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Young Feminist Activism

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.

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Mereani Naisua Senibici

Mereani Naisua Senebici, que l’on appelait aussi « Sua », a été membre de l’Association des jeunes femmes chrétiennes (YWCA) des Fidji pendant de longues années.

En plus d’avoir travaillé avec divers groupes de femmes dans des contextes multiraciaux, ruraux et urbains, elle s’est impliquée dans le soutien et la promotion des droits des femmes et des jeunes femmes.

Au YWCA de Lautoka, elle travaillait avec des femmes d’origine indienne et comptait parmi les pionnières du développement de la pratique sportive et la participation des femmes et athlètes trans localement.

« Les membres du YWCA des Fidji ont profondément aimé Sua pour son dévouement et son soutien inébranlable envers tous les efforts déployés par l’organisation » – Tupou Vere

Mereani faisait partie de la House of Sarah (HoS), une initiative de l’Association of Anglican Women (AAW) lancée en 2009, un organisme de sensibilisation autour des violences basées sur le genre et de soutien des femmes victimes de violence. Ayant commencé sa pratique en tant que bénévole dévouée, elle offrait notamment son soutien aux femmes dans tout le Pacifique.
Mereani s’est éteinte en 2019.

« Une personne qui aimait les gens, qui était présente sur tous les fronts de l’autonomisation des femmes et du travail du mouvement au niveau communautaire. Repose en paix, Sua. » – Tupou Vere

Promouvoir les programmes féministes : principales avancées en matière de genre et de sexualité

Chapitre 1

Alors que les fondamentalismes, les fascismes et autres systèmes d’oppression se métamorphosent et trouvent de nouvelles tactiques et stratégies pour consolider leur pouvoir et influence, les mouvements féministes persévèrent et célèbrent leurs victoires nationales, régionales et internationales.

© GovernmentZA / Flickr A group of women re-enact the 1956 women's march to Pretoria protesting against pass laws.
© GovernmentZA / Flickr
Un groupe de femmes reconstitue la marche des femmes de 1956 à Pretoria pour protester contre les lois sur les laissez-passer.

La reconnaissance en 2019 par le Conseil des droits de l’Homme du droit à l’intégrité et à l’autonomie corporelles, par exemple, a marqué une étape cruciale. Des résolutions du Conseil sur la discrimination envers les femmes et les filles admettent cependant un recul lié à des groupes de pression rétrogrades, des conceptions idéologiques ou un détournement de la culture ou la religion pour s’opposer à l’égalité de leurs droits. Des avancées féministes sont aussi notées dans le travail des Procédures spéciales, qui soulignent notamment l’obligation des États de contrer les doctrines de l’idéologie du genre, rappellent à l’ordre les antidroits qui détournent des références à la « culture », et signalent que les convictions religieuses ne peuvent pas servir à justifier la violence ou la discrimination.

Sommaire

  • Niveau national
  • Sphères mondiales
  • Exercice : Cartographions et célébrons nos victoires!

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Kunyit Asam: The Roots of Love and Resilience

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< artwork: “Feminist Movement” by Karina Tungari 

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Súmate a través de nuestras conversaciones #CongelarFascismos

Mientras atravesamos las múltiples crisis globales, los movimientos infatigablemente construimos el poder más allá de las estructuras de poder tradicionales. La ola de órdenes ejecutivas que ha emitido la presidencia de los EE.UU. tiene la intención de amedrentarnos, pero no hay ideología fascista capaz de borrar nuestra existencia y resistencia.

Te invitamos a formar parte de la campaña de construcción de solidaridad para poner al descubierto y resistir a las fuerzas fascistas que socavan los movimientos feministas y por la justicia de género en tu contexto.

  • Provoca conversaciones en espacios valientes: Comparte historias de lucha y resistencia a los fascismos en tu contexto en la plataforma de la Comunidad de AWID. ¿No te has afiliado aún? Únete aquí.
  • Apoya a los movimientos que se han visto afectados: Amplifica las iniciativas de recaudación de fondos, las oportunidades de dotación de recursos y los esfuerzos de ayuda mutua mediante la etiqueta #CongelarFascismos (estamos en X, Instagram, LinkedIN, y también en Bluesky)
  • Organízate alrededor de distintas alternativas: Hemos construido nuestra comunidad de práctica sobre alternativas económicas feministas y recursos autónomos. Inscríbete para participar aquí. (en inglés)

Juli Dugdale

Juli Dugdale was an Australian feminist who practiced intergenerational leadership rooted in principles of feminism, inclusion and equality. She was a leader, peer and mentor for many women and especially young women around the world. 

Juli was a dedicated staff member, volunteer and fervent advocate for young women’s leadership with the Young Women's Christian Association (YWCA) movement for over 30 years.

She offered a strong link between the Australian movement and the World YWCA Office. Her trust in the leadership capacity of young women led to a multi-year partnership with the Australian Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and the creation of the Rise Up manual, a global guide for young women’s transformative leadership, launched in 2018.

Juli passed away in Geneva on 12 August 2019.


Tributes:

“For those who got to work with Juli, it was a privilege. For those who didn’t, be assured that her legacy continues in the work we do every day and in the mission of the YWCA movement.” - YWCA Australia

“Juli Dugdale will forever hold a deep place in many people's hearts in the YWCA movement, especially here in Aotearoa and across the Pacific. Juli had a special relationship with the Pacific and was an incredible supporter of the young women there. She was humble, gracious, loving, caring, dedicated, passionate and had a generous heart. She embodied the YWCA's vision of 'transformative leadership' with extraordinary vision and foresight, and helped empower generations of young women leaders around the world.” - YWCA New Zealand

Illumination by the Light of the Full Moon: An African BDSM experience

Akosua Hanson portrait

Akosua Hanson is an artistic activist, based in Accra, Ghana. Her work spans radio, television, print media, theatre, film, comic art exhibitions, art installations, and graphic novels. Akosua’s activism has been centred around pan-Africanism and feminism, with an interest in the intersection of art, pop culture, and activism. She has a Masters in Philosophy in African Studies with a focus on Gender and African Philosophical Thought. Akosua Hanson is the creator of Moongirls, a graphic novel series that follows the adventures of four superheroes fighting for an Africa free from corruption, neocolonialism, religious fundamentalism, rape culture, homophobia and more. She works as a radio host at Y 107.9 FM, Ghana.

Ever experienced moments of deep clarity during or after sex?

 

In these panels, the Moongirl Wadjet is engaged in BDSM lovemaking with a two-gender daemon. Of the four Moongirls, Wadjet is the healer and philosopher, the conduit of the Oracle. She does this to launch a scientific and spiritual process – an experiment she calls “Illumination by the Light of the Full Moon” – through which she traces a vibrational time arc between her memories, sensations, emotions, visions, and imagination. It is a form of vibrational time travel in order to discover what she terms as “truth-revelations.” 

During the experience, some of Wadjet’s hazy visions include: an approaching apocalypse brought about by humans’ environmental destruction in service to a voracious capitalism; a childhood memory of being hospitalized after a mental health diagnosis; and a vision of a Moongirls’ origin story of the Biblical figure of Noah as an ancient black Moongirl warning of the dangers of environmental pollution.

More than a fun kink to explore for the sensations, BDSM can be a way of addressing emotional pain and trauma. It has been a medium of sexual healing for me, providing a radical form of liberation. There is a purge that happens when physical pain is inflicted on the body. Inflicted with consent, it draws out emotional pain – almost like a “calling forth.” The whip on my body allows me to release suppressed emotions: anxiety, depression, my sense of defenselessness to the stresses that overwhelm me sometimes.

When engaging in BDSM as an avenue for healing, lovers must learn to be very aware of and responsible for each other. Because even though consent may have been initially given, we must be attentive to any changes that might occur in the process, especially as feelings intensify. I approach BDSM with the understanding that in order to surrender pain, love and empathy have to be the basis of the process and by that, I create space or open up for love. 

Cover Illumination by the Light of the Full Moon

The engagement with aftercare after the infliction of pain is a completion of the process. This can be done in very simple ways such as cuddling, checking if they need water, watching a movie together, sharing a hug or just sharing a joint. It can be whatever your chosen love language is. This holding space, with the understanding that wounds have been opened, is necessary to complete the process of healing. It is the biggest lesson in practising empathy and learning to really hold your partner, due to the delicacy in blurring the lines between pain and pleasure. In this way, BDSM is a form of care work for me.

After BDSM sex, I feel a clarity and calm that puts me in a great creative space and spiritually empowers me. It is an almost magical experience watching the pain transform into something else in real time. Similarly, this personally liberating experience of BDSM allows Wadjet to access the foreknowledge, wisdom, and clarity to aid in her moongirl duties in fighting African patriarchy.


Moongirls was birthed during my tenure as the director for Drama Queens, a young artistic activist organization based in Ghana. Since our inception in 2016, we’ve employed different artistic media as part of their feminist, pan-Africanist, and environmentalist activism. We used poetry, short stories, theatre, film, and music to address issues such as corruption, patriarchy, environmental degradation, and homophobia.

Our inaugural theatre production, “The Seamstress of St. Francis Street” and “Until Someone Wakes Up” addressed the problem of rape culture in our communities. Another one, “Just Like Us,” was arguably one of the first Ghanaian theatre productions to directly address the country’s deep-seated issue of homophobia. Queer Universities Ghana, our queer film workshop for African filmmakers, has trained filmmakers from Ghana, Nigeria, South Africa, and Uganda. Films birthed during the workshop, like “Baby Girl: An Intersex Story” by Selassie Djamey, have gone on to be screened at film festivals. Therefore, moving to the medium of graphic novels was a natural progression.

About seven years ago, I’d started a novel that I never completed about the lives of four women. In 2018, the Open Society Initiative for West Africa (OSIWA) opened up a grant opportunity that launched the production of the project and my uncompleted novel was turned into Moongirls

There have been two seasons of Moongirls made up of six chapters each. Contributing writers and editors for the first season were Suhaida Dramani, Tsiddi Can-Tamakloe, George Hanson, and Wanlov the Kubolor. Writers for the second season were Yaba Armah, Nadia Ahidjo, and myself. Character illustrations and conceptualizations were by Ghanaian artist Kissiwa. And AnimaxFYB Studio, a premium animation, design, and visual effects studio, does the illustrations.



During the experience, some of Wadjet’s hazy visions include: an approaching apocalypse brought about by humans’ environmental destruction in service to a voracious capitalism; a childhood memory of being hospitalized after a mental health diagnosis; and a vision of a Moongirls’ origin story of the Biblical figure of Noah as an ancient black Moongirl warning of the dangers of environmental pollution.

Writing Moongirls between 2018 and 2022 has been a labour of love for me, even, a labour for liberation. I aim to be very explorative in form and style: I’ve dabbled in converting other forms of writing, such as short stories and poetry, to graphic novel format. By merging illustration and text, as graphic novels do, Moongirls aims to tackle the big issues and to honor real life activists. My decision to centre queer women superheroes – which is rare to see in this canon – came to mean so much more when a dangerous backdrop started developing in Ghana in 2021. 

Last year saw a marked hike in violence for the Ghanaian LGBT+ community that was sparked by the shutdown of an LGBT+ community centre. This was followed by arbitrary arrests and imprisonment of people suspected to be on the queer spectrum, as well as of those accused of pushing an “LGBT agenda.” Crowning this was the introduction in Ghanaian Parliament of an anti-LGBT bill named “Proper Human Sexual Rights and Ghanaian Family Values.” This bill is arguably the most draconian anti-LGBT bill ever drafted in the region, following previous attempts in countries like Nigeria, Uganda and Kenya. 

I remember quite vividly the first time I read the draft of this bill. 

It was a Friday night, typically a night I take off to rest or party after a long work week. By sheer luck, the draft was leaked and shared with me on a WhatsApp group. As I read it, a deep sense of fear and alarm made burnt toast of my Friday night chill. This bill proposed to slap any LGBT+ advocacy with five to ten years of imprisonment, and to fine and imprison people who identify as LGBT+ unless they “recanted” and accepted conversion therapy. In the draft bill, even asexual people were criminalized. The bill went for all fundamental freedoms: freedoms of thought, of being, and the freedom to hold one’s personal truth and choose to live your life by that truth. The bill even went for social media and art. If it passed, Moongirls would be banned literature. What the bill proposed to do was so evil and far-reaching, I was stunned into a depression at the depth of hate from which it had been crafted. 

Scrolling through my Twitter timeline that night, the terror I felt inside me was mirrored. The timeline was a livestream of emotions as people reacted in real time to what they were reading: disbelief to terror to a deep disappointment and sorrow when we realized how far the bill wanted to go. Some tweeted their readiness to fold up and leave the country. Then, in the way Ghanaians do, sorrow and fear is alchemized to humour. From humour came the zest to upscale the fight.

So, the work still continues. I created Moongirls to provide an alternative form of education, to provide knowledge where it has been suppressed by violent patriarchy, and to create visibility where the LGBT+ community has been erased. It is also important that African BDSM is given this platform of representation when so much of BDSM representation is white. Sexual pleasure, through BDSM or otherwise, as well as non-heterosexual love, transcend race and continent because sexual pleasure and its diversity of experience are as old as time.

2014: comienza el proceso preparatorio para la 3a Conferencia Internacional sobre FpD

Octubre de 2014: Inicio del proceso preparatorio intergubernamental para la tercera Conferencia Internacional sobre la Financiación para el Desarrollo

  • Se dio inicio a un proceso preparatorio facilitado por el embajador George Wilfred Talbot, de Guyana, y el embajador Geir O. Pedersen, de Noruega, destinado a encaminar las discusiones con miras a la tercera Conferencia Internacional sobre la FpD, que tendrá lugar en Adís Abeba, Etiopía, en julio de 2015.
  • Como parte de esos preparativos se realizaron dos rondas de sesiones informales sustantivas en la sede de la ONU en Nueva York, que aportaron insumos para las sesiones de redacción del Documento Final de la Conferencia.
  • El WWG se reactivó, con el objetivo de incorporar las perspectivas feministas y de derechos de las mujeres a esas discusiones y deliberaciones, antes y durante la tercera Conferencia Internacional sobre la FpD. AWID, Mujeres por el Desarrollo Alternativo para una Nueva Era (DAWN) y el Feminist Task Force [Grupo de Trabajo Feminista, FTF en inglés] están coordinando el Grupo en conjunto.
  • El WWG tuvo dos intervenciones orales durante la primera ronda y aportó comentarios escritos a la segunda ronda de sesiones sustantivas informales. En todos los casos enfatizó que la desigualdad de género estaba siendo invisibilizada, al igual que otras formas de discriminación y de desigualdad. También subrayó las relaciones de poder entre los géneros y sus intersecciones con otras categorías como raza, discapacidad, etnia, edad, riqueza e identidad sexual, que apuntalan la distribución desigual de oportunidades y recursos en sociedades de todo el mundo.
  • Las organizaciones de la sociedad civil plantearon sus preocupaciones acerca del espacio para su participación en las dos sesiones sustantivas informales y señalaron el riesgo de que se restringiera el espacio de la sociedad civil para intervenir en las negociaciones sobre el Documento Final de la tercera Conferencia Internacional en enero de 2015.

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por Dr. Pragati Singh

En 2019, fui invitada por la BBC para hablar en la 100 Women Conference en Delhi, India. El tema era «El futuro del amor, las relaciones, y las familias». El público presente en el gran salón consistía mayoritariamente en jóvenes indixs: estudiantes universitarixs, profesionales, activistas, etc. (...)

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Encuentro feminista: Citas rápidas para feministas

✉️ Requiere inscripción previa. Regístrate aquí

📅 Martes 11 de marzo de 2025
🕒 De 06:00 a 08:00 p. m.,

🏢 Chef's Kitchen Loft with Terrace, 216 East 45th St 13th Floor New York

Organiza: AWID

Sarah Maldoror

«No adhiero al concepto de “Tercer Mundo”. Hago películas para que las personas (no importa de qué raza o color sean) puedan entenderlas. Para mí, solamente existen explotadores y explotadxs, eso es todo. Hacer una película significa tomar una posición.» - Sarah Maldoror

Sarah Maldoror, una cineasta francesa descendiente de una familia de las Indias Occidentales, fue una pionera del cine panafricano. Sus inquietudes políticas ocupaban el centro de su trabajo, junto con su permanente involucramiento en los movimientos de descolonialización.

La innovadora Sambizanga (1972), su «película revolucionaria», sigue la lucha de liberación anticolonial de lxs militantes de Angola y capta la perspectiva de una mujer en el momento histórico en que se encuentra.

«Para muchxs cineastas africanxs, el cine es una herramienta revolucionaria, una educación política para crear consciencia. Se inscribe en la evolución de un Tercer Cine,  que se orienta a descolonizar el pensamiento y promover cambios radicales en la sociedad.» - Sarah Maldoror

A lo largo de su carrera, Sarah (junto con otrxs artistas africanxs y caribeñxs) cofundó, en 1956, la primera troupe de teatro negra de Francia. Realizó alrededor de cuarenta películas, incluidos importantes documentales que difundieron la vida y la obra de artistas negrxs, entre lxs cuales se encuentra su amigo y poeta, Aimé Césaire, quien le escribió:

«A Sarah Maldo
que, cámara en mano,
lucha contra la opresión, la alienación
y se planta de cara
frente a la estupidez humana.»

Sarah estaba también dedicada a lograr que las mujeres africanas se apropiaran más del proceso de filmación. En una entrevista, señaló:

«Las mujeres africanas deben estar en todos lados. Deben estar en las imágenes, detrás de la cámara, en la sala de edición, y participar en todas las etapas de la realización de una película. Ellas deben ser quienes hablen sobre sus problemas.»

Sarah dejó un legado formidable para que sea continuado.

Nacida el 19 de julio de 1929, Sarah falleció el 13 de abril de 2020 debido a complicaciones por el coronavirus.


Mira Sambizanga y lee una reseña de la película en un artículo del New York Times de 1973 (solo en ingles)