Advocacy and lobbying are activities that represent and promote the needs of specific groups in political and social arenas. One such group is women, who can collectively pressure their leaders for legislative reforms to protect and promote women’s rights and concerns. It is the goal of advocacy groups and lobbyists to ensure that both the public and politicians understand and support their cause, so that it gains strength and credibility. Securing rights and gains for women requires coalition-building, funding, civic education, awareness-raising and individuals willing to lead the way.
While the goals of advocacy and lobbying are similar, the processes are distinctly different. Advocacy involves gaining and exercising power to influence a political action. Employing methods such as demonstrations, public campaigns and civic education, advocacy can be the primary mission of international agencies and civil society organizations seeking to influence global and national decision makers. Women worldwide frequently organize themselves for advocacy purposes, drawing on their collective power to affect legislation, official policies and governmental programs. Lobbying, however, refers to influencing the government and its leaders. Lobbyists attempt to sway policy makers and legislators to address specific issues, often by introducing or revising legislation and policy. Lobbying activities may include private meetings with decision makers, public campaigns and demonstrations.
17 March 2012 - Human Rights Focus Pakistan (HRFP) in collaboration with Global Human Rights Defense (GHRD) celebrated International Women’s Day with great enthusiasm and vigor. The theme selected for day was “Empowered Women - Strong Society “at Faisalabad.
16 Mar 2012 -UN Women Executive Director Michelle Bachelet comments on the ending of the 56th session of the Commission on the Status of Women without agreed conclusions.
16 Mar 2012 - Six major Islamic organizations have voiced objections to the gender fairness and equality bill, saying that some articles may harm Islamic values.
16 Mar 2012 - The Arab Spring continues to blow winds of change in the Middle East. There is no doubt the direction these countries are heading in will affect Arab societies and personal rights. But recently, the focus has been on women in the aftermath of the Arab Spring.
20 Mar 2012 - Experts say the country will see more women making it to the top in a variety of professions in the years to come as a growing number of women rise up the ladder, elbowing out their male competitors.
19 Mar 2012 - With security issues still taking centre stage in news headlines in Israel, the country’s long-ignored gender-segregation crisis continues to fester.
20 Mar 2012 - NAMIBIA’S quest for democratic governance in the past 21 years has borne witness to significant progress in the area of gender equality through Government policies and programmes, which include the domestication of international conventions and national policies, as well as ge
19 Mar 2012 - On 15 March 2011 a group of children of the sadly now famous city of Deraa, on their way out of school, wrote the first slogans on street walls calling for democracy and change of the authoritarian regime in Syria.