About this episode

Binaifer Nowrojee discusses the Open Society Foundations' role in human rights and the challenges posed by the Trump administration.

Binaifer Nowrojee is the first female president of the Open Society Foundations, founded by George Soros, and the source of more than $24 billion in funding to human rights causes worldwide. A human rights lawyer by training, her early work documenting sexual violence in Rwanda helped secure the first ever convictions for rape as a weapon of war. Open Society is now itself a target of the Trump administration's attacks on US civil society. If those attacks become illegal restrictions on their rights, she says, they'll see the administration in court. Binaifer offers a strong and compelling take on the manosphere, the moment we're in globally, and the opportunity for Australia to play a leading role. She is fiercely determined, even while at the centre of an organisation under sustained attack. She speaks with Angela Priestley for this conversation, recorded live at Women Deliver in Melbourne in April 2026. You can check out more of our 'Backlash Conversations' in the Women's Agenda Podcast feed. Check out more from Open Society Foundations here . The Women's Agenda Podcast is produced by Agenda Media, also publisher of Women's Agenda. You can sign up for our free daily news…

People in this episode

Host: Angela Priestley

Guest: Binaifer Nowrojee

Topics covered

• human rights
• politics
• legal challenges
• women's rights
• civil society
• global issues

Keywords

• human rights
• Open Society Foundations
• Binaifer Nowrojee
• Trump administration
• civil society
• Australia
• women's rights
• legal action

Mentioned in this episode

Organizations: Open Society Foundations

Places: Australia, Rwanda, Melbourne

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