Episode 02: Feminist Activism and Self-care

The Gender at Work Podcast

“I was so busy thinking about strategy, I never thought about self-care…I was told to swallow my tears, and so many women are told this. I don’t have the space for self-care. It is impossible to be a black woman alone.” - Yasmin Thayna, Brazilian filmmaker and activist at the 2016 AWID Forum

In this episode on Feminist Activism and Self Care hosted by Aruna Rao and David Kelleher, we’re joined by Gender at Work associates Shawna Wakefield, Michel Friedman and Nina Benjamin, our Board member, Srilatha Batliwala and colleagues Jane Real, Lucia Jayaseelan, and Natalie Jeffers. This highly engaging discussion is broadly based on a concept paper, ‘Self, Collective Care and Wellbeing’ drafted at the Association for Women’s Rights in Development (AWID) Forum held in August 2016. We explore the role of and need for self-care and wellbeing in feminist activism; the real risks associated with bringing chronic stress and unresolved trauma into our relationships and work; and how this connects to the process of individual transformation, organisational change and societal transformation. Some of the questions that were reflected upon include: What is self-care? How is it connected to feminist visions of transformation? Why is it important? How is it being worked on? What are some the examples of concrete practices?