Happy International Women’s Day
Combating violent extremism and terrorism is impossible without building from the firm foundation of equality fundamental to the women’s rights and human rights movements.
At Glitterpill LLC and The Khalifa Ihler Institute, we define violent extremism as the violent denial of diversity. The only way to fight against this denial is to genuinely embrace diversity. Our organizations do this throughout our work and presence in our sector.
To us, the women and representatives of diverse communities on our team and in our work are not merely a tokenistic box to tick or a result of a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion policy. Women and women’s rights are integral to who we are as a company, the unique perspective we provide, and the quality of the services we provide and the products we deliver.
In the male-dominated space of international and national security, our team is built predominantly of women. We take every opportunity to ensure that women, Indigenous people, and those directly affected by violent extremism are heard at every level, from our work with grassroots communities to our work at the UN. In our product pipelines, women lead our research, investigations, data analysis, and quality assurance process as we strive to deliver intelligence products of the highest quality and integrity.
To those who, through violence, seek to deny diversity, the agency of women poses an existential threat.
We see this in the relationship between perpetrators of domestic abuse and perpetrators of acts of terrorism. We see it in communities that, through law, politics, religion, and social control, seek to control women’s bodies, freedoms, and reproductive rights. We see it in the hate and violence against women in incel communities, in racial supremacist communities, among religiously motivated extremist groups and their supporters. As a result, we must acknowledge the undeniable relationship between violent extremism and violence against women. Combating extremism without also fighting to promote the rights and safety of women is thus impossible.
Despite the logical fallacy of combating violent extremism without grounding in women’s rights, we must acknowledge the prevailing challenges posed to women in our sector, not merely by our apparent adversaries but, frequently, by those who present themselves as our allies. These challenges are apparent in the continued underrepresentation of women, challenges tied to safety in the workplace, the frequent failures to appreciate women as credible and professional actors in the sector, and a host of issues tied to systemic discrimination. These challenges do, however, not stand in isolation.
To embrace diversity is to fight for complexity and to understand that we all carry multiple identities that affect us in different ways in different contexts. As organizations taking an intersectional approach to our work, we must also acknowledge the additional challenges faced by women of color, Indigenous women, people in the LGBTQIA+ community, non-binary and intersex individuals who present as female, trans women, disabled women, and people who identify with multiple of these and other categories.
The challenges are also present in how the language of the women’s rights movement and human rights sector is frequently co-opted and weaponized against those who seek to build a safer world for all. We see this among those who thinly veil their islamophobia in calls for women’s rights. We see it among those who promote hate, fear, and discrimination against minorities while putting their own rights ahead of others. We see it among those who are quick to promote themselves as advocates for inclusivity and rights, yet whose failures to behave in line with the values they claim to uphold cause immense damage to those they pretend to protect.
At Glitterpill and the Khalifa Ihler Institute, we view the rights and values embedded in the women’s rights movement and human rights community as integral to everything we do. They are essential to our success.
On this International Women’s Day, we take the opportunity to celebrate the women in our sector and our victories to date, but also to acknowledge the long way ahead and the challenges that remain to be addressed. For us, every day is a day to protect women's rights, promote human rights, and defend respect and dignity for all.
