Kvinna Till Kvinna

Activity

Describes itself as “strengthen[ing] the organisation of women in conflict regions by collaborating with women’s organisations and supporting their work to promote women’s rights and peace. The goal is for women’s power and influence to increase.”

Funding

• In 2019, total income was SEK 200.9 million; total expenses were SEK 199.8 million.
• Donors include Sweden, European Union, Canada, Germany (GIZ), Switzerland, United Kingdom, and the United Nations. (See table below for further funding information.)
• Kvinna Till Kvinna receives the majority of its funding from the Swedish government (via Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency – SIDA). In 2019, SIDA provided 80% of Kvinna Till Kvinna’s funding.
• Kvinna Till Kvinna is receiving multiple grants amounting to over $2.5 million in 2015-2023 from Sida.

Activities

• Kvinna Till Kvinna (KTK) funds numerous NGOs that support BDS initiatives through participation in activities and events, signing of petitions and initiatives, and/or membership in BDS platforms. These include Palestinian Center for Human Rights (PCHR), Coalition of Women for Peace (CWP), Palestinian Center for Peace and Democracy (PCPD), The Palestinian Working Women Society for Development (PWWSD), Women’s Affairs Center, and the Women’s Studies Center.
  • PCHR claims to document “human rights abuses” and is one of the leaders in lobbying the International Criminal Court to prosecute Israeli officials. Multiple PCHR officials have ties to the PFLP, including its General Director Raji Sourani, who was publicly honored by the PFLP in 2014. (For more information read NGO Monitor’s report “Palestinian Centre for Human Right’s Links to the PFLP Terror Group.”)
• KTK funds the Gun Free Kitchen Tables project of the Isha L’Isha Feminist Center. According to GFKT, the project “works to stem and reverse small arms proliferation, to advance gun control across the board…” in Israel.
  • GFKT English page also reveals the group’s overt political orientation, explaining that “we also subvert basic principles of the endemic, masculinized militarization dominating government policies in Israel and underpinning the continued occupation of territories conquered in 1967.”
  • In November 2018, GFKT petitioned Israel’s High Court of Justice against new criteria for obtaining a civilian and organizational firearms licenses. The petition ignores that the criteria were eased in 2016 for defensive purposes following a sharp increase in violent stabbing attacks targeting Israeli citizens.
• A 2013¹ Sida evaluation of KtK states, “KtK is vocal in its denouncing of so called Normalisation of the relationship between Israel and the occupied Palestinians and support Women’s organisations with a clear Anti-occupation profile such as women (and their families) bereaved through martyrdom or jailing due to opposition to the occupation forces.”
• In June 2020, Secretary General of Kvinna Till Kvinna Petra Tötterman Andorff signed a letter to Sweden’s parliamentary parties calling to “sharpen the implementation of EU guidelines on differentiation between the recognized state of Israel and the illegal settlements on occupied land at both Swedish and EU level.” Differentiation is code for targeting Israelis and Israeli companies with BDS tactics.
• In May 2018, during the violence on the Gaza border, Kvinna Till Kvinna signed on a call to the UN Human Rights Council to launch an “independent investigation into violations of international human rights and humanitarian law by Israel.” The call accuses Israel of “excessive, indiscriminate and disproportionate use of lethal force… [that]  may constitute war crimes and crimes against humanity” (emphasis added). Kvinna till Kvinna ignored the violent nature of the protests, which have consisted of an organized armed attack on the Israeli border and IDF positions, attempts to destroy and breach the border fence, and sustained arson, rocket, and mortar attacks on Israeli civilian communities.
• Describes the 2014 Gaza war as the “most deadly violence in a decade” and alleges that Kvinna till Kvinna’s partner organizations “were forced to leave their homes for periods of time because of Israel’s bombings.” The statement altogether omits Hamas terror against Israeli civilians, including rocket attacks against Israeli population centers and terror tunnels running beneath the border into Israel, as well as Hamas’ use of human shields and Israel’s legitimate right to self-defense.
• Provides inaccurate and misleading descriptions of Israeli laws, such as the Citizenship and Entry Law (2003), claiming that the law violates international law and stipulating that Israel will not automatically naturalize family members of citizens. In contrast to these claims, the law is in accordance with policies established by the European Union, as well as international human rights norms.