Organizing creatively, facing an increasing threat
Young feminist activists play a critical role in women’s rights organizations and movements worldwide by bringing up new issues that feminists face today. Their strength, creativity and adaptability are vital to the sustainability of feminist organizing.
At the same time, they face specific impediments to their activism such as limited access to funding and support, lack of capacity-building opportunities, and a significant increase of attacks on young women human rights defenders. This creates a lack of visibility that makes more difficult their inclusion and effective participation within women’s rights movements.
A multigenerational approach
AWID’s young feminist activism program was created to make sure the voices of young women are heard and reflected in feminist discourse. We want to ensure that young feminists have better access to funding, capacity-building opportunities and international processes. In addition to supporting young feminists directly, we are also working with women’s rights activists of all ages on practical models and strategies for effective multigenerational organizing.
Our Actions
We want young feminist activists to play a role in decision-making affecting their rights by:
Fostering community and sharing information through the Young Feminist Wire. Recognizing the importance of online media for the work of young feminists, our team launched the Young Feminist Wire in May 2010 to share information, build capacity through online webinars and e-discussions, and encourage community building.
Researching and building knowledge on young feminist activism, to increase the visibility and impact of young feminist activism within and across women’s rights movements and other key actors such as donors.
Promoting more effective multigenerational organizing, exploring better ways to work together.
Supporting young feminists to engage in global development processes such as those within the United Nations
Collaboration across all of AWID’s priority areas, including the Forum, to ensure young feminists’ key contributions, perspectives, needs and activism are reflected in debates, policies and programs affecting them.
Related Content
¿Cómo puedo acceder a la encuesta?
La encuesta está disponible en KOBO, una plataforma de fuente abierta para recopilar, gestionar y visualizar datos. Para participar, simplemente haz clic en el enlace a la encuesta aquí. Sigue las instrucciones para responder la encuesta.
Carmen had a long career advocating for women’s rights both in NGOs and within the United Nations (UN) system.
She taught courses in several Spanish and Latin American universities, and published numerous articles and reports on women, gender and peace in developing countries.
Her writing and critical reflections have impacted a whole generation of young women. In her last years, she was responsible for the Gender Practice Area in the Regional Center of the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) for Latin America, from where she supported very valuable initiatives in favour of gender equality and women's human rights.
Yo, Imposible proyección: la guía de participación
In 2019, I was invited by the BBC to speak at the 100 women conference in Delhi, India, on the subject of ‘The future of love, relationships, and families.’ The audience seated in the large hall consisted mostly of young Indians- college students, professionals, activists etc (...)
Conocida afectuosamente como «Mama Efua», su trabajo con el movimiento para terminar con la mutilación genital femenina (MGF) se extendió a lo largo de tres décadas y ayudó a llamar la atención internacional y a generar acciones para erradicar esta práctica dañina.
En 1983, Efua fue una de las fundadoras de FORWARD (The Foundation for Women’s Health, Research and Development, La fundación para la salud de las mujeres, la investigación y el desarrollo), que se convirtió en una organización líder en la batalla por crear conciencia sobre la MGF. Su libro de 1994, Cortar la rosa: mutilación genital femenina, es considerado el primer libro sobre MGF y aparece en la lista de «Los 100 mejores libros africanos del siglo XX» de la Universidad de Columbia.
Originaria de Ghana y enfermera de profesión, Efua se incorporó a la Organización Mundial de la Salud (OMS) en 1995 y con empeño logró la inclusión de la MGF en las agendas de los Estados miembros de la OMS. También trabajó estrechamente con el Gobierno nigeriano en la elaboración de una política nacional integral que sentó las bases para las leyes contra la MGF de Nigeria, que todavía están vigentes. Su trabajo pionero culminó en una campaña liderada por África, «La generación de las niñas», dedicada a terminar con la MGF en el plazo de una generación.
Efua demostró que una persona puede convertirse en una voz unificadora para un movimiento y ahora resultan más relevantes que nunca sus sabias palabras: «la identidad compartida puede ayudar a reunir a activistas que vienen de contextos diferentes y a que tengan un sentido de propósito en común».
Ali Chavez Leeds
Impression sur papier, sérigraphie 4 couleurs, 8.5x11, 2016
«Tasseography» (Tasséomancie)
La tasséomancie est une méthode de divination qui interprète les motifs dans les feuilles de thé et/ou le marc de café. Il s’agit d’une pratique qui se transmet par les femmes de mon côté arménien et qui m’a été enseignée par ma mère, qui elle-même l’a apprise de sa mère, et ainsi de suite. Lorsque je regardais ma grand-mère lire le marc de café du café arménien préparé pour la famille et les amis, je remarquais que, souvent, elle voyait ce qu'elle avait envie de dire. Ces gravures disent certaines des choses que j’ai envie de voir dans le monde ; j'espère que vous aussi.
Impression relief sur papier, 11 × 14 in, 2021
«Our Promise» (Notre promesse)
Cette gravure célèbre la résilience, le sacrifice et la force des combattant·e·s de la liberté de l’Asie du Sud-Ouest et de l’Afrique du Nord à travers l'histoire et la solidarité qui existe. Elle a été inspirée à l'origine par un article que j'ai lu sur une exposition organisée à Tatvan, un district de Bitlis, qui mettait en lumière la présence arménienne dans la région. Mes ancêtres sont originaires de Bitlis, se situant aujourd'hui sur le territoire de la Turquie actuelle.
Impression relief sur papier, 8.5 × 11 in, 2020
«Looking at the Cup» (Regarder la tasse)
La tasséomancie (la lecture du marc de café) est une pratique culturelle utilisée par les femmes arméniennes depuis des siècles pour se parler entre elles et les unes aux autres, un langage codé permettant d'entamer des conversations, d'établir des relations et de tisser des liens.
À propos d’Ali Chavez Leeds
Ali Cat Leeds (elle/iel) est une artiste et graveuse qui vit sur les territoires non cédés de Cowlitz, Multnomah et des tribus confédérées de Grand Ronde, au confluent de deux rivières, également connu sous le nom de Portland, Oregon. Elle produit ses œuvres sous le nom de Entangled Roots Press. Ses impressions mêlent le littéral et le métaphorique pour éclairer et commenter le monde qui nous entoure. Les impressions en relief, sérigraphiques et typographiques vont du carnage de la déforestation à la beauté des mouvements des peuples. Les impressions d'Ali s'inspirent d'histoires ancestrales et s'orientent vers des avenirs libérateurs ; elles enchevêtrent les leçons des jardins, les symboles dans le marc de café, les fils tissés d'Arménie et d'Euskal Herria, jusqu'à la page imprimée.
Case study 1 - Three Boats, a Horse and a Taxi: Pacific Feminists at the AWID Forums
This story is about how an increasingly diverse group of feminists from the Pacific organized through the years to attend the AWID Forums and how that process changed them personally, as organizations, and as a movement through what they learned, discovered and experienced. It illustrates the importance of the Forums as a space through which a region that tends to be marginalized or ignored at the global level can build a strong presence in the feminist movement that is then replicated at other international women’s rights spaces.
Entre dos mundos: la doble consciencia de las mujeres de Gambia
por Haddy Jatou Gassama
La tribu mandinga de la República de Gambia tiene la costumbre de medir la primera wrapa[1] utilizada para cargar bebés recién nacidxs sobre la espalda de su madre. (...)
Do I have to respond to all questions at once or can I come back to complete it later?
If you wish to save your responses and come back to the survey later, you are able to do this whenever needed. KOBO will save your draft responses on the top left corner of the survey page and reload your record when you return to the survey. Just make sure to continue from the same computer and browser.
Zita était une défenseure des droits des femmes de la région du Grand Kivu.
Elle a été la première directrice exécutive d’UWAKI, une organisation de femmes bien connue. Par son travail avec le Réseau des Femmes pour la Défense des Droits et la Paix (RFDP) et le Caucus des femmes du Sud-Kivu pour la paix, elle a consacré sa vie à rétablir la paix dans l'est de la RDC. Elle a très fermement dénoncé l'utilisation de la violence sexuelle comme arme de guerre.
En 2006, elle s'est présentée comme candidate aux premières élections démocratiques en RDC. Bien qu’elle n’ait pas gagné, elle a continué à défendre les droits des femmes et la communauté du Sud-Kivu se souvient d’elle avec affection.
Feminist Embodiments of Hope and Power
A Film Series on Feminist Realities from the SWANA region
by Esra Ozban
In a product-obsessed world, prioritizing process is a fundamental feminist method. Processes matter, and curation is no exception. While figuring out which of the films from the SWANA region would speak the loudest to the Feminist Realities theme, the global pandemic we are still facing shifted our everyday lives tremendously. Even to think, write, or express myself has become an everyday struggle. I kept missing all of my deadlines and sending apology emails to Kamee Abrahamian, whom I was working with as an independent curator for AWID’s Feminist Film Club. Kamee’s invaluable support, understanding, and suggestions reminded me that even in two different parts of the world, as colleagues who never met in person, we can co-create micro versions of the Feminist Realities for which we live and yearn.
Feminist Realities for me have a lot to do with sisterhoods. Sisterhoods that help womxn clearing mines in Artsakh/Nagorno-Karabakh. Sisterhoods baked in Vegan Inclusive Trans Cake by young trans feminists in Ankara that remind cis-ters that they are not welcomed by the Z generation. Sisterhoods that are growing into the mint on Dragica Alafandi’s rooftop in the Dheisheh Refugee Camp in Occupied Palestine in Sowing seeds of resistance. Sisterhoods that embrace intimate, sexual, and revolutionary proximities in Gezi Park in #resistayol. Sisterhoods that unearth an imagined encounter between two generations of womxn in exile in the streets of Haifa in Your father was born 100 years old and so was the Nakba. Cross-species sisterhoods that build in a fictional (brave) space created by Mounia Akl in Submarine for her rebel character Hala, who refuses to evacuate from a city full of garbage and is left behind with a dog friend.
This selection gathers bits and pieces of many Feminist Realities that have been realized in the SWANA region over the last couple of years. We will continue to imagine, learn, and share feminist embodiments of hope and power. In the meantime, let’s immerse ourselves in the powerful alternatives brought to life by the filmmakers and protagonists of these films. We may co-create every step, every act, and every attempt as we continue to cohabitate this world with others who are living Feminist Realities and continue to dream more of them into existence.
MOTHERLAND
By Emily Mkrtichian& Jesse Soursourian
“With beautiful visuals paired with compelling verité scenes, Motherland is a show of female camaraderie and strength… The film is a testament of women around the world who are willing to work harder to overcome any obstacle they meet.”
- Nosarieme Garrick, award winning filmmaker
“Motherland is an inspiring visualization of solidarity, courage, and grit…”
- Hers is Ours Collective, organizers of the Outsider Moving Art & Film Festival
Emily Mkrtichian on Feminist Realities and Artsakh/NKR: We shot the short film, Motherland, in the Republic of Artsakh in 2018. I was drawn to each of these women for their strength, their resilience and their humor -- despite the context in which they lived. In 2018, that context was the aftermath of a brutal war in the 1990’s, after which their country remained an unrecognized (or, in the international community, disputed) territory that was not given the autonomy and independence so many other countries enjoy. Artsakh was also deeply affected by the consequences we see in almost all places that go through violent conflict -- consequences that so often fall on women to bear: PTSD, high rates of alcoholism, high rates of domestic abuse, less equality and freedoms granted to women, little to no representation of women in politics and civil service. In the face of all these challenges, this film tries to capture the fire and power of the women of Artsakh, one that might not fit the traditional Western feminist paradigm, but one they have created for themselves through deep community ties, care for their families, hard work, and the ability to laugh with eachother through it all. Today, the Republic of Artsakh has been newly devastated by another war that left it without 70% of the lands these women grew up understanding were theirs. Yet, I can promise you that these women, and thousands of others, continue to pull their families, communities, and culture together through the same networks of care, commitment to hard work, and deep riotous laughter in the face of an uncertain future.
SOWING SEEDS OF RESISTANCE
By Baladi-Rooted Resistance
“A timely film to watch after having born witness to the latest bombardment of Gaza by Israeli Defence Forces. A glimpse into the way that women in Palestinian communities survive structural oppression, through the story of a library of traditional seeds.. and the women that sustain them as a form of nourishing rebellion.”
- Jessica Horn, PanAfrican feminst strategist, writer and co-creator of the temple of her skin
“Watching women coming together and working collectively for food autonomy is both therapeutic and empowering for me.”
- Hers is Ours Collective, organizers of the Outsider Moving Art & Film Festival
Baladi-Rooted Resistance Team on Feminist Realities: How to talk about Feminist Realities when you live in Deheisheh, a Palestinian refugee camp, built 70 years ago to serve 3000 refugees, but now home to 15000 people, in the occupied West Bank? Or when the land you farm is under constant threat by illegal settlers.
If you’re a woman in occupied Palestine you will have to struggle not only against patriarchy but also against colonialism and a brutal military occupation.
Dragiča and Vivien are fighting these multiple systems of domination in their own way.
Vivien uses native seeds to help Palestinians maintain their identity. Growing traditional food in traditional ways has great significance: “If you’re not a producer anymore, you’re a consumer, and what better way to enslave someone than turning them into your consumer. This is happening all around the world, but here you have it doubled with the military occupation.”
31.5% of households in the West Bank are food insecure. Through a rooftop edible garden, Dragiča managed to increase her family’s food autonomy. In the crowded camp, where the Israeli army conducts regular nighttime incursions to arrest and harass residents, Dragiča’s rooftop garden not only nourishes her family, but it especially nourishes her soul.
#RESISTAYOL
By Ruzgar Buski
Ruzgar Buski on Feminist Realities: I don’t know what to say about Feminist Realities but as a trans artist, an activist from Turkey, I know our realities are harsh. We live with violences- physical, emotional, economical, sexual! That is why we have to build our own networks, and co-creating micro realities for each other is a Feminist Reality for me. #resistayol is my first film, and at the beginning I was planning to make a film by/for/with trans people that does not try to convince anyone to the fact that trans people are human or focuses on raising awareness on trans issues. However, Gezi Uprising, one of the biggest uprising in the history of Turkey, happened and the film became something different.
I believe the production process really affects what the film is. We tried very hard for women, trans and non-binary people to work on every step of the film. This film is made by people who gathered with camaraderie and friendship. Kanka Productions is founded on transfeminist comradeship. I want the film to give hope, to heal because we carry a lot of traumas in our bodies- this is what makes us and what bonds us. Healing is a never-ending process and we have to create spaces to breath. #resistayol is an hour of breathing collectively.
Boysan Yakar in #resistayol: Well lubunyas (queers) were sitting in the park, all of a sudden bulldozers arrived and everyone got pissed off. Actually in summary this is it. It's Lubunya's park,and we had thirty days to explain that to this huge city. Everyone acknowledged that at night ibnes (faggots) fuck in that park...LGBTI Block carried our commune there. We already didn't trust the state and police and didn't have any security, we've established our own ways of doing things, our own laws and customs to survive... We carried our law to Gezi rapidly...With an effort to establish some common language and understanding among all these groups, the LGBT language of togetherness spread all through the park. Every day was a Pride march, everyone was continuously saying ‘ayol’. We spruced up the stinky, fusty language of the left. I guess we had such an impact because we've been disowned for all these years. From the most radical ones to the most conservative and nationalist ones, they all needed us, because everyone got used to being confronted with everything. Τhey were not used to such energy, our energy. That’s why it was a great political space for us. Every day, we actualized our biggest and main struggle there, that is, a struggle for visibility and recognition. That’s why we left Gezi with a huge gain.
VEGAN INCLUSIVE TRANS CAKE
By Pembe Hayat
“...a multifaceted statement, showing the joy that exists in the friendships within the queer community in Turkey as a display of rebellion and resistance.”
- Nosarieme Garrick, award winning filmmaker
“...fun, light, and random. In a world constantly marked and scarred by violence against the trans community, nothing, no action, is (unfortunately) deprived of meaning. So to more joy, love, and meaningful randomness!”
Cayan Azadi in Vegan Inclusive Trans Cake: Hello Barbies, Kens, porcelain dolls, Olive Oyls, cabbage dolls. Brides of Chucky, sisters of Chucky, brother-in-laws of Chucky and last but not least, esteemed brother-in-law lovers.
So why did we make this cake.
Now we got the news that a trans woman sex worker has attempted suicide due to the violence from street-guards and police on the street. She’s being kept at a police station now and that’s exactly why we made this cake. This transvestite cake is baked to show that we exist in every part of life, that we exist persistently and this cake shows that won’t be wiped off or ignored in this society.
Yes, there is violence in our lives, yes there is a lot of shade as well but despite all of that, we can still have fun, enjoying life as much as we can. Bon appetit, sis!
YOUR FATHER WAS BORN 100 YEARS OLD AND SO WAS THE NAKBA ابوكي خلق عمره ١٠٠ سنة، زي النكبة
By Razan AlSalah
SUBMARINE
By Mounia Akl
“It is directed as a poem is written… simple, a touch abstract, and moving.”
Esra Ozban: Esra Ozban is a film programmer and filmmaker from Turkey. Their artistic, curatorial, and scholarly work intersects critical archival practices, sex work, pornography, feminist/queer film cultures among others.
Follow us on Social Media to receive news about upcoming events and screenings:
Facebook: @AWIDWomensRights
Instagram: @awidwomensrights
Twitter ENG: @awid
Twitter FR: @awid_fr
Twitter ES: @awid_es
LinkedIn: Association for Women's Rights in Development (AWID)
Body
Snippet Forum Location Announcement Body (EN)
The AWID Forum is the world’s largest event that wholeheartedly centers feminist and gender justice movements in all their diversity. It is a transformative space created by and for the movements - where Global South feminists and historically marginalized communities take centerstage, strategize to shift power, and connect with allied movements, funders and policy-makers. And so it is with full and fiery hearts that we share…
The 15th AWID International Forum will take place from December 2-5, 2024 in Bangkok, Thailand!
We hope to gather 2,500 in-person and 3,000 online/hybrid participants. When thousands of feminists come together, we create a sweeping force of solidarity that has the power to change the world! We’re excited, and we know you’re excited too - so stay tuned for more