From Frontlines to Headlines—Women Human Rights Defenders

Charlotte Bunch joined OSI's Network Women's Program’s Sub-Board in 2002. She is one of the leading figures in the international women’s movement, and is known for advocating for the inclusion of violence against women, women’s rights and sexual orientation on the global human rights agenda. In 1989, she founded the Center for Women’s Global Leadership at Rutgers University, which promotes the women’s leadership and advances feminist perspectives in policymaking processes in local, national, and international arenas. She is currently on the Advisory Committee for the Women’s Rights Division at Human Rights Watch, and on the boards of the International Council on Human Rights Policy and the Global Fund for Women.

Hina Jilani is an Advocate of the Supreme Court of Pakistan and a human rights activist with a special focus on defending the rights of women, minorities and children. Jilani founded the first women's law firm in Pakistan in 1980, AGHS Legal Aid Cell, focusing on cases concerning violations of women's rights to security of person, liberty and equality. She is also one of the founders of the Human Rights Commission of Pakistan. In 2000, Jilani was appointed as the first UN Special Representative of the Secretary General on Human Rights Defenders. She has received several national and international awards, including the UNIFEM 2001 Millennium Peace Award for Women. She was recently appointed to a UN International Fact-Finding Commission on Darfur.