Young feminists’ creative strategies to challenge the status quo: a view from FRIDA

ABSTRACT

Young feminist organising is springing up in all corners of the globe – from Mexico to Morocco to Malaysia – powered by brave young women, girls and trans* youth who are creating the change the world needs. FRIDA | The Young Feminist Fund – is a young feminist-led organisation that began in 2010. It aims to provide young feminist leaders with the resources they need to amplify their voices and initiatives as well as bring attention to their work. This article offers a view from four young feminists involved in FRIDA's work, sharing some of the innovative and creative strategies currently being used to challenge the status quo.

Les jeunes féministes commencent à s’organiser aux quatre coins du monde – du Mexique au Maroc en passant par la Malaisie – un mouvement impulsé par de jeunes femmes, filles et jeunes trans* courageuses qui créent les changements dont a besoin le monde. FRIDA | le Fonds des jeunes féministes est une organisation dirigée par de jeunes féministes qui a vu le jour en 2010. Elle a pour objectif de fournir aux jeunes leaders féministes les ressources dont elles ont besoin pour amplifier leurs voix et initiatives, en plus d’attirer l’attention sur leur travail. Cet article présente les points de vue de quatre jeunes féministes prenant part au travail de FRIDA et décrit certaines des stratégies innovantes et créatives actuellement utilisées pour mettre en question le statu quo.

Desde México hasta Marruecos y Malasia, en todos los rincones del mundo están surgiendo diversas organizaciones de jóvenes feministas. Lideradas por valientes niñas, mujeres jóvenes y juventud trans, estas organizaciones están creando el cambio que el mundo necesita. Fundada en 2010, frida | Fondo para Feministas Jóvenes es una organización encabezada por jóvenes feministas que se dedica a proporcionar los recursos que jóvenes feministas organizadas necesitan para que su voz y sus iniciativas tengan mayor difusión y su trabajo reciba mayor atención. El presente artículo da cuenta de las perspectivas de cuatro jóvenes feministas participantes en el trabajo de frida, y comparte algunas de las innovadoras y creativas estrategias usadas actualmente para cuestionar el orden establecido.

KEYWORDS:

• Activism
• strategies
• feminism
• youth
• funding

Acknowledgements

We would like to recognise and acknowledge the contributions of all the young feminists we interviewed for this article, and other FRIDA staff and advisors who shared resources, contacts, and reflections for this article.

Notes on contributors

Gopika Bashi is a campaigner for Oxfam International on its worldwide Enough campaign to end violence against women and girls. She has been an advisor with FRIDA since 2015. Gopika is based in Bangalore, India. Email: [email protected]. Twitter: @gopikabashi

Lucia Martelotte is Deputy Executive Director at ELA – Equipo Latinoamericano de Justicia y Género, a feminist NGO based in Argentina. Since 2016 she has been an advisor on the Latin America and the Caribbean region for FRIDA. Email: [email protected]. Twitter: @lumarte

Boikanyo Modungwa is FRIDA's Research and Knowledge Building Officer; prior to that she was Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning Program Officer. Boikanyo is from Botswana. Email: [email protected]. Twitter: @BoiModungwa

Maria Eugenia Olmos has been Communities and Culture Co-ordinator at FRIDA since April 2017. She has been an advisor with FRIDA since 2014 and co-facilitator for the Latin America and the Caribbean region. Euge is based in Cordoba, Argentina. Postal address: Laprida 64, La Cumbre, Cordoba, Argentina. Email: [email protected]. Twitter: @meugeolmos

Notes

1 For more information on FRIDA | The Young Feminist Fund, see https://youngfeministfund.org/ (last checked 10 September 2018).

2 For more information on AWID, see www.awid.org/ (last checked 10 September 2018).

3 The Global Gag Rule is another name for the Mexico City Policy, first implemented in 1984 by USAID. It requires NGOs that receive federal funding from the US government to neither perform nor promote abortion as a method of family planning in other countries. For more information on The Global Gag Rule, see https://foreignpolicy.com/2017/03/20/the-global-gag-rule-americas-deadly-export-trump-africa-women-reproductive-rights/ (last checked 13 September 2018).

4 For more information on the Me Too Movement, see https://metoomvmt.org (last checked 31 August 2018).

5 All information given in this section comes from the FRIDA Timeline: http://youngfeministfund.org/time/#event-this-is-our-history (last checked 13 September 2018).

6 FRIDA Theory of Change (Garden of Change), see http://youngfeministfund.org/GardenofChangeA.html (last checked 10 September 2018).

7 Funding restrictions create barriers for FRIDA in transferring grants to grantee partners in certain countries. For more information on funding restrictions, see Global NPO Coalition on FATF Foreign Funding Restrictions: http://fatfplatform.org/foreign-funding-restrictions/ (last checked 10 September 2018).

8 For example, see the 2014 ruling which allowed an LGBTQI group in Botswana (not a FRIDA grantee partner) to formally register: https://legabibo.wordpress.com/2014/11/15/register-legabibo-judge-rannowane-orders-botswana-government/ (last checked 12 September 2018).

9 For example, surveillance of activists in China; read more in the following article: Christian Shepard (2017) ‘China activists fear increased surveillance with new security law’, https://www.reuters.com/article/us-china-security-idUSKBN18M09U (last checked 12 September 2018).

10 For more information, see https://youngfeministfund.org/grantees/colectiva-feminista-gordas-sin-chaqueta-colombia/ (last checked 13 September 2018).

11 For more information, see https://youngfeministfund.org/grantees/no-tan-distintas/ (last checked 13 September 2018).

12 For more information, see https://youngfeministfund.org/grantees/hashtag-generation/ (last checked 13 September 2018)

13 For more information, see the Fe-Male website: http://www.fe-male.org/ (last checked 13 September 2018).

14 For more information, see the HolaAfrica website: http://holaafrica.org/ (last checked 13 September 2018).

15 To read the safe sex and pleasure manual for African women, see http://holaafrica.org/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/TIFFM1038-HOLAA-PleaseHer-Manual_V.0.4.pdf (last checked 13 September 2018).

16 For more information, see https://www.awid.org/sites/default/files/atoms/files/feminist_futures.pdf (last checked 13 September 2018).

17 For more information, see https://youngfeministfund.org/grantees/giuvlipen/ (last checked 13 September 2018).

18 For more information, see https://youngfeministfund.org/grantees/las-hijas-del-rap/ (last checked 13 September 2018).

19 For more information, see https://youngfeministfund.org/grantees/bussy/ (last checked 13 September 2018).

20 For more information, see https://youngfeministfund.org/grantees/center-promotion-womens-rights-rights/ (last checked 13 September 2018).

21 For more information, see https://youngfeministfund.org/grantees/teenagers-youth-justice-equality-ty4je/ (last checked 13 September 2018).