Vale Dr Anne S. Walker AM: A Lifelong Champion for Women’s Rights
It is with deep sadness that we share the passing of Dr Anne S. Walker—a global women’s rights activist, artist, storyteller, mentor, and courageous leader. As the founding member and CEO of the International Women’s Tribune Centre (IWTC) and a past Board Member of the International Women’s Development Agency (IWDA), Anne’s impact on the global feminist movement was profound.
Anne was a fierce advocate for gender equality, beginning her work in the 1960s in Fiji, where she co-founded the first YWCA in Suva. Anne, with Ruth Lechte, were at the forefront of the Y’s support for the Nuclear Free and Independent Pacific movement in Fiji and across the Pacific, working in collaboration with Fijian feminists including Amelia Rokotuivuna. All three women were awarded the Fiji Independence Medal in recognition. Anne’s advocacy expanded beyond the Pacific, playing a pivotal role in global feminist movements and moments, including the landmark UN World Conferences on Women. Through IWTC, she created spaces for grassroots women’s voices to be heard, ensuring access to information, resources, and global platforms in the pre-internet age.
She was also a great friend and ally to our organisation. In the lead up to the Beijing Fourth World Conference on Women, Anne worked with IWDA to support women working on Beneath Paradise, a text, tape and photo documentation program (21 NGOs across 11 countries), to bring Pacific perspectives and priorities to Beijing. Leveraging her close working relationships with key staff at the UN Division for the Advancement of Women, Anne also helped Pacific women access visas. Anne also helped Pacific women access visas, and ensured that IWDA and the Beneath Paradise team had the physical space in which to exhibit women’s stories and engage and inform women all over the world. She also assisted IWDA-supported Tibetan women in exile to access registration and visas so that they could advocate directly for the rights of Tibetan women. This ensured that the voices of Tibetan women were heard across the NGO Forum of more than 35,000 diverse women.
When IWDA faced serious funding challenges and closure in 1996, a late-night phone call with Anne in NYC encouraged staff and supporters to remain steadfast. This long-distance moral support and camaraderie was emblematic of Anne’s commitment to global feminist action, and her understanding that feminist organisations are at the heart of sustaining change. Even in “retirement,” Anne remained deeply connected to feminist movements, supporting women’s rights advocates across the Pacific and beyond. Her memoir, A World of Change: My life in the women’s rights movement, documents her extraordinary journey, friendships, and the power of collective action.
Anne was a once-in-a-generation leader, ahead of her time yet firmly grounded in the struggles of her era. Her courage, wisdom, and unwavering solidarity will continue to inspire generations to come.
Our heartfelt condolences to Anne’s beloved partner, Elizabeth, her sister Frances, the wider Walker and Carew-Reid families.
If you’d like to read more details about Anne’s funeral and obituaries, please follow this link.
