There are many ways of defending human rights
Rights defenders come from all walks of life and each of them, however distant or unknown, leads the way of humanity towards freedom, justice, and dignity.
As a South African advocate that fights for the rights of women in Saudi Arabia, Thobeka Felicia gets one question time and time again, possibly the same one in your mind right now.
Her work is a case in point on the boundlessness of the work of human rights defenders. An advocate may work in their neighborhood or for people thousands of miles away. Either way, they are fighting for the same thing: our shared humanity.
Felicia recognizes that the advancement of women’s rights in Saudi Arabia is a step forward for women the world over. Hassan Shire, a Ugandan advocate, sums it powerfully: “The inspiration we get as protectors of human rights is that you save one and you feel like you really saved the entire community”. That may be our local community or the global one we all belong to, a sum of nations that have accepted basic human rights as the road to freedom and dignity for all.
Human rights defenders work to make sure institutions and individuals abide by those shared rules. Many picture human rights defenders as citizens in war-torn countries or under dictatorships. There are certainly very courageous advocates that put their lives on the line to protect their communities. Khurram Parvez works under very dangerous circumstances.
But there are many other ways of defending rights. John Strohschein is an advocate in the classroom.
Jacklyn Lopez defends rights as a caseworker.
Adam Shapiro works to bring the stories of advocates to new audiences.
There are many ways of defending rights and all of them contribute to humanity’s journey to a world where basic human rights are respected and protected.
I Defend Rights contributes by recording the voices of hundreds of people who defend rights around the globe. We believe that by collecting and disseminating these stories, we can foster support for advocates. If you want to listen to other stories or you defend rights and want to share your experiences, click here.
Thobeka Felicia is a South African Criminology and Politics Student and peace activist.
Hassan Shire is a Somali-Canadian human rights defender. He heads the East and Horn of Africa Human Rights Defenders Project.
Khurram Parvez is the Programme Coordinator for Jammu & Kashmir Coalition of Civil Society (JKCCS).
John Strohschein works as an English Language Arts and Social Studies teacher for the New York City Department of Education.
Adam Shapiro is head of communications and visibility at Front Line Defenders.
