About Leading from the South
Leading from the South (LFS) is a special fund created to resource feminist activism in the Global South, initiated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands (MFA). It supports activism devised, implemented, and led by women, girls, trans, and intersex rights organisations in the Global South. Through grantmaking, capacity building, and other resourcing, LFS will strengthen movements, networks, and organisations—especially their advocacy capacity.
The fund is being implemented by four women’s funds: three regional funds—the African Women’s Development Fund (Africa and the Middle East), Fondo de Mujeres del Sur (Latin America and the Caribbean), and Women’s Fund Asia (Asia)—and one global fund, the Foro Internacional de Mujeres Indígenas/ International Indigenous Women’s Forum (FIMI).
Grant Type, Size and Duration
Grants will range from EUR48,600 to EUR446,800 for a period of 33 months (2 years and 9 months). The grants will be made available in three categories:
- Frontline Defenders grants (up to EUR48,600) for organisations and networks led by women, girls, trans, and/or intersex persons working directly with communities on mobilisation and leadership building at the community and sub-national levels. Groups must be based in rural areas or small towns, or working with marginalised communities in urban areas. Ongoing programmes/ interventions would be given a preference.
- Amplifying Voices grants (up to EUR206,600) for organisations and networks led by women, girls, trans, and/or intersex persons working on campaigns, knowledge, and capacity building, research, and evidence-based advocacy at the national and/or sub-regional levels.
- Promoting Regional Feminist Agenda grants (up to EUR446,800) for organisations and networks led by women, girls, trans, and/or intersex persons working at the macro level on capacity building of other feminist groups and activists, as well as undertaking knowledge building, evidence-based advocacy initiatives at the sub-regional, regional, and international levels. Priority will be given to groups working with international treaty bodies and regional intergovernmental organisations/or cooperation entities.
Thematic Priorities for WFA
Within the above framework, priority will be given to groups that seek to:
- Expand the Right to Movement and Labour. We have supported interventions focused on women, girls, trans, and intersex people’s right to safe migration, economic justice, and labour rights, with a particular focus on women working in vulnerable, informal, and stigmatised sectors such as sex work, garment factories, tea plantations, domestic work, and migrant labour.
- Promote Autonomy, Decisions, and Sexual Rights. We have supported initiatives that promote the right to sexuality, decision-making, and bodily autonomy of women, girls, trans, and intersex people. Beginning with supporting work on child and forced marriage and young women’s leadership and choices, this priority area also grew to encompass groups working on LBTQI rights, abortion rights, and sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR).
- Increase Access to Justice. We support initiatives focused on increasing women, girls, trans, and intersex people’s access to justice, including raising legal awareness among communities, creating pathways and mechanisms for survivors to access lawyers and the judicial system, training women paralegals, supporting women lawyers, and others.
- Extend Environmental Justice. Interventions aimed at securing women, girls, trans, and intersex people’s right to access natural resources, and recognition of their leadership in resource management, disaster risk relief, climate change, and sustainable development. We have supported work by women with disabilities, women farmers, garment factory workers, and indigenous and Adivasi women on issues such as land rights, right to clean water and safe living and working environments, climate-related displacement, mining, and deforestation, among others.
- Strengthen Feminist Voices. Supporting and strengthening grassroots feminist leadership and movements has always been a priority for WFA. In the past, grants have supported institutional strengthening, capacity development for groups and their constituencies, grassroots mobilisation, campaigns, research, advocacy, and outreach. Consideration will also be given to organisations and networks that work to advance the rights of women, girls, trans, and intersex people through feminist interventions, which include rights-based, intersectional strategies; developing new discourses and building/strengthening linkages; continuing mobilisation; and strengthening feminist leadership.
Special consideration will be given for outreach to women, girls, trans, and intersex people in/from marginalised communities facing multiple forms of discrimination.
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