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:
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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.
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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.
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Promoting more effective multigenerational organizing, exploring better ways to work together.
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Supporting young feminists to engage in global development processes such as those within the United Nations
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Collaboration across all of AWID’s priority areas, including the Forum, to ensure young feminists’ key contributions, perspectives, needs and activism are reflected in debates, policies and programs affecting them.
Related Content
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Fatima Qureshi
A nomad of cultures, born in Hong Kong, rooted in Turkish-Pakistani heritage, Fatima’s love for narratives - both in reading and co-creating them - fueled her passion for communications activism. Supported by her education in journalism, Fatima has worked for 7 years in digital and media communications fields with NGOs that provide education opportunities and legal aid to refugee and asylum seekers, as well as with the Muslim feminist movement which applies feminist and rights-based lenses in understanding and searching for equality and justice within Muslim legal tradition. She is a regular op-ed writer on feminist issues in the Global South.
Through storytelling in this hyper-digital age of social media, Fatima continues to collaborate with community organizers and grassroots activists to create audiovisual content with the aim to cultivate bridges of understanding towards collective liberation and decolonization. On days when she’s not working, she intently watches independent feminist films coming from Iran, Morocco and Pakistan and on other days, she performs spoken word poetry with her comrades in Kuala Lumpur.
Bessy Ferrera
Bessy Ferrera fue una defensora de los derechos humanos de las personas trans, de las trabajadoras sexuales y de las personas seropositivas en Honduras, durante toda su vida.
Bessy también fue integrante de Arcoíris, una organización que apoya a la comunidad LGBTI+. También fue una persona de referencia para la Plataforma Derechos Aquí y Ahora de Honduras, y abogó enérgicamente por la ciudadanía plena de las personas trans, y por la aprobación de una ley de identidad de género que permitiera a las personas trans cambiar su identidad de género legalmente.
"Desde principios de año [2019] la comunidad trans ha sufrido una serie de ataques, por defender, por reivindicar derechos". - Rihanna Ferrera (hermana de Bessy)
Bessy era una trabajadora sexual, y a principios de julio de 2019, fue asesinada a tiros por dos hombres mientras trabajaba en las calles de Comayagüela. Quienes la asesinaron fueron posteriormente arrestados.
Bessy es una de las muchxs defensorxs de los derechos LGBTI+ en Honduras que fueron asesinadxs por su identidad y su trabajo. Otras compañeras han sido: Cynthia Nicole, Angy Ferreira, Estefanía "Nia" Zúñiga, Gloria Carolina Hernández Vásquez, Paola Barraza, Violeta Rivas y Sherly Montoya.
El caso de Bessy es emblemático por su injusticia y por reflejar un problema mucho más amplio, que es el de la violencia sistemática a la que se enfrenta la comunidad LGBTI+ en Honduras, ya que el Estado ni garantiza los derechos que ofrece y ni brinda protección. Esto ha creado una cultura de impunidad.
A pesar de los riesgos a los que se enfrentan lxs defensorxs LGBTI+ en Honduras, continúan a diario con su trabajo para desafiar y resistir la violencia, y luchar contra el estigma y la discriminación.
"Si muero, que sea por algo bueno y no por algo inútil. No quiero morir huyendo, como unx cobarde. Si muero, quiero que la gente diga que morí luchando por lo que es mío". - integrante de Arcoíris.
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Snippet FEA Who takes care of them S4 (ES)
...¿QUIÉN LES CUIDA A ELLXS?
Tuğçe Albayrak
Membership why page - Loyiso Lindani
Tengo la convicción de que las mujeres empoderadas dotan de empoderamiento a otras mujeres, y es por ello que la he pasado tan bien como afiliada de AWID. Todo lo que sé y lo que entiendo de feminismo e interseccionalidad se ha ampliado gracias a los contactos que tuve como parte del Equipo de la Calle de la Comunidad AWID. Espero que más mujeres se sumen y compartan temas e ideas que ayuden a otras mujeres.- Loyiso Lindani, Sudáfrica.
Nana Abuelsoud
Nana es una organizadora feminista e investigadora en derechos reproductivos y políticas demográficas que reside en Egipto. Es miembro de RESURJ (organización feminista por la justicia sexual y reproductiva), del Órgano Asesor del Proyecto A del Líbano y de la Comisión de la Comunidad de Mama Cash. Nana tiene una maestría en Salud Pública del Instituto KIT y la Universidad Vrije de Ámsterdam. En su trabajo, da seguimiento y contextualiza las políticas demográficas nacionales, al tiempo que reúne información para abordar la eugenesia moderna, las ayudas internacionales de carácter regresivo y el autoritarismo. Anteriormente, formó parte de la Fundación de Ginebra para la Educación y la Investigación Médica, la Iniciativa Egipcia para los Derechos Personales y el Colectivo Feminista Ikhtyar de El Cairo.
Yelena Grigoriyeva
Yelena Grigoriyeva, que ses ami·e·s appelaient souvent Lena, était une défenseure connue des droits des personnes LGBT en Russie.
Membre de mouvements démocratiques, pacifistes et LGBT, Yelena était une féroce opposante au président Vladimir Poutine et son administration. Elle a notamment exprimé son opposition à l’annexion de la péninsule ukrainienne de la Crimée par la Russie ainsi que critiqué les mauvais traitements infligés aux détenu·e·s.
Yelena a fait part de sa bisexualité en 2019.
« Sa déclaration m’a surprise et je ne l’approuvais pas. Je lui ai dit : « Écoute, Lena, tu portes déjà une cible sur la poitrine du fait de ton activisme politique. Tu viens de t’en peindre une autre dans le dos », Olga Smirnova, compagne de lutte politique et amie.
Yelena a effectivement reçu plusieurs menaces de mort, et des proches ont déclaré que son nom figurait sur un site Web homophobe qui incitait ses visiteur·euse·s à tuer les personnes LGBT. Elle a fait part de ces menaces à la police, mais l’État russe ne l’a pas protégée.
Mais même dans une société où l’opposition politique, les activistes et les membres de la communauté LGBT, qui se battent pour leurs droits, font face à une violence croissante, Yelena continuait à défendre la justice sociale et l’égalité.
« Elle ne manquait pas une seule action militante. Et ils l’ont arrêtée plus de fois que je n’ai pu en compter », Olga Smirnova.
Yelena a été assassinée le 21 juillet 2019, à proximité de chez elle. Un suspect a été arrêté, mais certaines sources et plusieurs de ses ami·e·s et compagnes et compagnons de lutte pensent que ce suspect sert de bouc émissaire, et qu’en fait, il s’agit d’un assassinat politique ciblé.
Pour la famille et les ami·e·s de Yelena, son assassinat demeure irrésolu, bien que le suspect ait avoué.
En 2013, la Russie a passé une loi interdisant la propagation de ce qu’elle a appelé la « propagande gay ». En 2014, Human Rights Watch a publié un rapport à ce propos (en anglais et en russe).
The AWID Forum Access Fund
We strive to make the AWID Forum a truly global gathering with participation from a diverse array of movements, regions and generations. To this end, AWID mobilizes resources for a limited Access Fund (AF) to assist some participants with the costs of attending the Forum.
The 14th AWID International Forum will take place 11-14 January 2021, in Taipei, Taiwan.
How will the Access Fund be allocated?
For this AWID Forum, there will be no application process.
Access Fund grants will be allocated by invitation only to:
- Two persons per activity selected for the Forum program (decided by those organizations, groups or individuals organizing the activity)
- Participants who identify as part of Priority Forum Constituencies (PFCs) recommended by the organizations, networks and groups who are co-creating the Forum with AWID.
- PFCs are those which we consider would strengthen our collective power as movements, are not centered in mainstream feminist movements, and whose Feminist Realities we would like to honor, celebrate and visibilize:
- Black feminists
- Indigenous feminists
- Trans, gender non-conforming and intersex feminists
- Feminists with disabilities
- Feminist sex workers and informal workers, including migrant workers
- Feminists affected by migration
- Women affected by drug policy
- Feminists from the Forum regions (with a focus on the Pacific and mainland China)

In addition, AWID will fund approximately 100 participants from the Forum’s location. Forum Committee Members (Content and Methodology, Access and Host) as well as those in the Artists Working Group [link] are also granted Access Fund support.
What does the Access Fund cover?
For selected participants, the Access Fund will cover the cost of their:
- Flight
- Accommodation
- Visa
- Local transportation in Taipei
- Travel medical insurance
The Access Fund will NOT cover their:
- Forum registration fee
- Transportation to and from the airport in their city of departure
- Other incidental costs
Apart from the Access Fund, how can I fund my participation at the Forum?
We have listed other ideas on how to fund your participation at the AWID Forum on the Funding Ideas page.
Snippet FEA collaborator and allies Photo 2 (FR)

Tonya Gonella Frichner
Snippet - Blog post Quote_EN
"We believe that this is the time for us to continue to organize from a place of solidarity, hope and radical imaginations."
- Beijing+30 & CSW: Feminist meaning-making at a time of polycrisis
¿Cómo se inició AWID?
AWID surgió en 1982 y se ha ido transformando con el paso de los años en una verdadera organización mundial.
Saber más de nuestra historia
Leer «From “WID” to “GAD” to Women’s Rights: The First Twenty Years of AWID» (en inglés)
Nadyn Jouny
The personal is political - and fiery and courageous Nadyn Jouny personified this feminist mantra. Nadyn experienced firsthand the pain of structural violence in legal systems that strip women of their rights.
When she decided to file for divorce, the religious Shitte courts under the Lebanese Personal Status laws, denied her custody of her young son Karam. Nadyn, like so many other women across Lebanon and other countries, was caught in the impossible pain of leaving an unwanted and abusive relationship and also losing the rights to her child. But Nadyn fought back, as she would until her last day.
She used her media savvy to become an outspoken voice to women fighting discriminatory family laws in Lebanon and internationally. Nadyn co-founded the self-funded group, “Protecting Lebanese Women” (PLW) and banded with many other Lebanese mothers facing similar custody issues. Together, they advocated to raise awareness of the injustices they were facing, protesting in front of the religious courts for their rights and bringing international media attention to extreme injustices they were facing.
Nadyn also worked with ABAAD - Resource Center for Gender Equality, another women’s rights organization in Lebanon, to campaign for women’s rights, equality in family law and custody and against forced and early marriages.
For many of her colleagues, she came to “symbolize a Lebanese mother’s fight against suppression and misogyny of all sorts," using “her personal experiences and her individual journey of empowerment to give hope to others that they can be a catalyst for positive change.”- ABAAD - Resource Centre for Gender Equality, Lebanon
On October 6, 2019 Nadyn was tragically killed in a car accident on her way to protest unfair tax increases in a country already facing spiralling financial crisis. Nadyn Jouny was only 29 years old at the time of her death.
AWID Member Community Guidelines
Co-creating welcoming and safe spaces
The co-creation of our feminist realities starts with ourselves and how we treat each other. We are dedicated to creating and protecting safe and supportive spaces for our communities both online and in person. We also consider that safe and welcoming spaces are co-owned and co-created.
We expect our members to act in a manner that is ethical, responsible and consistent with the values of AWID and assume collective responsibility to ensure an atmosphere of mutual respect and solidarity.
All AWID members are encouraged to:
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Connect with others, help break isolation and further solidarity. It’s easy to feel lost and alone, and a little friendliness and responsiveness goes a long way.
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Interact and engage peacefully. Differences in opinion will naturally arise, so please think of these differences as useful for expanding your thinking and ways of seeing the world.
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Help build a space that recognizes and validates multiple lived experiences and diversities of bodies and gender expressions. Recognize that we all carry intersectional identities.
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Use inclusive language. Be respectful of how people want to be referred to in terms of gender identity or expression (like pronouns), and practice inclusive language.
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Listen and make adjustments in your behavior and ways of engaging if someone says they feel uncomfortable. Don’t ask others questions that you wouldn't want to be asked yourself.
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Help challenge oppressive behavior, which includes harassment, verbal or physical violence, violation of consent, and any action that perpetuates classism, ageism, ableism, racism, misogyny, heterosexism, transphobia and other oppressions. If needed, please reach out to AWID staff.
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Practice speaking and listening with an open mind and heart and without judgement.
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Be honest, open and heartfelt. Speak and share authentically about your experiences, your challenges, your hopes and dreams, and your vision for your own life and your community.
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Practice active listening and self-awareness. Be aware of how much time and space you are taking up- leave room for others, practice active listening and learning.
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Be mindful and credit others for their work and activism. Remember that we are all working collectively to contribute to change-- Ensure that you recognize the contribution of others and credit them when appropriate e.g. in discussions, or in articles, pictures etc.
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Stay safe! We encourage you to take measures to protect yourself online and in person, especially if you have reason to believe that speaking out will put you in danger. Members may use aliases or profile images that conceal their identity. For more information please refer to the “Digital Security First Aid Kit for Human Rights Defenders” produced by APC - Association for Progressive Communications.
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Respect the privacy needs of others! Do not share or forward any information without explicit permission.
Our Values
Solidarity
We take a position in solidarity with each other and diverse struggles for justice and freedoms. We strive to mobilize and strengthen collective action and practice meaningful ways of working with each other.
Human rights
We believe in a full application of the principle of rights including those enshrined in international laws and affirm the belief that all human rights are interrelated, interdependent and indivisible. We are committed to working towards the eradication of all discriminations based on gender, sexuality, religion, age, ability, ethnicity, race, nationality, class or other factors.
Responsibility, Accountability, and Integrity
We strive for transparency, responsible use of our resources, fairness in our collaborations and accountability and integrity with our members, partners, funders and the movements with(in) which we work. We are committed to reflecting on our experiences, sharing our learnings openly, and striving to change our practices accordingly.
Intersectionality
We believe that for feminist movements to be transformative and strong we must continue to work across our similarities and differences. We also must interrogate power and privilege both within and outside our movements.
Bodily autonomy, integrity and freedoms
We celebrate everyone's right to choose their identities, relationships, goals, work, dreams and pleasures, and what they do with their mind, body and spirit. We believe in working towards access to resources, information and safe and enabling environments that allow this to happen.
Justice and systemic change
We work towards a world based on social, environmental, and economic justice; and interdependence, solidarity, and respect. We work towards dismantling systems of oppressive power and against all its manifestations, including patriarchy, fundamentalisms, militarisms, fascisms and corporate power that threaten our lives and our world. We want a just world where resources and power are shared in ways that enable everyone to thrive.
Please note:
AWID reserves the right to delete comments, suspend or revoke membership when our community guidelines have been violated. AWID members are not authorised to represent AWID in any official capacity unless stipulated in writing. Members cannot use AWID spaces to proselytize or recruit members to join a religious faith or organisation. Members cannot use AWID spaces to request funds for personal use although links to external fundraising efforts or activism campaigns are permissible.
Snippet FEA Meet the Solidarity Network (EN)
SOLIDARITY NETWORK
Meet the Solidarity Network, a health and service union mostly led by women. Emerging as a response to increasing precarity, severe underpayment and hostile work environments faced by workers in Georgia, Solidarity Network fights for dignified compensation and work places.
Its goal? To create a national worker’s democratic movement. To do so, it has been branching out, organizing and teaming up with other local and regional unions and slowly creating a network of unions and empowering women workers to become union leaders.
Its political approach is a holistic one. For Solidarity Network, labor rights issues are directly connected to broader national political and economic agendas and reforms. That’s why they are pushing for tax justice, women and LGBTQIA+ rights, and fighting against the dismantling of the Georgian welfare state.
The Solidarity Network is also part of Transnational Social Strike (TSS), a political platform and infrastructure inspired by migrant, women and essential worker organizing that works to build connections between labor movements across borders and nurture global solidarity.
Barbara Bergmann
Snippet - CSW69 - OURs & friends - EN
OURs & friends at the Feminist Solidarity Space
✉️ By invitation only
📅 Tuesday, March 11, 2025
🕒 2.00-4.00pm EST
🏢 Chef's Kitchen Loft with Terrace, 216 East 45th St 13th Floor New York
Organizer: Observatory on the Universality of Rights (OURs) Consortium


