O que é Geledè

Geledè é originalmente uma forma de sociedade secreta feminina de caráter religioso existente nas sociedades tradicionais yorubás. Expressa o poder feminino sobre a fertilidade da terra, a procriação e o bem estar da comunidade.

Noticias


GELEDÉS Instituto da Mulher Negra - English Version

Geledé is originally a kind of female secret society of a religious nature existing in traditional yorubás societies, it expresses the female power over the land fertility, procreation and the community’s well-being. The Geledé cult aims at easing and revering the ancestral mothers to assure the world’s balance. The main symbols of the Geledé cult are the ritual masks which symbolize the female ancestors’ spirits and the different aspects of their power over the earth. The female orixás worshipped in the Brazilian candomblés represent socialized aspects of this power, according to the black African vision of the world in which men and women are equivalent to one another and control certain forces of nature. However, the maintenance of life on earth, a noticeably female asset in this traditions, is particularly revered.

Inspired by this tradition and the perspective to update it in the light of contemporary black women’s needs, Geledés – Instituto da Mulher Negra was created on 30th April, 1988, a black women’s political organization whose institutional mission is to fight racism and sexism, value and promote black women in particular, and the black community in general. Today, with several model experiences, Geledés in a example to other NGOs in Brazil and Latin America. We have aroused a strategic process of increasing the visibility of the racial problem in Brazil taking part in all world conferences called by the UN in the last decade, being able, through this participation, to make governments and the civil society more sensitive to the discussion of the growing exclusion process which poor and discriminated against population in the world face. Over the past 13 years, Geledés has been fostering the political debate about the need to adopt public policies of inclusion so that the principle of equality and opportunity for all can come true. We have consolidated the debate about black women’s issues as a fundamental aspect of the gender question in Brazilian society.

Geledés board of directors is exclusively composed of black women, however, in its several work teams, the organization counts on the collaboration of men and women, black and white, sympathetic to its proposal of political action.
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Fields of Activity

Human Rights

We developed activities which aim at protecting, assuring and expanding the basic citizenship rights of the black population through the following activities and projects:

SOS Racism: It offers free of charge legal assistance for victims of racial discrimination. The actions of this service throughout the years have enabled the creation of jurisprudence in some aspects of racial discrimination.

Legal Studies Center: It develops studies about racial inequality in the access to Justice in Brazil and about the available anti-racist legislation in other juridical instances to effectively criminalize the practice of racism, and the improvement of the national legislation.

Juridical and psychosocial assistance to victims of violence: It offers orientation, legal counseling and psychological support to women who have suffered domestic or sexual violence. These women are informed about the service by the women’s movement, black movement, precincts specialized in such cases, emergency room professionals, among other.

Rappers Project: It is composed of several Hip Hop Movement members of the city of São Paulo. Its objective is to raise black youth’s awareness about the different ways of social exclusion and contribute to the political organization of a youth group who articulate their opinions and propositions through the Hip Hop movement.

Popular Legal Counselors: It aims at providing female community leaders with legal information about human and women’s rights so as to multiply access to such themes, providing tools to strengthen the search for citizenship and access to justice.

Brio Project Equal Opportunities: It offers vocational and citizenship courses for black adolescents and youngsters whose ages range from 14 to 21 years old (equally distributed between men and women) by means of partnerships with institutions of recognized excellence (public and private) in the area of vocational training.

Educational and Political Development Center: It promotes development courses for formal or alternative educators with a view to providing them with information about themes such as gender, racial relations, human rights, citizenship and education. It also tries to produce pedagogical resources which can help educators tackle the questions deal with in the courses.

Generation XXI Project: It is an affirmative action whose duration is nine years which will assure the school life of a group of 21 black adolescents (12 girls and 9 boys) from the city of São Paulo, from the eighth grade until university graduation by providing the students with favorable learning conditions and talent development access to new communication forms, foreign languages and technology by means of supplementary classes, programs of citizenship, culture and communication and benefits (medical and dental assistance, financing of studies, monthly allowance for the adolescent and his/her family). Geledés carries out this project in a partnership with the BankBoston and the Palmares Foundation.

Health
We develop educational programs for black women and youngsters through informative health workshops, development workshops for professionals of the field are available as well. We also take part in the intervention and formulation of public policies, stating that it is the government’s role to assure conditions for the maintenance of life. We invest in the researches carried out by the institution as well as in partnerships with other NGOs and the academic community. We develop intense political communication with other NGOs and with the social movement, trying to participate actively in the planning and implementation of public policies in the area of health so that the interests and needs of black women are respected and fulfilled.

Communication
We work based on the understanding that communication is vital for any social movement not only as an instrument of visibility but also as a nexus of empowerment.
We develop media monitoring activities on questions of gender and race. Development courses for black women on new communication technologies, media and advocacy.
Coordination of Centers of Black Women and Communication and of RECON Rede Eletrônica de Comunicação de Mulheres Negras (Electronic Net of Black Women’s Communication).

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Partnerships

Brazilian Association of Non-Governmental Organizations
Palmares Cultural Foundation Curator Council
State Council of Female Condition
National Coordination of Black Entities
São Paulo Forum of Black Women
Forum of AIDS NGOs, Health Net of Latin American and Caribbean Women
BankBoston Foundation
Afro Institute of Higher Education
Afro-Latin Net of Black Youth
Latin American and Caribbean Net of Health and Reproductive Rights
Afro-Latin and Afro-Caribbean Net of Black Women
Continental Net of Black Entities
National Feminist Net of Health and Reproductive Rights

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Awards

· Human Rights Award, granted by the Ministry of Justice, on the Human Rights International Day, received on 10th December, 1996;
· Recognition Diploma granted by the Government of the state of São Paulo due to the social work done by Geledés aimed at the youth of the state, offered by governor Mário Covas in December 1997;
· Struggle, female gender, offered by the Faculdade de Letras da Pontifícia Universidade Católica PUC/SP, 1988 (individual Sueli Carneiro);
· Human Rights Award granted by the government of France, represented by the prime minister Lionel Jospin, in Paris, on 10th December 1988, during the French government celebrations of the fiftieth anniversary of the Human Rights Declaration;
· XVI Franz de Castro Holzwarth Human Rights Award 1999 (Honorable mention) offered by the Brazilian Order of Lawyers, São Paulo branch (individual Sueli Carneiro);
·ADVB Top Social 99 (Association of Sales Managers of Brazil) award given to the Generation XXI Project, an initiative of the BankBoston in a partnership with the Palmares Cultural Foundation, developed by Geledés Instituto da Mulher Negra;
· Selo Nota 10, awared offered by Dhnet (a net of human rights and culture) to the Geledés site in view of its quality performance, content and visual presentation on the theme of human rights in Portuguese;
· Links & Site Best web page of the month award (March, 1999) on the theme of citizenship;
· Citizenship Yes Best web page of the month award (May 1999) on the theme of citizenship;
· The Generation XXI Project was one of the finalists of the ECO Award (in recognition of corporation citizenship), promoted by American Chamber of Commerce (AMCHAM/Brazil), in 1999 for its undeniable community relevance.

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Geledés Instituto da Mulher Negra
Rua Santa Izabel, 137 – 4º andar
Santa Cecília – São Paulo – SP – Brasil
Cep: 01221-010
Fones: 55 11 3333 3444
3331 1592
www.geledes@geledes.com.br
www.geledes.org.br
blog.geledes.org.br

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