There is no such thing as a single issue struggle because we do not live single issue lives

Hello again blog-world :)

I cannot believe that my internship has come to an end- the old cliché rings true: time flies when you are having fun and working hard.  I have been so lucky for all the experiences that I have had while working at Isis.  I am especially grateful for all of the amazing people I was able to work with and meet while being in Manila. The footprints that each and every person has left in my life have changed me in ways that I could not anticipate, and probably do not even fully understand yet.  I look forward to the upcoming months where I can continue to debrief and reflect on my experiences.

In reflecting on my internship, one of the experiences that I liked the most was that I was able to participate in two Isis Activist Schools (participatory feminist workshops about feminist development communications and specific issues surrounding women’s human rights).  I am very grateful that I was able to participate in two Isis activist schools as I was able to meet women from all over the developing South who were engaged in a variety of activisms in their local communities… It was amazing to hear their stories and learn from them.  Many of them had started their activism and work within their communities to respond to social inequities, and are breaking the ground in their communities, countries, and internationally in terms of challenging, and working towards eradicating, structural inequalities.  In order to respect the privacy and confidentiality of these amazing women I will not go into detail about them here in this blog post, but will emphasise that learning from them has changed the ways I am going to navigate the world and how I live my life.  Their courage, commitment, and openness are inspiring beyond words.  

I will take many things away from this experience; however, I feel like I have learned/experienced so much that it is impossible to capture within a few words on a blog post.  So, I will take this chance to share one of the reflections that has been constantly reoccurring in my mind the most over the past few months: sustainable and transformative development begins in your own community.  It has to.  It is impossible to be working within development if you are not aware of, and working towards meeting your own communities’ needs first.  Meeting activist school participants and hearing their stories really drove this point home for me.  Of course, this does not mean that you should only focus on your personal experiences and communities; rather, I think it is a necessary place to ground yourself if you are going to be engaged in any development work that is geared towards social change in your community and beyond.

In closing, I would like to share some of the outputs of the two activist schools we had at Isis.  The first was a three-week workshop on gender-based violence, and the second was a weeklong workshop on strengthening young women’s leadership and advocacy.  Both activist schools saw women from all over the developing South come together to learn from each other and share their personal stories of resilience and activism.  Meeting so many young women who are doing grassroots work on a variety of issues surrounding women’s human rights/ LGBTQ rights really opened my eyes to the interconnectedness of issues.  As Audre Lorde said, “There is no such thing as a single issue struggle because we do not live single issue lives.”  Whether it is working towards rights for differently-abled women and LGBTQ people in Nepal, women’s rights in Afghanistan, sexual education and access to abortion for young women in Pakistan, ending violence against women in tribal communities in Papua New Guinea or working towards workers’ rights in Cambodia and Sri Lanka (to use some examples of the participants work) one thing is clear: we are stronger together and must work together if we are going to be able to make any meaningful changes in our communities, countries, regions, and internationally.

Through the activist schools I was able to become part of a diverse network of women who are using the Internet to continue to stay in touch and support each other’s work.  The possibilities of this are exciting, and I look forward to continuing to work with these amazing women.

I hope you enjoy the videos!

Re-examining Gender Based Violence: "FACE"

Re-examining Gender Based Violence: "Untold Stories"

This is Leah Staples signing off blog world- that’s a wrap masarap! :)

Leah Staples is working for six months as a Communications Assistant with Isis International in Quezon City, Philippines.