Women's Platform for Action International (WoPAI)

We are excited to be on X! WoPAI is a new International Non-Profit association of women’s organisations & informal women’s rights groups globally. We are independent of religious & political affiliations. Please see our website for how to join! womensplatformforaction.org/who-we-are/

A small but fearless group of women from Afghanistan is protesting in the streets of Kabul on International Women’s Day, demanding their basic rights and calling for an end to a gender apartheid regime.

Happy International Women’s Day! There is so much courage across Europe with many who speak up for women's rights and against authoritarian dogma in whatever form it takes. We will continue to hold the European Union and Council of Europe accountable.

Pleased to be participating in the side event to #CSW70 entitled “Protecting #Women and #Children: Combating Violence and Exploitation in #Surrogacy” convened by @ItalyUN_NY, Turkiye, Paraguay, the Holy Sea, and possibly others. It will take place on 10th of march 2026 in UNHQ CR8, 1:15-2:30 pm EST. Join us if you are at the CSW.

3/3 I reiterate my call on the Committee to eliminate all references to “sex work” and “minor sex workers,” as these terms do not reflect internationally agreed on UN language nor are they recognized under international law. They also undermine established treaties such as CEDAW itself, the Palermo Protocol, and the Convention on the Rights of the Child. I call again on the @CedawUn committee to continue to recognize the inherent violence and exploitation in prostitution, emphasizing the inextricable link between prostitution and other grave crimes such as trafficking in persons, torture, and inhumane and degrading treatment.

1/3 I join the authors of the letter led by @CATWIntl in expressing my alarm at the @CedawUn concluding observations on the #Netherlands, a summary of which was also published by the committee here: ohchr.org/en/press-relea… A copy of the letter by civil society to CEDAW can be found here: catwinternational.org/wp-content/upl…

Workshops, Panels, Activism, Performances, Art, Films, Stalls, Books, Merchandise, Women-only Party and Networking #Blackpool September 18th-19th for #FiLiA2027 #EarlyBird tickets end at midnight 9th March! #GlobalFeminism filia.org.uk/tickets

🧵It came to our attention that a legislative proposal is underway in Romania to legalise pimping. We’re shocked that such a proposal was developed without scrutiny as to its consequences and without consultation, in particular, with feminist organisations in Romania. ⤵️

We had a wonderful time meeting many passionate and determined Spanish feminists at the @DoFemCo feminist teachers conference near Barcelona over the weekend. DoFemCo do amazing work demanding equality between the sexes at all educational levels. This year the focus was on violence against women and girls in education. Among many fascinating discussions we heard how gender identity dogma has hollowed out and replaced the principles of coeducation - which in Spain means not just educating boys and girls together, but educating them in a way that is free of sexist stereotypes. All over Europe there are determined feminist groups fighting back against the erosion of the rights of women and girls with few resources but endless dedication. Congratulations to DoFemCo for an informative and inspirational conference!

Disturbingly, some academics defend or minimise FGM—citing “cultural relativism", "bodily autonomy,” or false comparisons with male circumcision—arguments widely condemned as unethical and unscientific. Today, on the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM, we call it out.

As expected, the resolution to ban "conversion practices" in the Council of Europe’s Parliamentary Assembly was passed. After years of preparation, transactivist organisations got what they wanted: a Council of Europe resolution that frames gender identity as a protected ground and pathologises anyone who questions it. Transactivist organisations will now use this resolution to increase pressure at national level across Europe and to advance the same agenda within the European Union. We must be ready. This vote is not the end of the story. It marks the beginning of our efforts to push back. For 15 years, they’ve had a head start. That era is over. The spotlight is on. We are just getting started.

Today we are quoted in @ObserverUK as @Martha_Gill calls for a ban on surrogacy. After the backlash against Meghan Trainor, more people are waking up to the realities of the baby trade. End it now @DHSCgovuk observer.co.uk/news/opinion-a…

If you only read one article this weekend please make it The Archive Keeper in the latest edition of The Frontline. It’s written by a Black feminist in South Africa snd tells how post modernism/gender self ID/queer theory - whatever label you want to give it - has infected feminist theory and direct action in her country these past decades. It is by turn a heartbreaking and inspirational read. Unforgettable. @LucyHunterB and I are incredibly proud to have been entrusted with it. Pleased amplify it widely - it’s an important read. frontlinewomen.substack.com/p/issue-18-the…

Ruth Hunt brings hyperbole to the debate, but also some clarity: “There’s nothing to cure.” We agree. Why then are “gender non-conforming” kids and adolescents, many of them simply lesbians and gay men, put on a pathway to transition?

The letter we had sent in November 2025 regarding allegations of sexual harassment, suspension from office, and punitive measures suffered by a Senator in #Nigeria, reportedly linked to her refusal of advances and intimidation by Senate official is now public: spcommreports.ohchr.org/TMResultsBase/… We had not received a response to our letter.

We’re in Strasbourg this week, and what we’re hearing is beyond imaginable. Many MPs, across parties, cannot even tell the difference between sexual orientation and gender identity. They are unable to explain (or imagine) why affirming a four‑year‑old’s belief or pushing hormones on pubescent adolescents is wrong. This level of ignorance is killing the reputation of politicians, harming the standing of European institutions, and hollowing out the human‑rights project from within. Hold them accountable. Every single one of them. It’s not even so much about the Kate Osbornes. They are pushing their agenda, and they are doing it well. They have secured millions in funding, installed themselves as the default “experts” and successfully marginalised everyone else. It is the “Conservatives” (sometimes calling themselves Christian Democrats or “people’s parties”) who are holding the door open. They have allowed themselves to become vicarious agents for an ideology they barely understand. There are exceptions - Kemi Badenoch at the top among them. Irish MP Rónán Mullen has been a beacon of light among the cowardice of the last days. But the European Conservatives in general simply cannot be arsed. It’s too niche and too inconvenient for them, and in their ignorance, they still care more about form than content. They are handing their own voters, and their own credibility, to the far right on a rainbow‑coloured plate. This is a failure of party leadership. The UK debate has not yet landed in much of Europe, and Conservatives have refused to listen. If many people are disappointing on this issue, the Conservative establishment is the worst. They might think nobody cares, because they don’t. And that they can negotiate “compromise” with their political opponents - who are pushing a diametrically opposed ideology. We are watching. They won’t get a free pass this time.

“Eight times more likely to rape than other men’

Whatever happens tomorrow, the work does not stop there. Pushing for this kind of “conversion therapy bans” has become a transactivist priority. The first EU member state to introduce a comprehensive nationwide ban was Malta (2016), followed by Germany (2020), France (2022), Greece (2022), Spain (2023), Belgium (2023), Cyprus (2023) and Portugal (2024). Proposals for similar legislation have been brought forward in Poland, Ireland, Austria and the Netherlands. If the Council of Europe resolution is passed, it will carry considerable weight in those countries who do not yet have such bans. To be very clear: The resolution is not legally binding. However, it will be used at national level across Europe (the Council of Europe has 46 member states) to support the transactivist and progressive push for this kind of ban. ⚠️ It will establish the legitimacy of what it contains as a European human rights standard — that affirming a child as trans is good, and that objections from parents, therapists, teachers or anyone else are bad. ⚠️ It will be used to support arguments for “state of the art” interventions across mental health, education, social services and the judiciary (including in matters of custody!). ⚠️ It will lead to further resolutions and recommendations and potentially to binding policies and law, as well as funding to implement every aspect of the resolution. ⚠️ It will nourish the ignorance of conservatives on this issue and carry the ideology of progressives. ⚠️ It’s a prime example of soft law and the damage it can and will do. The stated aim is to push for such laws to be implemented everywhere across Europe “to avoid loopholes”. It is already extremely difficult to resist this push at national level. Passing this resolution would give it very strong momentum. It will help establish this as a European human rights standard that politics, media and civil society (including parents) will struggle to ever undo. This week, politicians won’t decide on a binding law. We will have to support each other to make sure it is not pushed through on the national level.

@freespeech360 @WomensActionInt @ScotParl @AshReganMSP In my job, I see what coercion actually looks like. When someone’s “choice” is shaped by rent arrears & empty cupboards, that’s not the same as free consent. This isn’t a neat victim vs. agent debate. People can have agency and still be pushed into acts by poverty & circumstance

@freespeech360 @UNSRVAW @ScotParl @AshReganMSP We think poor women are worth more than a few years of being abused. A few short years of exploitation isn't economic freedom.

@WomensActionInt @UNSRVAW @ScotParl @AshReganMSP In reality Many women dont have a lot of other skills, for various reasons , that they can rely on, to make sure they have the necessities of life . If you take away the buyers , that they consent to having sexual relations with, you take away economic freedom.

.@ScotParl votes next week on @AshReganMSP's #unbuyable Bill that criminalises abusers in the sex trade & decriminalises & supports those exploited. This is a message from survivors of prostitution to the Scottish lawmakers to get the law right and stand on the side of justice.

@freespeech360 @WomensActionInt @UNSRVAW @ScotParl @AshReganMSP so according to you only women in wealthy countries can exercise the right to a life free from prostitution, male objectification and inherent violence of the sex trade, but women like us , from the “third world” should wait to have this basic right till our states get wealthy ?