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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Yo, Imposible proyección: la guía de participación
Meet Sopo Japaridze, fierce feminist, union leader and chair of the independent service trade union at the Solidarity Network.
She left the country when she was very young to go to the United States where she first became very politically active as a labor organizer. She kept Georgia in the back of her mind all that time, until one day, two decades later, she decided to return.
The existing Georgian union confederation back then was less than ideal. So, equipped with her skills, knowledge and labor organizing experience, Sopo went back to Georgia and built her own union.
Sopo is a passionate researcher and writer. She studies labor and social relations, writes for various publications and is the contributing editor of LeftEast, an Eastern European analytical platform. She also co-founded the political history initiative and podcast, Reimagining Soviet Georgia, where she explores the complexities and nuances of the country's experiences under the Soviet Union, to better understand its past in order to shed light on how to build a better future.
De la India, Janette era enérgica, extraordinaria, compasiva y amorosa.
Su intolerancia de la injusticia y su firme compromiso de defender los derechos de todas las personas la llevaron a trabajar en TARSHI (una ONG que trabaja en temas de la sexualidad y la salud y derechos sexuales y reproductivos) durante más de 15 años. Janette dirigió con destreza las finanzas, los recursos humanos y los aspectos operativos del trabajo de TARSHI, atravesando hábilmente la laberíntica burocracia a la que están sometidas las ONG indias.
Lxs integrantes de su equipo recuerdan que «Ella se quedaba vigilando, de manera que pudiéramos seguir el rumbo en aguas abiertas. Mujer de muchos talentos, Janette no sólo nos ayudó a conseguir nuestra propia oficina sino que también la diseñó para una utilización óptima». Amaba viajar y a los animales, y estaba interesada en la terapia asistida por animales.
Inna es una activista y socióloga feminista queer. Posee muchos años de profundo compromiso con las luchas feministas y LGBTQI+, la educación en política y en procesos de organización de y para las mujeres migrantes, así como por la liberación de y la solidaridad con Palestina. Se incorporó a AWID en 2016 y cumplió diferentes funciones, la más reciente como Directora de Programas. Reside en Berlín (Alemania), creció en Haifa (Palestina/Israel), nació en San Petersburgo (Rusia), y ha puesto todo ese recorrido geográfico político y de resistencia a los colonialismos pasados y presentes al servicio del activismo feminista y la solidaridad transnacional.
Inna es autora de Women's Economic Empowerment: Feminism, Neoliberalism, and the State (Empoderamiento económico de las mujeres: Feminismo, neoliberalismo y Estado. Palgrave Macmillan, 2022), basado en la tesis que le valió un doctorado de la Universidad Humboldt de Berlín. Como académica, impartió cursos sobre globalización, producción de conocimientos, identidad y pertenencia. Inna posee una maestría en Estudios Culturales de la Universidad Hebrea de Jerusalén. Integra la Junta de Jewish Voice for a Just Peace in the Middle East (Voces Judías por una Paz Justa en Medio Oriente, Alemania) y, con anterioridad, fue miembro de la Junta de +972 Advancement of Citizen Journalism (+972 Avance del Periodismo Ciudadano). Antes, Inna trabajó con la Coalición de Mujeres por la Paz y es una apasionada de la movilización de recursos para el activismo de base.
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Codirectora Ejecutiva
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Reason to join 4
Think big! With our international reach, we combine analytical work with political and practical tools for advocacy and transformation to advance the cause of feminist movements at all levels.
Comment présenterez-vous et traiterez-vous les données collectées pendant l’enquête?
Les données seront traitées à des fins statistiques, pour mettre en lumière l’état du financement de l’organisation des mouvements féministes dans le monde entier, et ne seront présentées que sous forme agrégée. L’AWID ne publiera pas d’informations relatives à une organisation donnée ni ne divulguera d’informations qui permettraient d’identifier une organisation par le biais de son emplacement ou de caractéristiques qui lui sont propres, sans son accord explicite.
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.
Snippet FEA Criminalization of sex workers (ES)
La mayoría de los Estados miembros de la Unión Europea tienen leyes y prácticas que penalizan o controlan a las trabajadoras sexuales de formas inaceptables para ellas. La criminalización de las trabajadoras sexuales y/o sus clientes solo contribuye a aumentar la vulnerabilidad de las trabajadoras sexuales, que ya enfrentan el estigma, la discriminación y la exclusión por parte del Estado y de la sociedad a diario, especialmente las mujeres trabajadoras, lxs trabajadorxs trans, migrantes y/o racializadxs. En España por ejemplo, el gobierno esta actualmente intentando pasar una Ley Orgánica para la Abolición de la Prostitución, que resultara en mas clandestinidad y violencia. Ven a conocer las historias de trabajadoras sexuales y organizadores sindicales que luchan para decriminilizar el trabajo sexual y promover derechos laborales y condiciones de trabajo digno para lxs trabajadxs sexuales.
Membre de la communauté autochtone maya ixil, Juana était infirmière professionnelle et coordinatrice du Comité de développement des agriculteurs (CODECA)
CODECA est une organisation de défense des droits humains composée d'agriculteurs autochtones et vouée à la promotion des droits à la terre et du développement rural pour les familles autochtones dans la microrégion de Nebaj Quiché. Elle a d'abord rejoint le CODECA en tant que membre de la Juventud de CODECA (branche de la jeunesse).
Au moment de son décès, elle venait d’être élue membre du Comité exécutif du Mouvement de libération des peuples (MLP).
Le corps de Juana a été retrouvé par des voisins au bord d’une petite rivière sur la route située près de Nebaj et du village d’Acambalam, au Guatemala. Selon le CODECA, son corps portait des traces de torture.
Dre. Margo Okazawa-Rey est titulaire de la Chaire Barbara Lee pour le leadership des femmes et professeure invitée en études sur les femmes, le genre et la sexualité et en politique publique au Mills College à Oakland, en Californie. Elle est également professeure émérite à la San Francisco State University.
Ses principaux domaines de recherche et d’activisme au cours des 25 dernières années sont le militarisme, les conflits armés et la violence à l’égard des femmes, analysés de manière intersectionelle. Professeure Okazawa-Rey siège au conseil consultatif international de Du Re Bang à Uijongbu en Corée du Sud, au Conseil international de PeaceWomen Across the Globe à Berne, en Suisse, et est co-présidente du conseil du Highlander Research and Education Centre à New Market, Tennessee aux États-Unis.
Ses publications récentes incluent « Nation-izing » Coalition and Solidarity Politics for US Anti-militarist Feminists (en presse) ; « No Freedom without Connections: Envisioning Sustainable Feminist Solidarities » (2018) dans Feminist Freedom Warriors : Genealogies, Justice, Politics, and Hope, Chandra Talpade Mohanty et Linda Carty (ed.) ; Between a Rock and Hard Place: Southeast Asian Women Confront Extractivism, Militarism, and Religious Fundamentalisms (2018) ; à « Liberal Arts Colleges Partnering with Highlander Research and Education Center : Intergenerational Learning for Student Campus Activism and Personal Transformation, » numéro spéciale de Feminist Formations (Feminist Social Justice Pedagogy, (2018).
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Présidente
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Our values - Human Rights
Derechos humanos
Sostenemos la completa aplicación del principio de derechos, incluidos aquellos consagrados en leyes internacionales, y afirmamos la convicción de que todos los derechos humanos están interrelacionados y son interdependientes e indivisibles. Estamos comprometidxs a trabajar por la erradicación de todas las discriminaciones basadas en el género, la sexualidad, la religión, la edad, la capacidad, la etnia, la raza, la nacionalidad, la clase, u otros factores.
How many survey responses are you looking to collect?
Our aim is to reach a total of 2,000 responses, almost double the number from the last WITM survey in 2011.
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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Madiha was a prominent Professor of Sociology who actively engaged with civil society as an advocate for women’s rights in the Arab region.
She chaired the Alliance for Arab Women and was a member of the Committee on Civil Society and the Committee on the Development of Minia Governorate with the National Council for Women. She produced numerous papers that shed light on, and analyzed, gender inequalities and discrimination against women.
She is remembered fondly by colleagues, students and friends.
Salome is a feminist activist from Tbilisi, Georgia, devoted to social and gender justice. She holds a Master's degree in gender studies, and has been engaged in feminist, queer and green movements for over twelve years, working amongst others on issues of gender based violence, domestic violence, sexual and reproductive health and rights, LGBTIQ rights, [women’s] Labor Rights, Healing Justice and holistic and digital security and rights.
Since 2014 she has been actively working on safety and security issues of activists and Women Human Rights Defenders, providing integrated security and digital security workshops specifically for activists from under-privileged groups (queer persons, ethnic and religious minorities, rural women and girls, etc) as well as bigger feminist organisations. Salome is a member of the Independent Group of Feminists - a non-formal, non-hierarchical and non-registered initiative that unites feminists with diverse backgrounds in Georgia. Currently, she is the Executive Director of the Women's Fund in Georgia, fully engaged in women's/feminist movement building, providing feminist funding, and encouraging local feminist philanthropy.
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Membership why page - Kirthi Jayakumar quote
En participant à une activité exclusive pour les membres, j'ai été particulièrement touchée de voir que chacun·e y avait sa place et qu’il n’y avait pas le moindre jugement. Toute la session a été dynamique et vivante.- Kirthi Jayakumar, Fondatrice, The Gender Security Project, Inde
![]Ali Chavez Leeds portrait](/sites/default/files/styles/max_325x325/public/2021-10/portrait.jpeg?itok=0yU3PqLe)
