Reem Alsalem

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Reem Alsalem (1976–) is a Jordanian-born anti-transgender activist who has become a key figure of the TERF movement in the 2020s. She is known for using her unpaid position as a special rapporteur on violence against women under the United Nations Commission on Human Rights'Wikipedia Special Procedures mechanism to campaign globally against transgender rights, usually invoking the authority of the UN[note 1] to give legitimacy to anti-trans junk science and propaganda.[2] She has aligned herself with the TERF movement and supported its talking points and prominent figures and groups within the movement, including FiLiA and Women's Declaration International (WDI).[2]

Activities[edit]

She has appeared at the anti-trans FiLiA conference,[3] campaigned against legal gender recognition for trans people in Scotland and claimed that it could "open the door for violent males".[4] She has campaigned against rights protections for trans people in the United States in the name of the United Nations,[5] and promoted the TERF talking point that criticism of the TERF movement constitutes "silencing and vilification of women."[6]

Feminist criticism[edit]

Her views have been widely criticized by feminists. Six large Scottish feminist NGOs including Engender,Wikipedia Scottish Women's Aid,Wikipedia and Rape Crisis ScotlandWikipedia criticized her statements regarding gender recognition in Scotland and said she had failed to speak with Scottish feminists.[7] An open letter by the Association for Women's Rights in DevelopmentWikipedia co-signed by 550 women's rights and human rights organizations including the International Planned Parenthood Federation, the Women's International League for Peace and Freedom,Wikipedia the National Council of German Women's Organizations,Wikipedia the Women's Refugee Commission,Wikipedia and Women DeliverWikipedia criticized her statements and said "there is no place for anti-trans agendas in the United Nations."[8][9] Legal scholar Jens Theilen argued that Alsalem "is using women’s rights as a tool to undermine trans rights" and considered her actions "a stark example of individual politics furthering rather than contesting oppression."[10]

An extensive report into the WDI movement, titled Rights For Me, Not For Thee: How Anti-Trans Feminists Took Their Advocacy to the United Nations, said that "WDI and their supporters saw their biggest success in late 2022: getting the ear of Reem Alsalem" and that "her official Twitter account [maintains] a steady stream of anti-trans propaganda."[2]

Her anti-trans views have also been criticized by the United Nations Independent Expert on sexual orientation and gender identity,Wikipedia Victor Madrigal-Borloz,Wikipedia and the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights,Wikipedia who said that "everyone — and that includes trans women — sshould have access to legal recognition of their gender identity based on self-identification."[4]

Notes[edit]

  1. Her Twitter account describes her as "the person from the UN".[1]

References[edit]

  1. Reem Alsalem UNSR Violence Against Women and Girls @UNSRVAW Twitter (archived from December 9, 2022).
  2. 2.0 2.1 2.2 "Rights For Me, Not For Thee: How Anti-Trans Feminists Took Their Advocacy to the United Nations". "While their past attempts had failed, WDI and their supporters saw their biggest success in late 2022: getting the ear of Reem Alsalem" 
  3. "JK Rowling speaks at FiLiA feminist conference labelled 'transphobic'". The National. 
  4. 4.0 4.1 "UN chief backs Scottish government's gender recognition reforms". BBC. 
  5. United Nations Urges Biden Administration to Prevent Men from Competing in Women’s Athletics, Catholic Vote
  6. The silencing and vilification of women and girls
  7. "Scottish feminists hit back at UN gender recognition warning". The National. 
  8. "There Is No Place for Anti-Trans Agendas in the UN". Association for Women's Rights in Development. 
  9. "AWID issues a statement against 'anti-trans agendas' at the UN". Carxanet. 
  10. Theilen, Jens (2024). "Intersectionality’s Travels to International Human Rights Law". Michigan Journal of International Law 45 (2). "A stark example of individual politics furthering rather than contesting oppression is found in the work of the current Special Rapporteur on violence against women and girls, its causes and consequences, Reem Alsalem, who is using women’s rights as a tool to undermine trans rights; see the protest letter AWID, There Is No Place for Anti-Trans Agendas in the UN (2023)"