Our Voices, Our Choices

Migrant women in Berlin are fighting for gender-just peace through transitional justice, playback theatre, and a little bronze girl. This is episode 4 of the series »War and Feminism«.

Transnational feminist solidarities are under pressure. Episode 3 discusses the loss of trust among feminists, the disillusionment with the promises of a feminist German foreign policy, and the emergence of new civil society alliances.

What does it mean when the bodies of women giving birth in war become part of the battlefield? Episode 2 explores the issue of reproductive violence in war.

Sexualised violence in war: A feminist perspective on the devastating consequences for women and societies. Experts report on the causes, effects and the lack of accountability.

Join us for the grand finale of our 3-part series, where we shift our focus to feminist leadership on an individual level. This episode explores the personal challenges faced by those in leadership positions who strive to lead differently. Our journey begins with Helene, co-founder of Fair Share of Women Leaders, and continues with Vandita Morarka, CEO of One Future Collective. Vandita reveals the internal struggles and guilt that can accompany feminist leadership but offers a refreshing perspective on how to navigate them. Their stories showcase the incredible courage and compassion it takes to be a feminist leader, illuminating the path towards a more equitable future for all. A podcast with: • Helene Wolf, Co-Founder and Co-Director of Fair Share of Women Leaders • Vandita Morarka, Founder and CEO of One Future Collective Links:Video with Vandita Morarka talking about Feminist Leadership More about “Fair Share of Women Leaders”Downloads and more info about Feminist LeadershipArticle about Collective Femini

In episode two it’s all about feminist leadership in practice. We'll dive deep into organizations and institutions that embrace feminist leadership. And we find out that it's not a one-size-fits-all model but rather a dynamic, often context-specific approach. Our discussions feature insights from three remarkable women with extensive experience in feminist leadership on an institutional level: Lysa John, Secretary-General of CIVICUS; Leila Billing, a leading advocate for 'We Are Feminist Leaders'; and Serap Altinisik, CEO of Oxfam Germany. They share their wisdom, experiences, and thoughts on feminist leadership in practice, showcasing its transformative power to shape a more equitable and just world. A podcast with: • Lysa John, Secretary General of CIVICUS • Leila Billing, Co-Founder and Senior Advisor on Gender, Youth and Movement Building at We Are Feminist Leaders • Serap Altinisik, CEO of Oxfam Germany Links: “Celebrating our #1 position on the FAIR SHARE of Women Leaders Monitor” by Lysa JohnVideo with

In the first episode of our 3-part series, we embark on an exploration of feminist leadership. What exactly is it, and what is it not? Join us as we uncover the beliefs and principles that underpin this transformative leadership approach. For this, we’ll hear from two remarkable women who've dedicated their lives to feminist causes. Srilatha Batliwala, a lifelong feminist activist and scholar from South India, shares her insights, emphasizing that feminist leadership goes beyond mere gender identity. Elena Ghizzo, co-founder of the Feminist Hiking Collective, reveals how feminist leadership challenges existing power structures and offers a fresh perspective on leadership. A podcast with: • Srilatha Batliwala, Senior Advisor of Knowledge Building with CREA (Creating Resources for Empowerment in Action) and Senior Associate at Gender at Work • Elena Ghizzo, Co-Founder and Co-Coordinator of Feminist Hiking Collective Links: “Conversations with Women on Leadership and Social Transformation” by Srilatha Batliwala

A Pathway Towards Feminist Global Collaboration What is the goal of representation and how can it be most meaningful within a process of Feminist Global Collaboration? In this final episode of the series, our host, Samie Blasingame, and three incredible guests discuss what representation is and what it is not, what it looks like to achieve representation in different spaces, and the dominant structures that start to shift when representation is done well.  Tune in to hear thoughts and examples as to why representation can’t just be about how things look; it must move beyond that by allowing new perspectives to help shift the collective worldview and bring positive changes for the whole of society. A podcast with: • Pema Wangmo Lama, Mugum Indigenous youth activist, feminist, and climate activist • Jovan Džoli Ulićević, activist and founder of the feminist organisation Spektra • Roula Seghaier, Strategic Program Coordinator for the International Domestic Workers Federation • Samie Blasingame, Host and environm

Funds are constantly flowing but are they reaching the people and initiatives they should be? This episode we explore questions such as: how does funding reflect our priorities as a society; how can we build more trust between donor and grantees; and where do we need to be looking to ensure we are supporting feminist movements for social change? Tune in to hear some important critiques and valuable best practices to move the funding landscape toward more Feminist Global Collaboration.    A podcast with: • Angelika Arutyunova, Feminist thinker, strategist, advocate and consultant  • Chantelle de Nobrega, Grants Manager at Mama Cash • Samie Blasingame, Host and environmental justice activist, researcher and facilitator This series was initiated by an emerging network of practitioners aiming to re-think development policy from a feminist perspective; FAIR SHARE of Women Leaders, a feminist non-profit initiative to advance gender equity in the in civil society sector; and the Heinrich Böll Foundation. Audio produ

W7 stands for Women 7 and is a global alliance of NGOs working for more gender justice at the G7. The Women 7 works every year in parallel with the G7. And because Germany holds the G7’s presidency for 2022, the Women 7 was organized this year by the National Council of German Women’s Organizations. For one year, 64 activists* from 24 countries considered the question: what must policymakers do to ensure greater gender justice worldwide? They then condensed their demands onto two pages before handing it over to this year's G7 President, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz, who accepted it on behalf of the heads of all the G7 countries. The question then is, did the G7 listen? And, if so, what did the W7 achieve with its work? A podcast with: • Caroline Ausserer, W7 Project Coordinator at the National Council of German Women’s Organizations • Khanyo Farisé, Outright Action International - Spogmay Ahmed, International Center for Research on Women and a W7 Advisor on Feminist Foreign Policy • Miwo Atsuko, executive di

A Pathway Towards Feminist Global Collaboration In the third instalment of our five-episode series on feminist development policy we discuss how the tool of intersectionality can help us illuminate some of the root causes of inequality, which often go unquestioned. We discuss how the current and dominant economic system perpetuates gender, racial and many more injustices, while exploring alternatives that center human rights, gender justice and care. Join us as we hear what feminist development policy must keep in mind to ensure intersectionality is not just another buzzword applied loosely throughout the sector. A podcast with: • Veena Singh, Feminist Development Practitioner and Consultant • Sanyu Awori, Building Feminist Economies Manager at AWID • Natalia Carrau, Environmental justice and labour rights advocate • Samie Blasingame, Host and environmental justice activist, researcher and facilitator This series was initiated by an emerging network of practitioners aiming to re-think development policy from

A Pathway Towards Feminist Global Collaboration In the second instalment of our five-episode series on feminist development policy we discuss four aspects of Knowledge as Power that we believe need to be addressed in order to achieve more Feminist Global Collaboration: the different knowledge paradigms we value, the knowledge we exclude by prioritizing some over others, the phenomenon of knowledge extraction and reflecting on the knowledge held by who is actually doing development, and to what end. The hierarchical flow of developmental knowledge highlights the problem of whose knowledge is recognized, but also what kind. We must remember that there is power in deciding which type of data is collected, how it’s analysed and what it is used for – and also in the knowledge we choose to ignore. As our guests this episode show, all of this is reflected in the power dynamics that continue to perpetuate inequalities in the development sector. A podcast with: • Desiree Acholla, Social Impact Consultant (Inararibonye

A Pathway Towards Feminist Global Collaboration A debate is brewing in Germany concerning the implementation of a feminist development policy, but what will this look like in practice? How can feminist approaches challenge the current development narrative and pave the way towards a collaborative practice based on gender, racial, environmental and economic justice and solidarity?  In this first instalment of a five-episode series on feminist development policy, we set the scene for debates to come, applying an intersectional feminist lens to development and exploring some of its histories and criticisms that urgently need to be addressed.  A podcast with:  • Shristee Bajpai, activist and researcher with the environmental action group Kalpavriksh  • Saranel Benjamin, Head of Partnerships at Oxfam Great Britain  • Professor Dr. Aram Ziai, Head of Department of Development Policy and Postcolonial Studies at the University of Kassel  • Samie Blasingame, Host and environmental justice activist, researcher and faci

What does it mean to have a body that the majority of society believes does not exist or should not exist? A body that exposes as a matter of opinion what many believe to be a fact? A body that goes beyond the narrow categories of man or woman? Julius Kaggwa from Uganda, Eliana Rubashkyn from New Zealand, and Irene Kuzemko from Moscow are intersex, or inter*. Actually, in all modern countries and societies, a binary understanding of gender dominates - allowing only two options: Man or Woman. In this episode, we learn first-hand about the struggles that intersex people face in this heteronormative world of ours, and their efforts to achieve self-determination. A podcast with: • Irene Kuzemko, OII Europe and Intersex Russia. • Eliana Rubashkyn, pharmacist and activist • Julius Kaggwa, SIPD, Support Initiative for people with atypical sex development Illustration: CC BY ND NC 4.0 Arinda Craciun

The binary gender narrative speaks of men and women. Those who in the course of their lives, do not identify with the gender assigned to them at birth are called transgender. What they are allowed to call themselves, what gender is written in their passport, who they are allowed to marry - all this is often not their decision or can only be fought for through expensive and humiliating procedures. Argentina is often cited as a role model when it comes to the rights of trans* people. But what struggles do trans* people still have to fight for there? How does the situation look in comparison to Thailand or Germany? And where is trans* activism headed? A podcast with: • Alba Rueda, Undersecretary for Diversity Policy at the Ministry of Women's Affairs in Argentina • Manuela Picq, Professor of International Relations at the University of San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador • Esther Suvannannon, PhD student researching the history of transgenderness in Thailand, University of Victoria, Canada • Nyke Slawik, Head candid

The Binary gender narrative is one which speaks strictly in terms of men and women. This division was strongly influenced by European Christian colonialism and is neither natural nor without alternatives. Yet each and every day, people all over the world either classify themselves within the binary narrative, or are classified by others: be it in conversations through the use of pronouns, or by going to a public restroom, which in so many cases, forces one to choose between these two poles. How did this narrative become so dominant? Which parts of the world (still) look at gender differently? And how is LGBTQI+ activism changing this narrative? We look to Argentina, Thailand, Uganda, and many more countries for answers… A podcast featuring: • Alba Rueda, Undersecretary for Diversity Policy at the Ministry of Women's Affairs in Argentina • Manuela Picq, Professor of International Relations at the University of San Francisco de Quito, Ecuador • Sabine Hark, Technical University of Berlin, Director of the Center

In this episode, we talk to environmental activistsfrom Colombia, Pakistan and Zimbabwe about why the climate crisis is a feministissue and why the climate justice movement must embrace intersectionality inorder to affect more equitable change. We hear why we must do more than justlisten to climate activists calling out the lack of political will to keepfossil fuels in the ground, and instead listen to those on the ground who bring extensive knowledge and experience ofclimate change first hand. We discuss how eco-feminist spaces online can protectclimate activists from harassment, how digital storytelling can improve thelives of those most vulnerable to environmental injustices, what the limits ofsocial media are in light of the digital divide, and how cultivating a cultureof care within the climate justice movement - both online and offline - is bothnecessary and beneficial to its goals. (A Podcast by Esme Nicholson) ParticipantsMaria Alexandra Escalante, Meera Ghani, Maggie MaponderaA Podcast by Esme Nicho

Deeply intimate questions are often asked of people seeking asylum on the basis of their sexual orientation. Yet, few have ever dared live out their sexuality. This podcast listens to the global experiences of LGBT asylum applicants. Not only do fewer States grant asylum on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity but LGBT applicants struggle with issues of proof and credibility. Mohamed tells how German asylum officials overly rely on the narrow stereotype of the promiscuous gay man. In South Africa, we hear how homophobia and high rejection rates sent Pukkie into prostitution. And in the US, we find out that hermetically sealed borders may now be opening up. A podcast by Abby d'Arcy. Participants: Mohamed, Johannes Mikolajetz, Katrin Hugendubel, Victor Chicalogwe, Pukkie Sibanda, Neela Ghoshal. Editors: Jana Prosinger, Joanna Barelkowska. Shownotes:"Homosexuality in the asylum process - stereotypes, discretion and heteronormativity" (in German) by Johannes Mikolajetz, Working Paper #26, 2020http:

In this episode, we hear from feminist activists on three continents who, because of the coronavirus pandemic, are relying on social media to push equal rights legislation, focusing on issues that have been exacerbated by SARS-CoV-2. We hear about reduced abortion access from an American reproductive rights organisation that was launched unintentionally by a single tweet. We also talk about how the pandemic has stripped female Indian garment workers of hard-earned rights, hearing from a trade unionist who is connecting mill workers on a social network that doesn’t need the internet. And we talk to feminist campaigners in Turkey about the increased risk of domestic violence and femicide during lingering lockdowns and why women’s names are constantly trending on social media. (A Podcast by Esme Nicholson) Participants: Erin Jorgensen, Alex, Lamuel Enoch, Sujata Mody, Irem, Melek Arimari Editors: Gitanjali More, Katharina Prott and Christoph Mayer Shownotes:The US Reproductive Rights Group that grew out of a has

As Covid-19 disrupts lives and societies across the globe, we talk to feminist activists about its intersection with gender and race. We hear how they’ve quickly adapted their digital practices, not only to circumvent the limitations of stay-at-home measures, but also as a means to tackle the virus’s impact on existing gender and racial inequalities. We hear how a Lebanese digital security expert has created a safe space for women and trans folks by ditching new technology for old and launching a lockdown radio station. We talk to activists from Brazil, India and Uruguay about their initiative to make the internet mirror all its users as the pandemic shifts our lives online. And we hear how social media is being used in Kenya to teach coding to girls whose access to computers has been curtailed by lingering lockdown measures. (A Podcast by Esme Nicholson) Participants: Mariana Fossatti, Abir Ghattas, Linda Kamau, Anasuya Sengupta, Adele Vrana. Editors: Gitanjali More, Katharina Prott and Christoph Mayer Shown