Vrouw, femme, mujer, kadın, Frau, jin all mean woman, the female of our species, in various languages. The words jin (woman) and jiyan (life) have the same root in Kurdish language. It means the giver of life. However, reproduction is only one of the many functions woman has performed throughout history. The first social and productive relations, the fabric of society, were also built by women in Mesopotamia as well as in almost all parts of the world at the down of human history. Women had a leading role in the development of the means of production, agriculture, languages, law, science and the arts. Women occupied a central place in life; they generated the life in harmony with nature and they guaranteed fair distribution of products.

Today, the reality is different: Whereas women represent half of the population and perform two third of all working hours, they only earn a tenth of the worldwide income and posses less than a hundredth of the property in the world. Women count for only one per cent of public decision-makers. Three quarters of the refugees and migrants are women, owing to poverty, wars, human right’s violations, social crisis and persecution of women. The violence against women and children is increasing: Prostitution, pornography and women-trade are spread all over the world. Women have to face different difficulties, depending on their national, religious or cultural back- ground, social and economic status, condition, language and education. Increasing suicide rates among women show that women in many regions of the world cannot find a way out for themselves under prevailing oppressive conditions.

Luckily, women have begun to organise themselves in recent years to fight the growing injustice. In particular, women who personally experienced the devastating effects of war and men’s violence, begun to play an important role in establishing initiatives that promote peace initiatives. In Kurdistan,Turkey,Palestine,Yugoslavia,  Chechnya or Mexico they united to stop mindless violence, to promote democratisation of their societies and to build up aid projects for needy people.

Wars and crisis, globalisation of markets and engineered “progress” caused inalterable changes in traditional family and social structures. Paralleled to such developments, women made important progress in their fight for freedom and their rights. The question of women’s rights has become a leading item on the agenda of international meetings and of international institutions owing to the fact that women are becoming better educated and more engaged in social affairs. In this connection, women have good chances to take part in social and political life actively and with awareness, to create a future that is worth living. It is essential hereto, that women define their own ideas of a way of living and their own projects and provide the conditions to realise them.  

This is the background, in a nutshell, of the foundation of the International Free Women’s Foundation (IFWF) as a non-profit and independent foundation of women from the Middle East and Europe that was established in Amsterdam on March 9, 2001.  

The IFWF strives to support all projects that are in accordance with the aims and principles of the IFWF. For applications and inquiries, please turn to our office in Amsterdam.  

As an independent organisation the IFWF is realising its aims and projects through voluntary work and donations. Your contribution is welcome. 

International Free Women’s Foundation (IFWF)

Internationale Vrije Vrouwen Stichting · Weqfa Jinên Azad a Cîhanê

Willebrordusplein 10a · NL-3037 TC Rotterdam

  Tel.: +31 (0) 10 465 1800  · Fax: +31 (0) 10 265 1460  

e-mail: info@freewomensfoundation.org

Postbank-Giro: 62 18 545 · KvK-registratie: 34152286