The Icelandic Women's Rights Association ( is, italic=no, Kvenréttindafélag Íslands) is the largest women's rights organization in Iceland and works for "women’s rights and the equal status of all genders in all areas of society." The association stands for an inclusive,

intersectional Intersectionality is an analytical framework for understanding how aspects of a person's social and political identities combine to create different modes of discrimination and privilege. Intersectionality identifies multiple factors of adva ...

and progressive

liberal feminism Liberal feminism, also called mainstream feminism, is a main branch of feminism defined by its focus on achieving gender equality through political and legal reform within the framework of liberal democracy. It is often considered culturally ...

, and advocates for women's rights and

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender (LGBT) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the death penalty for homosexuality. Notably, , 33 ...

. It notes that "IWRA works for the rights of ''all'' women. Feminism without trans women is no feminism at all." It is a member of the

International Alliance of Women The International Alliance of Women (IAW; french: Alliance Internationale des Femmes, AIF) is an international non-governmental organization that works to promote women's rights and gender equality. It was historically the main international org ...

(IAW) alongside other Nordic women's rights NGOs such as the

Norwegian Association for Women's Rights The Norwegian Association for Women's Rights ( no, italic=no, Norsk Kvinnesaksforening; NKF) is Norway's oldest and preeminent women's and girls' rights organization and works "to promote gender equality and all women's and girls' human rights thr ...

, the

Fredrika Bremer Association The Fredrika Bremer Association ( sv, Fredrika Bremer Förbundet, abbreviated FBF) is the oldest women's rights organisation in Sweden. The association stands for an inclusive, intersectional and progressive liberal feminism, and advocates for wome ...

and the

Danish Women's Society The Danish Women's Society or DWS ( da, Dansk Kvindesamfund) is Denmark's oldest women's rights organization. It was founded in 1871 by activist Matilde Bajer and her husband Fredrik Bajer; Fredrik was a Member of Parliament and the 1908 Nobel Peac ...

. In IAW contexts it is sometimes known as IAW Iceland.

History and views

It was founded in 1907 by

Bríet Bjarnhéðinsdóttir Bríet Bjarnhéðinsdóttir (September 27, 1856 – March 16, 1940) was an early Icelandic advocate for women's liberation and women's suffrage. She founded the first women's magazine in Iceland, ''Kvennablaðið''. For a period of time she serv ...

, who served as its president for its first 20 years. The principal aim was to ensure that women received full political equality with men, the right to vote and the same right to employment as men. The

Icelandic Women's Association Icelandic refers to anything of, from, or related to Iceland and may refer to: * Icelandic people *Icelandic language * Icelandic alphabet *Icelandic cuisine See also * Icelander (disambiguation) * Icelandic Airlines, a predecessor of Icelandai ...

had been established in 1895, but it was concerned only with rights for women in education and economic affairs. Bjarnhéðinsdóttir invited the Women's Association to take on the all important matter of suffrage but when they refused, she founded the Women's Rights Association, stating that the one most important thing was "political rights, women's suffrage and women's eligibility in politics". The Association achieved early success in 1908 when four women

Katrín Magnússon Katrín Sigríður Skúladóttir Magnússon (1858–1932) was an early Icelandic feminist who played an important part in promoting women's voting rights and women's education in the late 19th century. She served as a municipal councillor of Reykj ...

, Guðrún Björnsdóttir, and

Þórunn Jónassen Þórunn Jónassen, also Þórunn Hafstein Pétursdóttir (1850–1922) was an Icelandic feminist, the first chair of Thorvaldsensfélagið (Thorvaldsen's Society), Iceland's oldest women's association, a post she maintained for 47 years. She was ...

; were elected to the city council of

Reykjavík Reykjavík ( ; ) is the capital and largest city of Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland, on the southern shore of Faxaflói bay. Its latitude is 64°08' N, making it the world's northernmost capital of a sovereign state. With a po ...

. In 1911, women received the same treatment as men in education and by 1920, they received equal suffrage rights in parliamentary elections. The organization later became non-partisan, supporting women's rights to jobs and in public life. The association became a member of the

in 1907 and of the now defunct

Joint Organization of Nordic Women's Rights Associations The Joint Organization of Nordic Women's Rights Associations ( sv, Nordiska kvinnosaksföreningars samorganisation; NKS) was an umbrella organization for the bourgeois-liberal women's rights movement in the Nordic countries. It was founded in Stoc ...

in 1916, and cooperates closely with its Nordic sister organizations, including the

, the

and the

. The Icelandic Women's Rights Association advocates trans-inclusive policies, and has stated that "IWRA works for the rights of ''all'' women. Feminism without trans women is no feminism at all." On Women's Rights Day in Iceland in 2020, the Icelandic Women's Rights Association organised an event together with

Trans Ísland Trans Ísland is an Icelandic advocacy organisation that supports transgender people in Iceland. As of 2018, the chairperson of the group was . History Trans Ísland was founded in 2007, as a section of Samtökin '78. In 2010, the group helped f ...

that saw several different feminist organisations in the country discuss strategies to stop anti-trans sentiment from increasing its influence in Iceland. Later that year, Trans Ísland was unanimously granted status as a member association of the Icelandic Women's Rights Association. In 2021 the Icelandic Women's Rights Association, noting the traditional sense of solidarity between the women’s movement and LGBTQ+ movement, organized an event on how the women's movement could counter "anti-trans voices

hat A hat is a head covering which is worn for various reasons, including protection against weather conditions, ceremonial reasons such as university graduation, religious reasons, safety, or as a fashion accessory. Hats which incorporate mecha ...

are becoming ever louder and

are threatening feminist solidarity across borders."

Leadership

The current president is Tatjana Latinovic.

References

External links

The Association's website
{{Liberal feminism Liberal feminist organizations Feminist organizations in Iceland Organizations established in 1907 Voter rights and suffrage organizations Women's suffrage in Iceland