Engaging for Resilience and Hope at CSW69
On March 13, 2025, IANGEL hosted Beijing Backlash: Using Global Networks for Empowerment, Resilience, and Hope, a parallel event in connection with the 69th meeting of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW69). Moderated by IANGEL board member Natalia Urzola Gutierrez, our panel featured Beth Parker of Planned Parenthood California Central Coast, Andrea Mariana Dominguez of the Global Network for Human Rights and the Environment, and IANGEL CEO Nancy Newman. Each panelist brought a unique perspective on the challenges of working for equality, reproductive freedom, and environmental justice in the current regressive climate. The program drew an audience from across the globe, with attendees joining from North America, South America, Nigeria, Sweden, and New Zealand, and reinforced the importance of working across borders to provide empowerment, solidarity, and hope. If you missed the livestream, you can watch our event on Youtube below:
IANGEL celebrates International Women’s Day with Afghan Women Lawyers
On March 7, 2025, IANGEL hosted an International Women’s Day (IWD) event with women lawyers in Afghanistan, as part of our ongoing BRIDGE project. An acronym of Building Real Interactions to Drive Gender Equality, this project includes monthly meetings with Afghan women professionals, who are banned from work by the Taliban.
Our BRIDGE meetings provide a critical bridge of emotional, economic, and professional support, and BRIDGE participants in turn pay it forward, using their skills as lawyers to assist women in their communities with the epidemic of despair and injustice experienced in Afghanistan today. For IWD, BRIDGE members read poems, shared their artwork, sang songs, and presented on Afghan heroines of history. And we heard the remarkable testimony of a 14 year-old Afghan girl, Shadab (pseudonym), explaining her determination to continue her studies no matter what. Listen to her comments here:
Artwork by Aisha (pseudonym), BRIDGE participant and Afghan woman lawyer in Kabul.
Amplifying Voices from Underground Schools in Afghanistan
Since 2022, IANGEL has supported underground schools teaching girls and women in Afghanistan, and amplified the brave voices of their students and teachers in resisting the suffocating oppression they are enduring. These schools are led by Parsi and Freshta (pseudonyms), who regularly share powerful photos and videos of their classrooms, confirming the determination and resilience of Afghan women and girls.
Advocacy in Action
On March 17, 2025, IANGEL joined 35 other gender justice organizations in signing on to an amicus brief by the National Women’s Law Center in support of Jessica Todaro, a college student who reported she was sexually assaulted by Miles Ventura and publicly shared her experience as a survivor on social media, only to be sued by him for defamation. An apparent SLAPP suit—a strategic lawsuit against public participation—the claim should have been dismissed under New York’s anti-SLAPP law, but was not, and Todaro appealed. NWLC’s amicus brief explains that survivors of sexual assault commonly face retaliation when they come forward, and that sexual assailants are increasingly using SLAPP suits to silence their victims and coerce them into withdrawing their claims. The brief urges the appellate court to reverse the lower court’s decision and dismiss the SLAPP suit against Ms. Todaro.
Volunteer Spotlight: Trinity Salazar
We are grateful for our volunteers, who donate their time, knowledge, and skills to advance gender justice, and volunteer Trinity Salazar deserves special recognition. Her passion for women’s human rights is reflected in her work. She has provided invaluable data analysis to support our Afghanistan projects, and brings keen ideas, creativity, and drive to improving our operational capacity. Thank you, Trinity!
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