Anit-Racism Movement (ARM) / Flickr (CC BY-NC-ND 2.0)
Priority Areas
Supporting feminist, women’s rights and gender justice movements to thrive, to be a driving force in challenging systems of oppression, and to co-create feminist realities.
Around the world, feminist, women’s rights, and allied movements are confronting power and reimagining a politics of liberation. The contributions that fuel this work come in many forms, from financial and political resources to daily acts of resistance and survival.
AWID’s Resourcing Feminist Movements (RFM) Initiative shines a light on the current funding ecosystem, which range from self-generated models of resourcing to more formal funding streams.
Through our research and analysis, we examine how funding practices can better serve our movements. We critically explore the contradictions in “funding” social transformation, especially in the face of increasing political repression, anti-rights agendas, and rising corporate power. Above all, we build collective strategies that support thriving, robust, and resilient movements.
Our Actions
Recognizing the richness of our movements and responding to the current moment, we:
Create and amplify alternatives: We amplify funding practices that center activists’ own priorities and engage a diverse range of funders and activists in crafting new, dynamic models for resourcing feminist movements, particularly in the context of closing civil society space.
Build knowledge: We explore, exchange, and strengthen knowledge about how movements are attracting, organizing, and using the resources they need to accomplish meaningful change.
Advocate: We work in partnerships, such as the Count Me In! Consortium, to influence funding agendas and open space for feminist movements to be in direct dialogue to shift power and money.
Related Content
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.
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A Joy to the World: Six Questions with Naike Ledan
Interviewed by Chinelo Onwualu
Naike Ledan is a social justice defendant, a committed feminist that brings forward 20 years of experience in human rights and health justice advocacy, women’s empowerment, the fight for universal access to basic services and social inclusion, as well as civil society capacity building. She has built extensive work in Canada, West and southern Africa, as well as in Haiti, in civil rights advocacy, capacity building for CSOs, while emphasising the social determinants of structural exclusion. She values the principles of shared leadership, anticolonial, anti-oppressive, and anti-patriarchal spaces.
Chinelo You’re billed as a trans rights activist; I’m curious about how you made that journey.
Naike So, I grew up in Haiti until I was 18, then I lived in Montreal for 19 years. Coming back to Haiti in 2016, I thought I would be coming back home, but the place had changed and I had to readjust. I did not necessarily reconnect in the way that I’d expected to with childhood family and friends. I came back as an expat with a comfortable work situation, and I felt very much like a foreigner for a very long time. And at the same time, I felt very much at home because of the language, the understood silence, the not having to explain when we start singing a commercial – you know, that thing we share, that energy, that space, that spirit.
My return to self-love – I would call “rebirth” – coinciding with giving birth to my first child, giving birth to myself, and falling in love with my queerness or same-gender lovingness. (Photo credit: Naike Ledan)
What helped me was, I loved the work of going into the country and documenting people’s knowledge. So I left the comfort. I became a country director of a regional organisation that was queer as fuck! Most of my work was to find resources and build the capacity of civil society. My strategy was to go into the countryside, look for all these little organizations, help build their capacity, and fund them. I was not interested in politicians and shaking hands and taking pictures . I had a very good ally, Charlot Jeudy – the [queer] activist that got killed three years ago in his house. We got very close after an Afro-queer film festival we were planning got banned in Haiti. But it made a lot of noise and sparked conversations about queerness everywhere, so Charlot introduced me to every little CSO in every little corner of the country. And I would just be there to help organisation[s] with registering legally or building their strategic plan. So it’s been a lot of these kinds of work that made me a queer activist and by extension, a trans activist. Although I don’t call myself that – an activist. It’s such a loaded word, you know? And it’s something people call you. I think I’m just a lover and a fighter .
Chinelo Tell me about the workshop you conducted with AWID for the festival. What was it about and what was the context?
My deep self awareness during my childhood years and my engagement in questioning inequalities and injustice at a very very young age (+/- 4 years old). (Photo credit: Naike Ledan)
Naike International media doesn’t really talk about Haiti, but with a political environment that is as bad as ours, the economic environment is even more catastrophic. Being a more middle class Haitian, speaking different languages, having different passports, I was initially hesitant to take the space. But I often see myself as a bridge more than someone that would talk about themself. That is how I came to invite Semi, who is a brilliant young trans woman from outside Port-au-Prince, to take the space to talk for herself and walk us through the ecosystem of the realities for trans women in Haiti. We ended up building a session about uninclusive feminism – or, I would say, formal feminist spaces – and how trans girls in Haiti do not have spaces where they can contribute to women’s knowledge and sharing of women’s realities. So the AWID festival was the opportunity for me to give the space to the women who should have it. We had a wonderful time; we had wine online while hosting the conversation. My co-facilitator, Semi, shared what it is like to be a trans child/girl/woman at different stages of her life. She also shared the dangers of the street, of poverty, of exclusion, of “not passing,” and her victories as well.
Chinelo What is the relationship of trans women to feminist organizations in Haiti? What has been your experience with that?
Naike It’s been really hard – heartbreaking, actually – the experience of trans women in Haiti. From not existing at all to just being extremely sexualized. The other thing that’s been happening is how they’re being killed, and how those killings have gone unreported in the media. This is how non-existent, how erased trans women are. They’re everywhere but not in job settings, not in feminist settings, not in organizational settings. Not even in LGBT organizations. It’s only recently, and because of a lot of advocacy push, that some of these organization are kind of readjusting, but in feminist spaces, this is still out of the question. We are still having to deal with the old exclusionary discourse of “They’re not women. Of course, if they can pass…” The culture of passing, it’s a risk management conversation – how much you pass and how much you don’t pass and what it means for your body and the violence it inflicts. In the trans-exclusionary realities we live in, which are reproduced in a lot of feminist spaces, those that pass completely may be considered girls, but only to a certain extent. But how about falling in love, how about having a conversation, how about being in the closet, how about wanting a certain aesthetic, or a career? So really, the conversation about hormone therapy becomes about risk reduction, as Semi herself shared at the workshop. But we don’t have the option of hormone therapy, we don’t have the medical framework nor the system to support those who would like to pursue that option.
Chinelo When you talk about the way that trans people and queer people are thought of in society, it sounds like it might be similar to Nigeria, which can be a deeply homophobic environment.
Naike Haiti is a very complex country in a very beautiful way. Nothing is simple, you know, nothing is ever one way. Haitians are very tolerant – and they’re also very homophobic. You’re going to find regions in the countryside where people aren’t that homophobic at all because all the Vodou temples there, and this is a religion that respects life. One basic principle of the Vodou religion is that all children are children. So, there is no right or wrong in the religion. For the longest time, people thought of Haiti as a haven, a place where people are tolerant – we’re talking 70s, 80s, pre-HIV, 90s even. Then you had the earthquake [in 2010] where around 300,000 people died. And then all this money came from the south of the US through the Evangelicals to rebuild the country and find Jesus. So, the homophobia in Haiti is very recent. In the depth, in the heart of the soul of the culture, I cannot really say that it is homophobic. But in the everyday life, it surely lands on the skin of queer people, that violence. And that of women, of poor women, of dark women as well, because colorism runs deep in the Caribbean.
Chinelo How have you managed this? What’s been your strategy for survival?
My return to Haiti as part of my decolonizing process, and choosing to physically position my senses and my family’s senses to magic and blackness uncompromisingly. (Photo credit: Naike Ledan)
Naike I’m really in love with my work. I love working. When I first arrived, I was working with this horrible NGO but I was doing amazing work. I was always in the countryside, conversing and learning from people, from women. And that filled my heart for so long because I’m very much in love with my culture, with black people, with black women – old black women, black babies. It just fills me up in a spiritual way. When we were in Canada my kids were in these all-white schools and tokenized. They did not speak Creole nor French. And now, they’re running free in the yard and starting to fight in Creole. I also found hubs of survival with the people I met. I created bonds with the queers and others who were weirdos like me and it’s been really wonderful. But now I’m struggling because I don’t feel safe in Haiti anymore. We have about 40 kidnappings per week in Port-Au-Prince – and it’s been like that since 2018. I’ve developed anxiety and panic attacks. So It’s time to go, and I’ve been asking myself, “where is home?” I spent 19 years in Montreal but I never felt at home there. When I left, I never missed it so I don’t want to go back. I’ve been crying a lot lately because it feels like entering a second exile.
Chinelo What’s your relationship to pleasure, leisure, and rest?
Naike My relationship with pleasure, leisure, and rest are for me one and the same. It is the lived moment when I indulge in the heat of the sun on my face for example. It is pleasure, leisure, and rest at the same time.
Pleasure: My go-to space, most solely a haven of celebration of myself. I reserve myself the power and the right to be loud or quiet in the enjoyment of the pleasure I experience. All the pleasure I viciously and abundantly indulge in, including and not limited to the pleasure of solitude and silence.
Leisure: biking, music festivals, eating, wine discoveries, dancing in Haitian traditional Vodou dances are amongst many that occur at the moment.
Rest: is what I live for. As an overachiever and a person that is literally in love with work, it is a paradox how lazy I am. No one knows that because all of what the world sees is this: an accomplished overworker. They do not know how I can just, uncompromisingly and profoundly indulge in idleness.
ExploreTransnational Embodiments
This journal edition in partnership with Kohl: a Journal for Body and Gender Research, will explore feminist solutions, proposals and realities for transforming our current world, our bodies and our sexualities.
نصدر النسخة هذه من المجلة بالشراكة مع «كحل: مجلة لأبحاث الجسد والجندر»، وسنستكشف عبرها الحلول والاقتراحات وأنواع الواقع النسوية لتغيير عالمنا الحالي وكذلك أجسادنا وجنسانياتنا.
كيف ستعرضون وتعالجون المعطيات التي ستجمعونها في الاستطلاع؟
سيتم جمع المعطيات لأهداف إحصائية لتسليط الضوء على وضع التمويل للحركات النسوية العالمية وسيتم عرضها فقط بشكل إجمالي. لن تنشر AWID المعلومات عن اي منظمة محددة ولن تعرض أي من المعلومات التي ستمكّن من التعرّف على منظمة عن طريق موقعها أو صفاتها دون موافقة المنظمة.
Introducing AWID’s next Co-Executive Directors
Dear Feminist Movements,
On behalf of the AWID Board of Directors, I am proud to introduce AWID’s next Co-Executive Directors: Faye Macheke and Inna Michaeli!
Faye Macheke is a passionate Pan-African feminist, active in movements for women's rights, racial justice, migrant and labor rights, and environmental justice. Her activism builds on the legacy of the struggle against apartheid in South Africa and the aftermath of the apartheid era in Zimbabwe. In 2019, Faye joined AWID as the Director of Finance, Operations and Development. She brings extensive experience in feminist leadership, strategy, and all aspects of organisational development. Faye is a committed Board Member of UAF-Africa and other women's rights organizations. She is based in Cape Town, South Africa.
Inna Michaeli is a feminist lesbian queer activist and sociologist with many years of deep engagement in feminist and LGBTQI+ struggles, political education and organizing by and for migrant women, and Palestine liberation and solidarity. Inna joined AWID in 2016 and served in different roles, most recently as the Director of Programs. She brings extensive experience in research and knowledge building, policy advocacy and organizational development. Inna serves on the Board of the Jewish Voice for Peace - Germany. She is based in Berlin, Germany.
This decision is the result of a rigorous process with full participation of the Board and the staff of AWID. The Board recognised and honoured the skills and talents of AWID staff by opening an internal hiring search. As a result, we had two brilliant candidates, who embody the integrity, ethic of care, and feminist intersectional values that drive AWID’s work, apply together as a team. Faye and Inna brought forward a brave and exciting vision to meet the challenges of this moment: building a global feminist community, resisting and disrupting systems of oppression, and supporting feminist movements to thrive.
As AWID celebrates 40 years we are excited for Inna and Faye to co-lead AWID into our next strategy and a new phase of evolving, pushing boundaries, and supporting feminist movements worldwide.
Appointing and supporting AWID’s Co-Executive Directors to lead the organisation is a fiduciary responsibility we take seriously as a Board. How we engage those processes is also a reflection of AWID’s brilliant and diverse membership, which elects AWID’s Board.
As we say good-bye to Cindy and Hakima, we, the Board, unanimously and enthusiastically welcome Faye and Inna as our next Co-EDs as of September 5, 2022. Stay tuned for more updates about our leadership transition in the months ahead.
Most of all, thank you for your ongoing support!
In feminist solidarity and love, Margo Okazawa-Rey
President, AWID Board
AWID is a part of an incredible ecosystem of feminist movements working to achieve gender justice and social justice worldwide. With our 40th anniversary, we are celebrating all that we’ve built over these last 40 years. As a global feminist movement support organization we know that working with fierce feminisms is our way forward, acknowledging both the multiplicity of feminisms and the value of fierce and unapologetic drive for justice. The state of the world and of feminist movements calls for brave conversations and action. We look forward to working together with our members, partners and funders in creating the worlds we believe in, celebrating the wins and speaking truth to power in service of feminist movements globally.
The 2023 Feminist Calendar is our gift to movements. It features the artwork of some of our amazing AWID members.
Fornecer a membres da AWID, parceires do movimento e financiadores uma análise atualizada, robusta, baseada em fatos e orientada para a ação das realidades do financiamento de movimentos feministas e do estado atual do ecossistema do financiamento feminista.
2
Identificar e demonstrar oportunidades para transferir mais recursos de maior qualidade para a organização feminista, expor soluções falsas e interromper tendências que fazem com que o financiamento não seja bem-sucedido e/ou se mova contra a justiça de género e objetivos feministas interseccionais.
3
Articular visões, propostas e objetivos feministas para a justiça no financiamento.
This campaign is held by 8 partner organizations across continents, building feminist alternatives to the climate crisis, ecocides and genocides.
Snippet - Intro WD2026_EN
Co-Creating a Political Home for Feminist Movements
From 27 - 30 April, 2026, AWID will be at the Women Deliver 2026 Conference, co-creating a political home with feminist and gender justice movements that is rooted in transnational care and solidarity.
In a time when fascism and militarization continue to rise globally, feminist connection and solidarity across borders is what we truly need. We are organizing multiple spaces at Women Deliver and online to connect movements with each other in conversations to build feminist agendas of solidarity and action.
In September 2016, the 13th AWID international Forum brought together in Brazil over 1800 feminists and women’s rights advocates in a spirit of resistance and resilience.
This section highlights the gains, learnings and resources that came out of our rich conversations. We invite you to explore, share and comment!
What has happened since 2016?
One of the key takeaways from the 2016 Forum was the need to broaden and deepen our cross-movement work to address rising fascisms, fundamentalisms, corporate greed and climate change.
With this in mind, we have been working with multiple allies to grow these seeds of resistance:
Movements can also benefit from new methodologies on Visioning Feminist Futures (Coming up soon!)
And through our next strategic plan and Forum process, we are committed to keep developing ideas and deepen the learnings ignited at the 2016 Forum.
What happens now?
The world is a much different place than it was a year ago, and it will continue to change.
The next AWID Forum will take place in the Asia Pacific region (exact location and dates to be announced in 2018).
We look forward to you joining us!
About the AWID Forum
AWID Forums started in 1983, in Washington DC. Since then, the event has grown to become many things to many peoples: an iterative process of sharpening our analyses, vision and actions; a watershed moment that reinvigorates participants’ feminisms and energizes their organizing; and a political home for women human rights defenders to find sanctuary and solidarity.
Rama is a young Senegalese feminist, researcher and writer. In her early twenties, she wrote her first novel La dernière lettre, published by Présence Africaine in 2008. A year later she was selected as a MILEAD fellow of the Moremi initiative for Women’s Leadership in Africa. The fellowship is awarded to 25 young African women with extraordinary vision, courage and commitment to lead change in their communities.
"Becoming one's full and unapologetic self is a difficult but the most important of all achievements. I have methodically learned to un-learn and re-learn, to de-construct and re-construct all that I have been taught about how women should socialise..."
As the 2015 Ibrahim Governance and Development PhD scholar, Rama is about to begin her doctoral studies at the School of Oriental and African Studies, University of London. She already holds an MSc in International Development specializing in African Economic Development and Gender and a Masters’ degree in International Cooperation and Development from the Bordeaux Institute of Political Studies, France.
"To become my true self, I have learned that my self-care and achievement of my dreams were more important than societal labels that do not even define me..."
In 2013, Rama contributed to a collective book by the Network of young African Researchers on Democracy and Development in Africa and has also been a columnist for Nouvel Horizon Senegal.
"To me being a feminist is accepting that I will have to question everything established by society to define who I should be or what I ‘should want’ because ‘should and want’ are antithetical. Wanting is powerful when liberated from the ‘should’ or ‘should not’. Be You. Period."
Rama es una joven feminista, investigadora y escritora senegalesa. Tenía poco más de 20 años cuando escribió su primera novela, La dernière lettre, publicada por Présence Africaine en 2008.Un año después fue una de las 25 jóvenes africanas con visión, valentía y compromiso extraordinarios para liderar cambios en sus comunidades que recibieron la beca MILEAD, otorgada por la Moremi Initiative for Women's Leadership in Africa [Iniciativa Moremi para el Liderazgo de las Mujeres en África].
"Convertirse en quien una es, plenamente y sin pedir disculpas, es un logro difícil pero el más importante de todos. He aprendido, en forma metódica, a desaprender y reaprender, a deconstruir y reconstruir todo lo que me han enseñado acerca de cómo se deben mover las mujeres en la sociedad..."
Tras recibir la beca en Gobernanza y Desarrollo 2015 de la Ibrahim Foundation, Rama está a punto de iniciar sus estudios de doctorado en la Escuela de Estudios Orientales y Africanos (SOAS) de la Universidad de Londres. Ya tiene una Licenciatura en Desarrollo Internacional con especialización en Desarrollo Económico Africano y Género, así como una Maestría en Cooperación Internacional y Desarrollo por el Instituto de Estudios Políticos de Burdeos, Francia.
"A fin de llegar a ser quien verdaderamente soy, he tenido que aprender que cuidarme y alcanzar mis sueños era más importante que las etiquetas sociales que ni siquiera me definen..."
En 2013, Rama contribuyó a un libro colectivo de la Network of Young African Researchers on Democracy and Development in Africa [Red de Jóvenes Investigadoras/es Africanas/os sobre la Democracia y el Desarrollo en África] y también ha sido columnista de Nouvel Horizon Senegal.
"Para mí, ser feminista es aceptar que tendré que cuestionar todo lo socialmente establecido para definir quién debo ser y qué ‘debo querer’, porque ‘deber’ y ‘querer’ son términos antitéticos. Cuando se libera del ‘deber’ o del ‘no deber’, el ‘querer’ se vuelve poderoso. Sé tú misma. Y punto."
Féministe avec la vision, le courage et l’engagement
Rama est une jeune chercheuse et écrivaine féministe sénégalaise. Sa première nouvelle, La dernière lettre, a été publiée dans Présence Africaine en 2008, alors qu’elle était âgée d’une vingtaine d’années.
Un an plus tard, elle a été sélectionnée pour - participer à l’Initiative Moremi pour le leadership des femmes en Afrique, MILEAD (site en anglais). La bourse d’études est décernée à 25 jeunes femmes africaines avec la vision, le courage et l’engagement nécessaires pour inspirer et mener des changements dans leurs communautés.
"Devenir soi-même et s’assumer pleinement n’est pas simple, mais c’est la plus importante de toutes les réussites. J’ai méthodiquement appris à désapprendre et réapprendre, à déconstruire et reconstruire tout ce qu’on m’avait appris sur la manière dont les femmes doivent se comporter en société..."
Munie de la bourse Ibrahim Governance and Development 2015, Rama est sur le point de commencer ses études doctorales en développement à l’École des études orientales et africaines de l’Université de Londres. Elle est titulaire d’une maîtrise en développement international, spécialisée en développement économique africain et en questions de genre, et d’un Master en coopération internationale et en développement de l’IEP de Bordeaux, en France.
"Pour réaliser mon moi véritable, j’ai appris que prendre soin de moi et réaliser mes rêves était plus important que toutes ces étiquettes que la société nous colle et qui ne me définissent même pas..."
En 2013, Rama a participé à un ouvrage collectif du Réseau des jeunes chercheurs-euses africain-ne-s sur la démocratie et le développement en Afrique et a également été chroniqueuse pour Nouvel Horizon Sénégal.
"Pour moi, être féministe c’est accepter de questionner tout ce qui est établi par la société pour définir ce que je devrais être, ce que je 'devrais vouloir', car devoir et vouloir sont antinomiques. Le verbe vouloir est puissant lorsqu’il est libéré du 'devrait' ou 'ne devrait pas'. Soyez vous-mêmes, un point c’est tout. "
Obumu Habwekigendererwa [Unidad con propósito] continúa el legado de Koogere
La historia de Koogere
El imperio Kitara alguna vez se extendió por el oriente de Uganda, el norte de Tanzanía y el oriente de la República Democrática del Congo. Se cuenta que en este imperio una mujer llamada Koogere reinó sobre toda la zona de influencia de los jefes Busongara. Se dice que ella fue una jefa excepcional por su sabiduría, una gran líder y emprendedora que, entre otros logros, llevó la prosperidad económica a sus comunidades. La tradición oral Koogere cuenta la historia de su liderazgo, transmitiendo su legado de una generación a otra en esta comunidad.
“Busongora bwa Koogere mbere ikamwa niboroga, Amagita gatera amaato, amata geser’ente” [Busongara de Koogere, la tierra del ganado y los productos lácteos abundantes]
El legado de Koogere en la actualidad
El Koogere Women Empowerment Programme [Programa de empoderamiento para mujeres Koogere] de la Engabu Za Tooro [Plataforma de Acción Juvenil Tooro, EZT] se inspira en esta tradición oral y se desarrolla a partir de ella. EZT, afiliada a AWID desde comienzos de 2015, es una organización indígena ugandesa creada en 1999 que trabaja con comunidades de Uganda occidental. EZT se dedica a fortalecer las capacidades de estas comunidades, utilizando prácticas culturales para promover la igualdad de género, los derechos de las mujeres indígenas y la autosuficiencia comunitaria. Sus principales actividades están destinadas a promover la movilización y el liderazgo de las mujeres de sectores populares; alentar la producción y comercialización agrícola y cultural por parte de las mujeres, poner fin a la violencia doméstica y promover los derechos económicos de las mujeres.
Obumu Habwekigendererwa (Uni-e-s pour une cause) poursuit l’héritage de Koogere
L’histoire de Koogere
L’Empire Kitara englobait autrefois certaines parties actuelles de l’est de l’Ouganda, certaines régions du nord de la Tanzanie et de l’est de la République démocratique du Congo. Dans cet empire, on raconte qu’une femme nommée Koogere régna sur la chefferie de Busongara. On dit que c’était une cheffe d’une exceptionnelle sagesse, une dirigeante et entrepreneure de talent qui, entre autres réussites, a rendu ses communautés prospères socialement et économiquement. La tradition orale Koogere raconte l’histoire du leadership de Koogere, tout en transmettant son héritage à la communauté, de génération en génération.
« Busongora bwa Koogere mbere ikamwa niboroga, Amagita gatera amaato, amata geser’ente » (Busongora de Koogere, la terre riche en bétail et en produits laitiers)
L’héritage actuel de Koogere
Le Koogere Women Empowerment Programme (Programme d’autonomisation des femmes Koogere, site en anglais) de Engabu Za Tooro - la Plateforme des jeunes de Tooro pour l’action, EZT- a été mis en place à partir de cette tradition orale et s’en inspire. Membre de l’AWID depuis le début de 2015, EZT est une organisation autochtone d’Ouganda fondée en 1999 qui travaille auprès de communautés dans la partie occidentale du pays. EZT a pour objectif de renforcer les capacités de ces communautés faisant usage de pratiques culturelles pour promouvoir l’égalité de genre, les droits des femmes autochtones et l’autonomie communautaire. Leurs principales activités visent à promouvoir la mobilisation des femmes des communautés locales et le renforcement de leur leadership, à les encourager à produire et distribuer ces produits dans les secteurs du commerce agroalimentaire et des entreprises culturelles. L’organisation oeuvre également pour mettre un terme à la violence intrafamiliale et pour la promotion des droits économiques des femmes.
Obumu Habwekigendererwa [United for the cause] continues the legacy of Koogere
The story of Koogere
The Kitara Empire once encompassed present-day parts of eastern Uganda, some areas of northern Tanzania and of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo. In this Empire, it is told, a woman named Koogere reigned over the Busongara Chiefdom. It is said that she was an exceptionally wise chief, great leader and entrepreneur who, among other achievements, brought socio-economic prosperity to her communities. The Koogere oral tradition tells the story of Koogere’s leadership, carrying her legacy through generations of the community.
“Busongora bwa Koogere mbere ikamwa niboroga, Amagita gatera amaato, amata geser’ente” (Busongora of Koogere the land of plenty of cattle and abundant dairy products).
Koogere’s Legacy Today
The Koogere Women Empowerment Programme of Engabu Za Tooro (Tooro Youth Platform for Action, EZT) is built around and inspired by this oral tradition. EZT, an AWID member since early 2015, is an indigenous Ugandan organisation founded in 1999 and working with communities in western Uganda. EZT works to strengthen the capacity of these communities, using cultural practices to promote gender equality, the rights of indigenous women and community self-reliance. Their main activities aim to promote grassroots women’s mobilization and leadership; encourage women’s production and marketing in agro-business and cultural enterprises; end domestic violence and promote women’s economic rights.
Souvent décrite comme une « poète de la paix et de l’amitié », Caroline Nazareno-Gabis (membre de l'AWID), plus connue sous le pseudonyme de Ceri Naz, est originaire de la province de Pangasinan, aux Philippines. Poète primée, éditrice, journaliste, conférencière, linguiste, éducatrice et militante pour la paix et les droits des femmes, Caroline vit et travaille actuellement à Vancouver, au Canada.
L’œuvre de Caroline a été récompensée par de nombreux prix internationaux. Elle a notamment remporté le prix littéraire Frang Bardhi 2014 en Albanie, le prix Sair-gazeteci (qui récompense les poètes-journalistes) du 34ème KIBATEK – le Festival international de littérature et d’arts qui a lieu en Turquie – et le prix World Poetry Empowered Poet 2013 au Canada. Elle a été invitée à participer au festival Word On The Street de Vancouver (site en anglais) et nommée directrice du World Poetry International pour les Philippines par la fondation World Poetry Canada and International.
« …je suis mon meilleur moi
car j’ai accepté mon moi entier,
mon moi véritable… »
La poésie de Caroline, ses histoires pour enfants et ses reportages ont été publiés dans différents livres, anthologies et magazines, et ce dans le monde entier. Elle collabore actuellement avec le Philippine Canadian Inquirer (site en anglais), le Songsoptok International Online Magazine et le journal en ligne Our Poetry Archive.
Outre son œuvre littéraire, Caroline a créé le prix littéraire Ceri Naz pour soutenir les étudiant-e-s en journalisme de l’Université d’État du Pangasinan ainsi que les écrivain-e-s, poètes et artistes prometteur-se-s des Philippines.
« …je suis fragile mais j’ai reconstitué les fragments brisés en des fleuves larges et puissants… »
Often known as a ‘poet of peace and friendship’, Caroline Nazareno-Gabis (an AWID member), a.k.a. Ceri Naz is a native of Pangsinan, Philippines, currently living and working in Vancouver, Canada. She is an award-winning poet, editor, journalist, public speaker, linguist, educator, peace and women’s rights advocate.
Caroline has won numerous international prizes for her work, including the The Frang Bardhi Literary Prize 2014 in Albania, the sair-gazeteci (Poet-Journalist Award) during the 34th KIBATEK International Festival of Literature and Arts in Turkey and the World Poetry Empowered Poet 2013 in Canada. She was also a featured poet at Vancouver Word On The Street and chosen as the World Poetry International Director for the Philippines by the World Poetry Canada and International.
“i am the greatest me
for i have accepted the whole,
the real me…”
Caroline’s poetry, children’s and feature stories have been published in various book anthologies and magazines worldwide. Currently, she writes for the Philippine Canadian Inquirer, the Songsoptok International Online Magazine and the e-journal Our Poetry Archive.
Beyond her literary work, Caroline has created the The Ceri Naz Literary Award through which she supports journalism students at the Pangasinan State University as well as emerging writers, poets and artists in the Philippines.
“…i am
fragile
but had put up
the broken pieces
to streams of strength and breadth…”
A Caroline Nazareno-Gabis (afiliada de AWID), a la que llaman Ceri Naz, se la conoce como ‘poeta de la paz y la amistad’. Nacida en Pangsinan, Filipinas, actualmente vive y trabaja en Vancouver, Canadá. Ha recibido múltiples distinciones como poeta, editora, periodista, conferenciante, lingüista, educadora y defensora de la paz y los derechos de las mujeres.
Caroline ha ganado numerosos premios por su obra, incluyendo el premio de literatura Frang Bardhi 2014 de Albania, el premio sair-gazeteci (Premio Periodista Poeta- Poet Journalist Award ) durante la 34º edición del Festival Internacional KIBATEK de Literatura y Arte de Turquía y el Premio Mundial de Poesía y Empoderamiento (World Poetry Empowered Poet ) 2013 de Canadá. También fue poeta destacada en el festival nacional de libros y revistas de Vancouver, Word On The Street (La Palabra en la Calle), y fue elegida como Directora Internacional de Poesía Mundial para Filipinas por la organización World Poetry Canada and International.
“soy la mejor yo
porque he aceptado todo
mi yo real...”
La poesía de Caroline, sus historias para niñas y niños y algunos de sus artículos destacados se han publicado en varias antologías de libros y revistas de todo el mundo. Actualmente escribe para Philippine Canadian Inquirer, la Songsoptok International Online Magazine (revista en línea) y la revista electrónica Our Poetry Archive.
Además de su obra literaria, Caroline ha creado el “Premio de Literatura Ceri Naz”, a través del cual brinda apoyo a estudiantes de periodismo de la Universidad Estatal de Pangasinan y a escritoras y escritores, poetas y artistas emergentes de Filipinas.
“…soy
frágil
pero de mis pedazos
hice
un torrente de fuerza y respiración…”
