Written by Pooja Kumari, Sangita Dutraj and Kamna Singh (GFoD Rights Experts 2026) On 24 August 2026, we, three Rights Experts Pooja Kumari (Pakistan), Sangita Dutraj (Nepal), and Kamna Singh (India) participated in the CSW71 Asia-Pacific Youth & Adolescent Regional Consultation, where young people from across the Asia-Pacific came together to share their perspectives and…
This powerful opinion piece by Shweta Katti challenges the global development sector to move beyond amplifying survivor stories and toward genuinely supporting survivor leadership. Drawing from her lived experience growing up in Mumbai’s red-light area, she makes a compelling case for shifting power, trust, and resources to communities themselves—highlighting how survivor-led initiatives like Kranti are…
The Global Forum of Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (GFOD) has released a powerful Call to Action: Advancing Gender Equality by Recognizing Women Discriminated on Work and Descent at CSW70. This paper highlights the persistent exclusion of Dalit, Roma, Burakumin, Haratin, Quilombola, Palenque, and other descent-based communities from global gender equality frameworks. It underscores…
The Global Forum of Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (GFoD) has submitted a powerful input to the Working Group on Discrimination Against Women and Girls, exposing how digitalization and AI are deepening the marginalization of CDWD women—particularly Dalit, Roma, Quilombola, Haratine, Osu, and other historically oppressed communities. The document shows how limited digital access,…
For centuries and ages, Communities Discriminated on Work and Descent (CDWD) have lived at the harshest edges of social and economic exclusion. Yet across regions from Dalit and Burakumin communities in South Asia to Roma settlements in Europe, from Haratin groups in Mauritania to Palenque and Quilombola and Palenque territories in Latin America youth are…
