The fight for reproductive justice is facing especially hard times, and the path ahead will not be easy. But the truth is that we’ve already made incredible progress, and we know how to keep moving forward.
In the past 30 years, 60 countries have changed their abortion laws—and only four decreased access. We at Ipas worked in many of those countries that expanded abortion rights. We saw firsthand that the fight is never easy—and never over. Behind historic gains like abortion law change, health centers that offer high-quality abortion care, and communities that support every person’s bodily autonomy are years of hard work, resistance, persistence and advocates who continue, step by step, toward their goal—no matter what.
We’re inspired by our staff and partners around the world who persevere in the face of tremendous challenges: violent conflict, climate crises, oppressive patriarchy and gender norms, intense abortion stigma, restrictive laws, and more. Day by day, these changemakers carry on, making incremental progress that builds over time—knowing there is no choice other than to keep going.
We need to be completely convinced that our progress on the issue of abortion is not fast or easy, but each accomplishment is invaluable and has a direct impact on women’s quality of life.”
— Malena Morales, director of Ipas Bolivia
Here are 7 changemakers to inspire us all.
1.
Ritah Anindo crusades against child marriage, teen pregnancy and school dropout in Kenya
Anindo started a movement to counter the challenges she and her peers faced growing up. She’s now the executive director of Community Voices Network, a network of young people who’ve grown up in informal settlements and have experienced social and health injustices.
She describes her work with the women and girls of Korogocho, an informal settlement in Nairobi where she grew up, as her ultimate calling and purpose in life. She connected with Ipas because her organization uses a digital platform supported by Ipas Africa Alliance to provide youth with information and referrals to sexual and reproductive health services.
Listen to Anindo talk about what motivates her to do this work.
2.
Dr. Deeb Shrestha Dangol fights abortion stigma in Nepal
Dr. Deeb, a dedicated OB-GYN and head of health systems and policy for Ipas Nepal, has fought to expand abortion access in Nepal for over 20 years. Her journey as a doctor and abortion rights advocate led her to an Ipas training approach called abortion values clarification for action and transformation.
Through this method of challenging abortion stigma, she and her team have trained thousands of health workers and expanded abortion access as a result. In 2019, the government of Nepal recognized how effective these trainings are by making them part of the national safe abortion training curriculum for health providers.
3.
Dr. Celestine Buyibuyi ensures abortion access despite violent conflict in Democratic Republic of Congo
Years of conflict and recent intensified fighting in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) have forced countless people into overcrowded displacement camps. People have acute reproductive health needs, and care is very hard to find.
“For women and girls in these camps, access to contraception, emergency contraception, legal abortion, and care for sexual violence is critical and lifesaving. That’s why Ipas DRC has set up mobile health clinics in some camps to deliver essential reproductive health services where they’re needed most,” says Dr. Celestine Buyibuyi, community engagement advisor for Ipas DRC. “My motivation for doing this work is simple: When I see a woman suffering, I see myself suffering.”
Photo by Victoria Razo
4.
Karina del Carmen Vidal Baeza helps migrants in Mexico access reproductive health care
As the general coordinator at Oasis de Paz del Espíritu Santo—a shelter for migrants in Villahermosa, Mexico— Karina del Carmen Vidal Baeza shares information about sexual and reproductive health with the migrant women she serves. She also shows them how to use an Ipas chatbot designed especially for migrants that connects them with health centers offering abortion and treatment for sexual violence.
“It has been a tool that’s given them confidence in knowing that, in this new country they’re in, they have somewhere to turn,” Baeza says. “For them… it’s a relief [to go to a] health center knowing that here they will guide you with the appropriate steps for issues as delicate as talking about abuse. The chatbot has given them that confidence.”
Listen to Baeza talk about how she supports migrants at her shelter and learn more about how Ipas’s network of partners is expanding abortion access for migrants across Mexico.
5.
Dhito Raditya uses peer mentorship to fight child marriage and school dropout in Indonesia
Aditya aka Dhito Raditya, a 20-year-old law student from Central Sulawesi, Indonesia, is passionate about peer mentorship and volunteering. His dedication to making a difference is fueled by the goal of ending child marriage and school dropout in his region.
“I wanted to make a positive impact and be a role model for my peers. My age allows me to connect with young people on a deeper level, making them more open to discussing sensitive topics like sexual and reproductive health,” he says.
Photo by Nelson Apochi Owoicho
6.
SAIF Advocacy Foundation builds inclusive abortion care in Nigeria
In Nigeria, getting a safe abortion is already an uphill battle. But for women living with disabilities, it can be nearly impossible. With support from the Ipas Collaborative Fund, the locally based SAIF Advocacy Foundation is paving the way to ensure that everyone can access the quality abortion care they have a right to.
“Funding from Ipas helped us empower local organizations to integrate abortion programming and helped community members understand the impact of stigma,” says Farida Muhamed, program officer from SAIF. “These efforts helped us to identify crucial gaps in access and how to address them.”
Read about how SAIF is making a difference for people with disabilities.
Photo by Esther Sweeney
7.
Malena Morales persists in the movement for abortion rights in Bolivia
Malena Morales, director of Ipas Bolivia, first joined Ipas in 1999. Abortion remains legally restricted in Bolivia even after many years of advocacy by a growing movement for reproductive rights, but Morales still says she’s seen huge positive changes. “When we began, we could not even talk about complications from unsafe abortion; we could not talk about contraception, or sexual and reproductive health in general, much less about sexual and reproductive rights,” she says.
To the new generation of advocates for legal abortion, she advises persistence and patience: “This work bears a very significant social burden of stigma for professionals and our families that we must be ready to take on. We need to be completely convinced that our progress on the issue of abortion is not fast or easy, but each accomplishment is invaluable and has a direct impact on women’s quality of life.”
Read a Q&A with Morales where she talks about why advocates in Bolivia must continue the fight.