We are a grassroots Indigenous women’s organization founded in 2021 by a team of Indigenous Women Human Rights Defenders from the Batwa, Benet, and Basongora communities of Uganda.
We started small, just a handful of women, meeting under trees and in village homes, standing together in our own communities. From those humble beginnings, we have grown steadily extending our support to Indigenous and vulnerable women across different communities throughout Uganda.
For too long, Indigenous women and their families have been pushed to the edges, our voices ignored, our ancestral lands taken and our rights unprotected. We face double discrimination because we are Indigenous, and we are women. We face gender-based violence, environmental destruction, a changing climate, and digital exclusion, and we are often left out of decisions that shape our lives including taking on leadership roles.
We are changing that. We stand for justice in all its forms by advocating for our rights, our lands, our safety and our healing. We build from the ground up, Batwa, Benet, Basongora as one.
As Indigenous women, we lead, speak, and decide. We claim our place at every table. No one speaks for us except us.
Our forests, mountains, and plains are not property, they are our life, our heritage, our future. We defend them as guardians.
This stands for our dignity, safety, equality, and justice. Free from violence. Protected from criminalization. Included in every space. Upholding our rights under UNDRIP the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples.
Our rights are not gifts they are ours by birth. We train Indigenous women in leadership, public speaking, and knowing our rights under UNDRIP. From our first small group meetings in 2021, we have grown to reach women across different communities building confidence and voice wherever we go. We stand for diversity and inclusion ensuring women from all three peoples, all ages, and all villages are welcomed, valued, and seated at every table.
"Nothing about us without us."
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Every woman has the right to be safe in her home, her community, and her life. Indigenous women who speak for our land and people are often targeted, criminalized, or silenced. We provide Rapid response support when defenders face threats, arrest, or eviction, Legal guidance & accompaniment by walking with families through difficult processes, Safety planning & security training of protecting ourselves and each other.
"No woman should walk in fear. We stand together safe and free."
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With 3H Alliance, Justice must heal, not just fight. Standing on the frontlines leaves marks, we know this firsthand. Since 2021, we have gathered to rest and renew together. We create safe, healing spaces one for Batwa, one for Benet, one for Basongora where women find rest, sisterhood, and renewal. We practice collective care because we cannot build a fair future if we are broken.
"Healing is not a luxury. It is how we sustain our struggle."
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The land does not belong to us; we belong to the land. We began by defending our own home territories. Now we stand with communities across Uganda facing eviction, land-grabbing, or exclusion from conservation areas. We map and document our ancestral territories, forests, mountains, and plains. We teach our communities their legal rights including customary land rights. We build sustainable livelihoods that honor our traditions without harming our environment.
"If we lose our land, we lose ourselves. We will not let that happen."
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The climate is changing and so are we. Indigenous women are the first affected by changing rains, droughts, and uncertainty yet we hold the oldest and best wisdom for living in balance with nature. We combine traditional knowledge with practical new skills helping communities grow food, save water, and adapt. What began as shared wisdom among neighbors has grown into a program reaching villages across regions.
"Our ancestors survived great changes. Their wisdom guides us. Our unity protects us."
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Rights are not for some they are for all. Since 2021, we have learned and taught our rights together starting small, growing wide. We teach women and communities about the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP), so we know what is ours. We advocate for legal recognition of Batwa, Benet, and Basongora as Indigenous Peoples in Uganda. We challenge discrimination in law, in policy, and in daily life.
"Dignity is not a reward. It is our birthright."
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The digital world should empower us not endanger us. As we have grown, so has our need to connect safely. We teach Indigenous women from remote villages to wider communities to use phones and internet for learning, earning, and connecting. We build digital security awareness protecting our privacy, our data, and ourselves from online harm. We ensure technology serves our movement keeping defenders connected, informed, and safe.
"We connect with confidence. We share with care. We control our own story".
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As a team, we come from three distinct communities with one strong alliance. We bring Batwa, Benet, and Basongora women together to learn from each other, stand with each other, and grow stronger as one movement. We celebrate our unique cultures and we build our shared future. No community leads above another. We rise together.
"Our strength is not in being the same, it is in standing together."
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