Founder Carrie Chapman Catt Purpose Political advocacy | Type INGO Headquarters Geneva | |
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Formation Berlin, 3 June 1904; 112 years ago (1904-06-03) Membership Over 50 organizations world-wide | ||
The International Alliance of Women (IAW; French: Alliance Internationale des Femmes, AIF) is an international non-governmental organization that works to promote women's human rights around the world, focusing particularly on empowerment of women and development issues and more broadly on gender equality. The basic principle of the IAW is that the full and equal enjoyment of human rights is due to all women and girls. It is one of the oldest, largest and most influential organizations in its field. The organization was founded in 1904 in Berlin by Carrie Chapman Catt, Susan B. Anthony, Millicent Fawcett and other leading feminists to campaign for women's suffrage. Originally named the International Woman Suffrage Alliance (IWSA) and headquartered in London, it was the preeminent international women's suffrage organization. Its emphasis has since shifted to a broad human rights focus. Today it represents over 50 organizations world-wide comprising several hundred thousand members, and has its seat in Geneva.
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From 1926, the organization had strong ties to the League of Nations. Since 1947, the IAW has had general consultative status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council, the highest UN status possible for a non-governmental organization, the 4th organization to be granted this status. The IAW also has participatory status with the Council of Europe. It has representatives at the UN headquarters in New York, the UN office in Geneva, the UN office in Vienna, UNESCO in Paris, the Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome and the Council of Europe in Strasbourg. It also has representatives to the Arab League in Cairo and the Gulf Countries Council in Riyadh, and is an influential member of the European Women's Lobby in Brussels. Its President and Chief Representative to the United Nations is Joanna Manganara. Its current main UN representative in New York Soon-Young Yoon is also chair of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women, New York and First Vice-President of the Conference of NGOs. IAW's official working languages are English and French.
History
The decision for the establishment of the organization was taken in Washington in 1902 by suffragists frustrated at the reluctance of the International Council of Women to support women's suffrage. The Alliance was formally constituted in Berlin in 1904 as the International Woman Suffrage Alliance (IWSA), and was headquartered in London for much of its history. Its founders included Carrie Chapman Catt, Millicent Fawcett, Helene Lange, Susan B. Anthony, Anita Augspurg, Rachel Foster Avery, and Käthe Schirmacher.
Amongst subsequent congresses were those held in Copenhagen (1906), Amsterdam (1908), London (1909), Stockholm (June 1911), and Budapest (1913). The French Union for Women's Suffrage (UFSF), founded in February 1909. was formally recognized by the IWFA congress in London in April 1909 as representing the French suffrage movement. The IWSA also started its own monthly journal, the Jus Suffragii. The IWSA, influenced by Millicent Fawcett against the militancy of suffragettes in the style of Emmeline Pankhurst, initially refused membership to the WSPU at their 1906 Copenhagen meeting.
In the late 1920s the organization changed its name to the International Alliance of Women for Suffrage and Equal Citizenship, and in 1946 this was altered to its current name, International Alliance of Women. The first Executive Board included Carrie Chapman Catt (President), Anita Augspurg (1st Vice President), Donovan Bolden (2nd Vice President) and Rachel Foster Avery (Secretary).
The organization's first President Carrie Chapman Catt also founded the League of Women Voters in the United States during her presidency.
The organization's traditional colour, used to symbolize women's rights and women's suffrage, is yellow.
Conferences
Organization
An International Congress is held triennially in the home country of a member organization, and elects the Executive Board. The current President and Chief Representative to the United Nations is Joanna Manganara. The Executive Board also includes the Secretary-General, the Treasurer and until 20 other members, including two Executive Vice Presidents as well as Vice Presidents for Europe, the Arab countries, the Arab states of the Persian Gulf, and South Asia.
Presidents
- Carrie Chapman Catt (USA) 1904–1923
- Dame Margery Corbett Ashby (UK) 1923–1946
- Hanna Rydh (Sweden) 1946–1952
- Ester Graff (Denmark) 1952–1958
- Ezlynn Deraniyagala (Sri Lanka) 1958–1964
- Begum Anwar Ahmed (Pakistan) 1964–1970
- Edith Anrep (Sweden) 1970–1973
- Irène de Lipkowski (France) 1973–1979
- Olive Bloomer (UK) 1979–1989
- Alice Yotopoulos-Marangopoulos (Greece) 1989–1996
- Patricia Giles (Australia) 1996–2004
- Rosy Weiss (Austria) 2004–2010
- Lyda Verstegen (The Netherlands) 2010–2013
- Joanna Manganara (Greece) 2013–
Current status
The IAW represents more than 50 organizations world-wide and has attracted many individual members. The IAW was granted general consultative status to the United Nations Economic and Social Council, the highest level possible, in 1947, and has participatory status with the Council of Europe. The IAW has permanent representatives in New York, Vienna, Geneva, Paris, Rome, Nairobi and Strasbourg and addresses the European Union through its membership in the European Women’s Lobby in Brussels. The IAW's current representative to the UN headquarters, Soon-Young Yoon, is also chair of the NGO Committee on the Status of Women, New York.
The IAW pays particular attention to the universal ratification and implementation without reservation of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and its Optional Protocol. The current IAW Commissions deal with the topics: Justice and Human Rights; Democracy; Peace; Elimination of Violence and Health.