"Spreading The Echo" campaign 2025

On the occasion of the 16 Days of Activism against Gender-Based Violence, WHRDIC is relaunching the “SPREADING THE ECHO” campaign for the third year. For 16 days, we will feature the profiles of 30 women human rights defenders imprisoned for their human rights work and activism. Our demand is to set all WHRDs free.  #SpreadingTheEcho #freeWHRDs

This year's campaign is co-sponsored by our members and allies - International Service for Human Rights (ISHR), Gulf Center for Human Rights (GCHR), Coalition of Women Human Rights Defenders in the SWANA region (WHRD MENA), FORUM-ASIA, Latin American and Caribbean Committee for the Defense of Women's Rights (CLADEM), Femena, International Federation for Human Rights (FIDH), Mesoamerican Initiative of Women Human Rights Defenders (IM-Defensoras), Front Line Defenders, Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights (WGNRR) - who provided information on the cases.

WHRDIC first launched the #SpreadingTheEcho campaign in 2023. Since then, several WHRDs featured in our campaigns have been released! Some reached out to WHRDIC to share their gratitude for standing with them in the collective fight for their freedom.

Below, we present the stories of these defenders and the injustices they continue to face.

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Sharifeh Mohammadi 

Sharifeh Mohammadi was sentenced to death in 2024, a ruling that the Supreme Court upheld in August 2025.

Arrested in 2023, she was denied access to legal representation and subjected to torture and intimidation. During repeated interrogations, authorities pressured her to falsely confess to ties with a Kurdish political party. Despite the intense pressure and suffering, she refused to comply.

Sharifeh Mohammadi is a women’s and labor rights advocate based in Rasht, Gilan province, Iran. She has long been active in promoting women’s and workers’ rights, organizing events around international days dedicated to these causes.

She was also a member of the Coordination Committee to Aid the Formation of Labor Unions in Iran, an organization campaigning for workers’ rights. Although her case has been sent back for retrial, Sharifeh remains in detention, leaving her future uncertain.

#FreeSharifeh #FreeWHRDs #SpreadingTheEcho 

Milagro Amalia Ángela Sala

Milagro Amalia Ángela Sala was arrested in 2016 on alleged charges of fraud and criminal conspiracy. Activists believe she was jailed for leading anti-government protests. While imprisoned, her health has deteriorated, and she is currently under house arrest.

Milagro Sala is an indigenous woman, the leader of the Tupac Amaru neighborhood association, part of the Association of State Workers of Jujuy, and a leading figure in the Movimiento piquetero of Argentina. Tupac Amaru built housing and schools for children in poor neighborhoods in Jujuy, a province in northern Argentina. 

Several human rights organizations denounced Argentina's government at the Working Group on Arbitrary Detention of the United Nations, alleging the illegal detention of Milagro Sala. Many demanded the improvement of Milagro’s detention conditions, with no results.

#FreeMilagro #FreeWHRDs #SpreadingTheEcho 

Huang Xueqin

Huang Xueqin has been sentenced to five years in prison, along with four years of deprivation of political rights and the confiscation of 100,000 yuan for allegedly inciting subversion of state power.

Huang Xueqin, also known as Sophia, is a journalist and #MeToo movement advocate who has played a significant role in bringing attention to issues of sexual harassment in China. As an independent journalist, she has been committed to reporting on social justice, supporting survivors of sexual assault, and raising awareness about human rights concerns. 

Huang’s arrest on September 19, 2021, as she was preparing to leave for the United Kingdom to pursue further studies, highlights the challenges faced by journalists and activists in China. During a previous detention in 2019, Huang was forcibly disappeared for three months by Guangzhou authorities under RSDL.

#FreeXueqin  #黄雪琴  #FreeWHRDs  #SpreadingTheEcho 

Yolanda del Carmen González Escobar

On August 13, 2025, police officers illegally raided Yolanda del Carmen González Escobar’s home and took her into custody. Since then, her family members have had no information about her whereabouts. She is on the list of political prisoners who are victims of enforced disappearance.

Yolanda del Carmen González Escobar is a defender of the right to truth and justice and a community leader who, during the 2018 protests, contributed to the organization and mobilization of her neighborhood, as well as to supporting the families of victims of repression. She has been systematically persecuted through harassment, threats, police surveillance, raids, and arbitrary detentions, forced to remain at home and report to the police authorities as a control measure.  

#FreeYolanda #FreeWHRDs #SpreadingTheEcho