Asia

In Cambodia, human rights organizations and activists work amidst a climate of fear and repression. The country’s rural and Indigenous populations have suffered greatly, as major development projects have confiscated land, razed forests and depleted other resources — contributing to the loss of these communities’ livelihoods, culture, and identities. AJWS supports grassroots organizations, primarily in the country’s Northeast, to fight for climate justice and protect the land, water and natural resources rights of these communities.

AJWS grantee partners in Cambodia also focus on strengthening the food sovereignty (the ability to grow healthy, sustainable food) of rural communities who have been forced to rely on industrial agriculture. Our partners are leading seed exchanges and communal farming projects, and increasing farmers’ access to local markets.

In India, AJWS supports activists and social change organizations women and adolescent girls, LGBTQI+ people and sex workers. The country’s dramatic wealth gap, patriarchal values and social stigmas against non-traditional lifestyles create major challenges for these populations. are often coerced to drop out of school and marry before they’re old enough to consent; LGBTQI+ people are targeted with violence and discrimination; and sex workers are pushed to the fringes of society.

AJWS partners in India work tirelessly so these populations can realize their human rights and live the lives they choose—. Our partners fight for legal protections for trans people, build safer communities for LGBTQI+ people, expand women’s rights by increasing access to education, reproductive healthcare and employment, and support collectives of sex workers to stop discrimination and violence. Our grantees have had major successes, including helping to overturn a law criminalizing homosexuality in 2018.

In Sri Lanka, grassroots organizations fight for human rights amidst interconnected challenges, including the dire effects of climate emergencies, an ongoing economic crisis and generations of oppression of ethnic minorities. Communities in Sri Lanka’s Northeast region have suffered decades of discrimination and violence, which has resulted in social exclusion and severe poverty exacerbated by the economic crisis today. AJWS supports social change organizations to protect and empower these communities and offer emergency aid and relief.

AJWS also supports communities fighting for land rights in Sri Lanka. National regulations have pushed farmers to depend on mechanized agriculture, fertilizers and pesticides, forcing many farmers into debt-traps and poverty. Further, vast swaths of land have been sold to foreign companies for mining and development. Our grantees organize communities, especially small-scale farmers and fishers, to protect their farmland and coastal areas from land grabs and industrial development — and to develop more sustainable forms of agriculture.

In Thailand, AJWS focuses on strengthening social movements to expand the human rights and visibility of LGBTQI+ people and sex workers. While Thailand is known internationally as a gay-friendly vacation spot, many Thai LGBTQI+ people do not experience respect or safety. They often experience discrimination in schools and workplaces; and many trans and gender nonbinary folks are coerced into military service required of Thai men. AJWS partners are working to shift this severe social stigma while advocating for laws that recognize trans people and expand the rights of same-sex couples and sex workers

From the dense forests of the North to the coastal South, AJWS also supports rural and Indigenous communities of farmers and fisherfolk whose lives and livelihoods have been upended by government-sanctioned mega-development projects and the climate crisis. AJWS grantees support movements of rural communities and ethnic minorities that defend their land and water and push climate justice into the national spotlight.