“To want and to dare, never hesitate to act when the feeling of injustice overcomes you!” – Doria Shafik
On January 26th, the Doria Feminist Fund, in collaboration with Women Have Wings, held its first celebration for the annual “To Want, and To Dare” awards ceremony. The online event celebrated the courageous work of five feminists and their organizations in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA).
The Doria Feminist Fund is the first feminist fund from and for the MENA region that supports young and new feminist groups and organizations that do not have access to conventional funding resources.
The event was under the hospice of Dr. Hannah Neumann, German member of the European Parliament, who spoke about the role of the Doria Feminist Fund in amplifying the voices of feminists and inspiring young women to be themselves. Dr. Neumann also highlighted the importance of solidarity and collaboration and sharing platforms in the movement to uplift each other.
Dr. Lamyaâ Achary, Co-Founder Tanit Research Platform for Change, Morocco
Dr. Lamyaâ co-founded the Tanit Feminist Research Platform for Change to achieve justice for people who have been underrepresented and/or misrepresented for their sexualities, genders and body expressions.
Amat Al-Salam Al-Haj, President of Mother of the Abductees Association, Yemen
Amat Al-Salam advocates for women’s rights and their participation in politics. Through her work, she is able to help release hundreds of abductees and forcibly disappeared.
Dr. Selma Hajri, Project Leader of Right and Access of Womento Safe Abortion (RAWSA), Tunisia
Dr. Selma is an MD, specialized in endocrinology and reproductive Health. RAWSA aims to build a platform for the right to safe abortions.
Roya Hassan, Founder of Ta Marbouta Podcast, Sudan
Roya contributes to feminist knowledge dissemination on colonialism, capitalism, and feminism in the global south within the context of “the Feminist School Project”. Roya aspires to establish an intersectional platform on women with disabilities and feminist experiences.
Wanssa Al-Tamtam, President of Ayadi Alrahma for Women, Libya
Wanssa is a journalist who covers inspiring and non-stereotypical stories within the Libyan society and communicates the voices of women through short videos.
The awardees were selected following consultations with local activists and organizations in the region to highlight the courageous work of women human rights defenders who are challenging patriarchy, violence, and oppression in their contexts.
The Doria Feminist Fund seeks to create a feminist ecosystem where the new generation of feminist movements in the MENA region have access to more and better funding and resources.
The funding priorities focus on women & LGBTQ+ groups through advancing human rights, peacebuilding, security & wellbeing under armed conflicts, combatting violence against women & LGBTQ+ groups, in addition to economic empowerment.
The Doria Feminist Fund will release its first round of grants in February 2022, and will open the second call for proposal submissions.
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