Movement Building Cohort 2025- WLW Fellow Enrollment and Payment

The Power of Movements

The feminist scholar and activist Srilatha Batliwala defines a social movement as a set of people with a shared experience of injustice who organize themselves to build their collective power and leadership and develop a shared agenda for change, which they pursue through collective action. (Batliwala, 2008)

This means those most affected by injustice are at the heart of driving change.

They are the grassroots changemakers leading the struggle and building collective power to become a force for addressing injustice. They have a political agenda to shift power, resources, norms, and policies for a reimagined world. They use multiple strategies, including advocacy, social media campaigns, public education, policy influence, and direct action.

Women's rights movement building is a strategic, long-term process where formal and informal groups of women, girls, survivors, and their allies work together to increase collective power, amplify voices, heal and transform patriarchal and oppressive systems, ideologies, norms and structures to end violence against women and girls and other harms while building on opportunities and momentum for a gender equal and transformed world.

Six key elements contribute to strong social movements:

Strong grassroots base
Use of multiple strategies
Strong alliances
Leadership pipeline
Collective political agenda
Resilient and sustainable support infrastructure

Forms of Movement Power include:

People Power: Mobilizing and empowering individuals to participate in collective action.
Leadership Power: Developing and supporting effective leadership within women's rights movements.
Inner Power: Fostering self-awareness, resilience, and agency among women, girls, and gender expansive persons.
Network Power: Building and strengthening networks and alliances among women's rights organizations and activists.
Narrative Power: Challenging dominant narratives and promoting alternative perspectives on gender and social justice.
Knowledge Power: Producing and disseminating knowledge and research to inform policy and practice.
Organizational Power: Strengthening the capacity of women's rights organizations to effectively organize and advocate for change.

Women's Movements are vital in:

Driving Change: Women's rights movements are crucial for driving social and political change, challenging discriminatory laws and policies, and advocating for the rights of women, girls, and gender expansive persons.
Ensuring Representation: Women's rights movements ensure that the voices and needs of women and girls are heard and inform decision-making processes.
Promoting Accountability: Women's rights movements hold governments and other actors accountable for their actions and inactions regarding gender equality and violence against women and girls.

Examples of Movement Building include:

Grassroots Organizing: Organizing community-based groups and campaigns to raise awareness and mobilize support for women's rights.
Advocacy and Lobbying: Engaging in advocacy and lobbying to influence policy and legislation.
Legal Reform: Working to change laws and policies that discriminate against women and girls and gender expansive persons.
Empowerment Programs: Providing education, training, and resources to women and girls to increase their agency, influence, resources, access, and power to fully participate in society and take control of their lives.

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Movement Building Cohort 2025

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WOMEN LEADERS FOR THE WORLD - FELLOW APPLICATION

Section 1: Personal Profile

Section 2: Organizational Profile

Section 3: Your story

Section 4: Resume and Recommendations

Section 7: How did you hear about WLW?

Section 8: Tuition Information

Section 9: Signature