Centre for Feminist Foreign Policy’s Post

We have big news: Yesterday it was announced that our co-founder and co-CEO Kristina Lunz is one of the TOP3 finalists of the German Start-Up Awards in the category „Impact Entrepreneuer 2024“. 😮 In May we will find out if she will receive the award ✨

📢 New Publication Alert! 📚🌟🔗 Two days from now, on February 24th, we commemorate the two-year anniversary of Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine. The resilience displayed by Ukrainian society, notably evident since 2014, is truly remarkable. We remain steadfast in our solidarity with all Ukrainians in their courageous battle against Russia. We do not know when Russia’s war of aggression will end. However, it is imperative to begin taking crucial steps for Ukraine's recovery already NOW, considering the devastating impact of the war on the lives and livelihoods of its people, its land, and its infrastructure. Over the past year, supported by the Friedrich-Ebert-Foundation, we’ve collaborated with amazing Ukrainian feminists to envision what a feminist recovery and reconstruction could entail. We engaged in debates, discussions, and examined other post-war recovery processes through a feminist lens. Our work resulted in a Policy Brief “Build Back Better for Everyone – a Feminist Perspective on Reconstruction and Recovery of Ukraine” authored by Nataliia Lomonosova and CFFP, which we are launching today. It critically evaluates the approach adopted by the Ukrainian government and international partners, which primarily emphasises reconstruction through economic liberalisation and which has been shaped without the meaningful inclusion of important stakeholders, first and foremost feminist civil society. Instead, in our policy brief, we advocate for an inclusive and transparent process aimed at reconstructing Ukrainian society, with a specific focus on addressing the inequalities exacerbated by the war. The policy brief also provides concrete policy recommendations, including suggestions on how the upcoming 2024 Ukraine Recovery Conference in Berlin can be better aligned with feminist principles. Check out our new policy brief on our website (linked in the comments; available in English and Ukrainian) as we continue to firmly #StandWithUkraine.

📢 New Publication Alert! 📚🌟🔗 Check out our latest policy report “Strongmen and Violence: Interlinkages of Anti-Feminism and Anti-Democratic Developments” which is online now! 🌐 The policy report gives an overview of the role and functions of anti-feminist strategies and policies and their connection to the rise of authoritarianism and democratic decline, explores examples of civil society’s resistance to these developments, and provides key recommendations to countries committed to a Feminist Foreign Policy (FFP) on effective ways to engage with and support civil society to advance feminist policies and strengthen democratic values and structures. 🔍With 72 per cent of the global population living in autocracies (V-Dem, 2023), better understanding the role of anti-feminist policies and strategies within authoritarian regimes and countries experiencing a decline in democracy is necessary both to advance the goal of more peaceful and just societies as well as to strengthen democratic structures and values at the national, supranational/EU and the international levels.The policy report results from a one-year-long project, supported by the German Federal Foreign Office, and builds on various conversations with a broad range of women and LGBTQI* activists who protect and advance human rights, especially women’s and LGBTQI* rights. We are extremely grateful to all the activists, researchers, and scholars who have contributed to this report with their expertise, solidarity and empathy – in particular, as we know about the challenges that women’s rights and LGBTQI* activists face daily. Anti-feminism is already rendering so many people and communities insecure. We remain united in the goal of advancing feminist values to shape more peaceful and just societies. There is no peace without feminism.👉 Link in comments!

We cannot wait to host the third edition of our feminist women-only dinner together with FRAUEN100 at this year‘s Munich Security Conference!

EVENT ANNOUNCEMENT 📣📣📣 CFFP is excited to announce the launch of our newest policy report “Strongmen and Violence: the Interlinkages of Anti-Feminism and Anti-Democratic Developments” on the 12 of February 2024. Join us for an expert discussion and networking event that will kick off 2024 with a bang! 🎉 The marginalisation of women and LGBTQI* people is a crucial aspect of both authoritarian regimes and democratic backsliding states. Anti-feminist narratives and policies serve a range of different purposes, from legitimising restrictions on freedom of expression, freedom of the press, and civil society engagement internally, to building national and international alliances abroad and legitimising war and violent conflict. Over the last year, supported by the German Federal Foreign Office, our Peace and Security Team has been researching and highlighting the interlinkages of anti-feminism and anti-democratic developments. We worked with a range of brilliant activists that work to strengthen the rights of women and LGBTQI* individuals in various authoritarian and democratic backsliding contexts. The event will discuss why authoritarian regimes and countries experiencing democratic backsliding are anti-feminist as well as how governments committed to rights for all can support activists in those contexts and strengthen democratic structures and values. We can’t wait to see you all at our event on 12 February. Stay tuned for more updates! 😊 📅 Date & Time: 12 February 2024, 5:30 – 8:30 p.m. (CET) 📍 Venue: Ahoy Berlin, Wattstraße 11, 13355 Berlin Link to the event page is in the comments!

Spiegel Online berichtete bereits gestern Abend exklusiv über unseren offenen Brief: »Seit Wochen versucht ein Teil von uns, einen Gesprächstermin mit Minister Buschmanns Team zu bekommen – erfolglos«, sagt die Initiatorin Kristina Lunz. »Es darf nicht sein, dass der politische Wille – oder Unwille – des deutschen Justizministers wichtiger ist als der dringend benötigte Schutz von Millionen von Frauen. Herr Buschmann, wir appellieren erneut: Beenden Sie bitte Ihre Blockade!«

Auf EU-Ebene gibt es gerade diesen historischen, jemals ersten Versuch, Frauenrechte wie u.a. Schutz vor digitaler Gewalt oder bessere Rechtsposition bei Vergewaltigungen, zu stärken und zu vereinheitlichen. Seit Wochen versuchen wir, einen Termin im Justizministerium zu bekommen, vor Monaten wurden erste offenen Brief an Justizminister Buschmann (FDP) überreicht, es gibt zum Thema eine Petition (bei Campact) mit über 230.000 (!!) Unterschriften. Doch der deutsche Justizminister blockiert weiter - es ist wirklich unglaublich. Gemeinsam mit über 100 namhafte Frauen aus Politik, Kultur und Wirtschaft fordern wir unsere Rechte ein: Sehr geehrter Herr Buschmann, sehr geehrte Bundesregierung, wir appellieren dringend an Sie: Beenden Sie sofort Ihre Blockade-Haltung und stellen Sie sich nicht länger dem Schutz von Millionen von Frauen vor Gewalt in der EU entgegen.

As the curtain rises on this year’s COP28, we cordially invite you to visit our joint event with Auswärtiges Amt (Federal Foreign Office) Germany “From theory to action: the climate crisis from a Feminist Foreign Policy angle” as a side event of COP28 UAE. The climate crisis disproportionately affects marginalised communities, and its gendered dimensions often go overlooked. Amidst the urgency of the climate crisis, our event seeks to illuminate the profound connection between Feminist Foreign Policy and climate justice. In collaboration with amazing speakers such as Jennifer Morgan, State Secretary and Special Envoy for International Climate Action of the German Federal Foreign Office, activist Ayshka Najib, and Nesmah Mansoor ALI from the Peace Track Initiative, we will amplify the diverse voices of feminists worldwide, emphasising the crucial need for gender negotiations and a pervasive gender lens in all #COP28 discussions. Don’t miss it! Join our programme manager Sheena Anderson on-site or tune in online via the livestream [Link in Comments!] 📅 Date & Time: 1 December 2023, 6:30 - 7:30 p.m. (UTC+4) 📍 Venue: German Pavilion in Zone A of the Blue Zone (Building OA02 | Pavilion Number OA02G1) #FeministForeignPolicy #ForeignPolicy #ClimateJustice #EndFossilFuels

This Giving Tuesday, let’s champion inclusivity in political leadership! 🌍🚀 Support us now: https://loom.ly/WnRgrcs Women, non-binary individuals, and marginalized communities deserve a seat at every table, especially in decision-making roles. Did you know that only about 30% of the world’s parliamentarians are women? Even fewer of them are Black or Brown, disabled, or from a low-income background. It’s time to change that narrative. Help us raise 25,000 €, and support us in continuing our Netzwerk F project in 2024! Our intersectional feminist political network in Germany, Netzwerk F, is dedicated to empowering young women and non-binary individuals in politics and public policy. By fostering a growing network of mentees and experienced patrons, Netzwerk F provides crucial guidance, showcases career opportunities, and emphasizes the importance of peer support. We aim to prom ote diversity in politics, transform oppressive structures into intersectional feminist ones, and work towards achieving fair political representation. What makes Netzwerk F unique? We directly impact the lives of 125 mentees within Germany, and with your help, we can expand our reach even further. Be a part of this transformative journey by contributing to our cause. Together, let’s pave the way for a more equitable future! Donate now and be a catalyst for change in 2024. #GivingTuesday #NetzwerkF #InclusiveLeadership #EmpowerChange 💙🌟

"What does the word bikini evoke for you?” Teresia Teaiwa’s book “Sweat and Salt Water” prompts us to rethink what the word “bikini” truly signifies: It is not just a two-piece bathing suit but carries the weight of colonial history, specifically the harrowing consequences of the United States’ nuclear testing in the Republic of the Marshall Islands. Between 1946 and 1958, the United States conducted a staggering 67 high-yield nuclear tests on colonized grounds, specifically at Bikini Atoll and Enewetak Atoll. The aftermath, however, extends far beyond those years. The repercussions are felt in the annihilating forms of biological, ecological, humanitarian, and cultural consequences that persist to this day. Cancers, forced migration, and a significant contribution to the climate crisis are among the lasting impacts of this chapter in history. Yet, amidst these challenges, the Marshall Islands, a small and financially dependent nation, struggles for compensation and justice. As Benetick Kabua Maddison from the Marshallese Educational Initiative (MEI) emphasizes in our latest Webdossier on the Marshall Islands [LINK IN BIO], the pursuit of nuclear justice becomes even more complex as his nation grapples with exposure to a nuclear-armed state, the United States, that refuses to acknowledge responsibility for its imperialist actions. Discover Benetick’s full article in our Webdossier with Heinrich-Böll-Stiftung [LINK IN COMMENTS] and find out how the Nuclear Ban Treaty (TPNW) emerges as a potential pathway toward redressing the historical wrongs.