A/72/155 ideologies, directly or indirectly; (b) protect all women from any act of fundamentalist or extremist groups aimed at coercing them into specific identities, beliefs or practices; and (c) design programmes aimed at creating conditions that allow women to access, participate in and contribute to cultural life, without discrimination. 28. The Special Rapporteur appeals to civil society and the international human rights movement to unite in exposing and opposing fundamentalist and extremist ideology, as many women human rights defenders have done for years without receiving much solidarity, and to support those resisting fundamentalist and extremist assaults on cultural life on the front lines. 29. Diverse fundamentalists often work together tactically at the international level to thwart advances in human rights protection, in particular regarding women ’s human rights. 19 Different manifestations of fundamentalism and extremism often reinforce each other through “reciprocal radicalization”. 20 Hence, the human rights approach must be multidirectional. 30. The Special Rapporteur is deeply concerned at the normal ization of fundamentalist and extremist ideology and rhetoric about women in many political, cultural and media contexts, in particular through the increasing embrace of such ideology and rhetoric by mainstream political parties and candidates. Even some world leaders, allied with extremist or fundamentalist political forces, deem it acceptable to openly demean the physical appearance of women in public life or to expressly deny women’s equality. This sets a tone for their societies, with grave implications for women, and empowers extremists. 31. Women human rights defenders who are opponents of fundamentalism and extremism may find themselves surrounded by non-State fundamentalists or extremists, on the one hand, and repressive Governments, on the other, b oth of which seek to constrain the action needed to defend human rights. Governments may impose aspects of the fundamentalist agenda so as to maintain political power; in other places, fundamentalists and extremists are themselves in power. Sometimes State and non-State actors collude. Preventive action is necessary across the spectrum. Both the obligation of States to respect human rights and their obligation to exercise due diligence in ensuring the protection of those rights from harm by non-State actors are relevant, as is finding creative ways to hold non-State actors directly accountable. Role of women human rights defenders and civil society space 32. Everywhere, women human rights defenders have been at the forefront of recognizing, documenting and opposing fundamentalist and extremist abuses. They have urged that attention be paid to “warning signs of fundamentalism”, including rising violence against women, as obvious developments “often ignored for the sake of national and religious unity”. 21 33. One of the best ways the international community can combat these problems is by listening to and empowering women human rights defenders, when all too often, precisely the opposite transpires. Frequently, women are not invited to the table to discuss how to combat extremism or to assess its impact. In their absence, __________________ 19 20 21 8/23 See, for example, Naureen Shameem, “Rights at risk”, Observatory on the Universality of Rights trends report 2017 (Toronto, Association for Women’s Rights in Development, 2017), pp. 91-93. See Julia Ebner, “How far right and Islamist extremists amplify each other ’s rhetoric”, TEDx Vienna, October 2016. Ayesha Imam, Jenny Morgan and Nira Yuval-Davis, eds., Warning Signs of Fundamentalisms (Nottingham, United Kingdom, Russell Press, 2004), p. xiv. 17-12043