The Icelandic Women's Rights Association () 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 groups' and individuals' social and political identities result in unique combinations of discrimination and privilege. Examples of these intersecting and overlapping factor ...

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 and informed by a human rights per ...

, and advocates for women's rights and

LGBT rights Rights affecting lesbian, Gay men, gay, Bisexuality, bisexual, transgender and queer (LGBTQ) people vary greatly by country or jurisdiction—encompassing everything from the legal recognition of same-sex marriage to the Capital punishmen ...

. 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; , AIF) is an international non-governmental organization that works to promote women's rights and gender equality. It was historically the main international organization that campaigned for women's suff ...

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

Norwegian Association for Women's Rights The Norwegian Association for Women's Rights (; NKF) is Norway's oldest and preeminent women's rights, women's and girls' rights organization that works "to promote gender equality and all women's and girls' human rights through political reform, ...

, the

Fredrika Bremer Association The Fredrika Bremer Association (, 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 women's rights and LGBT rights. I ...

and the

Danish Women's Society The Danish Women's Society or DWS () 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 Peace Prize laureate. The as ...

. 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 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, 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 city, capital and largest city in Iceland. It is located in southwestern Iceland on the southern shore of Faxaflói, the Faxaflói Bay. With a latitude of 64°08′ N, the city is List of northernmost items, the worl ...

. 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 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 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 Headgear, 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 incorpor ...

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