV-affected communities, UNAIDS and other cross-regional bodies increasingly supported international understanding of the corrosive role of stigma and discrimination. They explored how they perpetuate inequalities related to illness, disability, diverse ethnicities, geographies, genders and sexualities. These developments appeared pivotal and heralded an internationally held vision for a new, more socially just future. They influenced me profoundly. 

Today, 30 years later, as I retire, I have to acknowledge that these apparently prophetic events were nothing of the sort. This is despite the cross-pollination of diverse intersectional feminist movements, flourishing LGBTQI+ awareness, action on disability rights, and unflinching #BlackLivesMatter and #MeToo campaigns.  

Despite all this great work, the malignant, structural power of patriarchy continues to reassert itself, conspiring with capitalism and coloniality to instigate roll back, quash progress and attempt to restore the status quo. This is exemplified by a litany of events from the effective overturning of Roe versus Wade last year to the current divisive anti-trans agenda promulgated by the UN Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, to the recent signing into law of heinous anti-gay laws in Uganda, and the regressive, illegal immigration policies of the current UK government. Further, this roll back is often seeded and resourced behind the scenes by nationalist, anti-rights and fundamentalist religious groups in Northern countries.   

However, Womankind and the global feminist ecosystem of which we are a part are well equipped to resist. It was an enormous privilege to join Womankind as CEO in 2015. The greatest thing I have discovered since is the rich alchemy between the indomitable optimism and joy of the feminist imagination and the power and resilience to make change afforded by feminist collectivity.  

Feminist movements envision and re-envision a world beyond patriarchy, and ferment the enduring solidarity, commitment and tenacity needed to achieve it in the longer term. This underpins and motivates Womankind’s fearless Strategy 2030: Our Feminist Future, which invests in the collective power of anti-racist, feminist movements to propel transformative change.  

Our Feminist Future centres the priorities of our partners in the focus countries in which we work and seeks to share our locational power and resources with them. It deepens our movement strengthening and influencing approach, including activism to secure much more and much better funding for women’s rights organisations. And, critically, it commits to an anti-racist approach and action toward decolonising our practice. Revealing and addressing the normative power structures perpetuated by western colonising societies in their own interests, including at Womankind, is core to the intersectional approach of Our Feminist Future.   

I have been super-proud to be a part of the Womankind team that worked with our partners, allies and supporters to develop our new Vision and Strategy 2030. As I step away, I am energised by the drum beat of change and thrilled that Womankind has such an amazing, inspiring, talented and committed team who will ensure its success. We have to have courage, to step up with urgency and walk the walk:  

”Dominator culture has tried to keep us all afraid, to make us choose safety instead of risk, sameness instead of diversity. Moving through that fear, finding out what connects us, revelling in our differences; this is the process that brings us closer, that gives us a world of shared values, of meaningful community,” bell hooks

With deepest thanks to all the many Womankinders who have made my journey such a rich one! 

Caroline Haworth

Former CEO, Womankind Worldwide

Farewell from Womankind

”Caroline has steered the organisation through progressive transformation and laying the foundation of our 2030 strategy which is core to our continuing impact around the world. We wish her all the very best in her retirement.”

Dinah Musindarwezo, Director of Policy and Communications, Disha Sughand, Director of Fundraising and Marketing, and Sarah Masters, Director of Programmes and Learning have stepped up as interim Co-CEOs until the appointment of Womankind’s next Co-CEOs has been completed.