FRIDA believes young feminists to be experts of their own realities, and as a diverse community located in the remotest corners of the world, these realities are often in flux, as contexts change with passing time. Throughout the journey of a young feminist group, activists encounter new trends, discoveries, adapt their strategies accordingly and shape their activism as they move forward.
Leading the call for climate justice
Last year, for the first time ever, we launched an exclusive round of grant cycle dedicated to young feminist groups working on climate and enviornmental justice. These groups self-identified climate and environmental rights as their core area of work.
Although young feminist activists have been working around environmental justice there seems to have been a shift towards owning it as a meaningful space for them to effect change, naming it as a priority and a space in which young people can lead.
Island pRIdE
In the past year, Island Pride was able to get organized and established to make it's entrance into the community of Chuuk, Micronesia as a new organization.
Kaiso WoMen’s GroUp
Kaiso Women's’ group, located in the remote village of Kaiso-Tonya on the shores of Lake Albert in Western Uganda, uses a range of different strategies to support their community which is impacted by an oil industry in their region.
CorpOración
SihYta
Corporación Sihyta in Colombia works alongside the Fucha riverbanks, one of the main waterways in Bogotá, working on the empowerment of local women in their role as carers and agents of the Fucha river by reconnecting them with the female’s ancestral knowledge of plants’ properties and intertwined relationship to nature.
Advocating for sexual and reproductive health and rights
The year 2018 saw an increased need to work directly and specifically on sexual and reproductive health and rights. With abortion rights taking most of the groups’ time, advocating and raising awareness about safe abortion practises, consent, busting myths and stigma around sexual practises and fighting rape culture was a primary area of work.
Initiative
for SRHR
Initiative for Sexual Reproductive Health and Rights Awareness (former FAI), Nigeria has used the funding received to provide a safe home/ shelter for lesbian and bisexual women, a majority of whom are homeless as they were disowned by their families because of their sexual orientation.
Las Comadres
Las Comadres, Ecuador’s Safe Abortion Accompaniment Network arose from a context that saw increased restrictions on access to medicines to have a safe abortion.
CreSted CraNE Lighters
Crested Crane Lighters, Uganda, held five workshops aimed at increasing the individual awareness of 120 sex workers around sexual reproductive health rights and services.
Caring for the self and the community
We also observed dedicated time, energy and resources being spent on ensuring that young feminist activists are well taken care of, realise the importance of a good mental health, especially as we do heavy, exhausting and draining work, and working collectively towards the well-being of the community members.
Group De MuJeres
Grupo De Mujeres Xitlali Nicaragua dedicated a time and space for Self-care with the members of the Coordination and Work Team of XITLALI, creating a safe space that allowed sharing, living in closeness with nature, rethinking goals and commitments to life and their organization. The group members believe that these activities really helped strengthened their collective and its future directions.
Crisálidas
Crisálidas from Colombia As part of their self-care and self-protection activities, Crisálidas has sought to share in rural contexts and smaller cities their work experience around feminist self-protection, which has been a way to strengthen themselves and meet women who fight for their territories and who begin to wonder about the violence that they daily live as women defenders. In this regard, since April 2018, they have carried out women's workshops in Ibaguè-Tolima and Santander of Quilichao-Cauca.
Transvoice
Transvoice invited DR Asati along with 14 trans sexworkers who are members of the organisation to retreat at White Crater Bandung, West Java. Dr Asati who has a background in counselling was there to support the group in reflection, meditation, Yoga and Individual counselling sessions. The retreat was central to community strengthening and wellbeing of the collective. The retreat included training on digital security and agreements on how on how to reduce harm of online activities and ensure community care in the digital.
No more violence
With the surge of the #MeToo movement, young feminist activists led the cry to denounce violence in any and all forms that went beyond the hashtag. A majority of FRIDA grantee partners, 21% of the groups we fund, work on ending gender based violence and the contexts and communities they work with vary deeply.
Bnt Al
Masarwa
Bnt Al Masarwa is an Egyptian feminist band, who make musical productions in Arabic based on life experiences of women living in the Egyptian society.
BeautIFul
HeaRTs
Beautiful Hearts, Mongolia used the support received from FRIDA to create a mobile based app to address the acute problem of gender based violence faced by underage children and young adults.
CenTer for
proMOtion of
WomEN’s RighTS
Center for promotion of Women’s Rights - Her Rights, Belarus provides free and confidential legal help for women who face gender based violence and discrimination, particularry working with survivors of domestic violence.
