WHY MWA: A DECADE LONG JOURNEY SAFEGURDING RIGHTS, UPLIFTING VOICES AND ADVOCATING FOR A JUST SOCIETY FOR LGBTI PEOPLE
ABOUT MWA
MWA was founded in 2006 by a group of extraordinary kenyan lesbian women dedicated to actualizing a vision of freedom, autonomy, and dignity. In 2006, these lesbian women realized that to be visible and to wield agency over their voices and concerns, they must take the lead in organizing for their own rights.
MWA is currently led by Lesbians, Bisexual, and Queer (LBQ) and Gender Non-Conforming (GNC) activist organizers and over 500 members spanning Nairobi, Nairobi-environs, Meru, Nyeri, and the Rift Valley.
Queer folks in Kenya confront a multitude of challenges living in a homophobic/transphobic environment. These challenges include systemic discrimination stemming from societal prejudices, restrictive legislation, limited awareness about LGBTI communities, cultural norms, and a lack of representation. This shapes the context of living where LGBTI Kenyans struggle with limited bodily autonomy, coercive control, violence, discrimination, lack of rights recognition, harmful ideologies, and exclusion.
WE WORK TO DISLOCATE THIS VIOLENCE BY:
Empowering Queer Communities in Kenya
By offering resources and support that enables queer women and non binary folk to flourish against the tide of violence and ensure they have the tools to confront oppression.
Advocacy on Sexual Rights for Critical Narrative Shift
leading activism on LGBTI individuals’ autonomy, safety, and rights by challenging coercion, violence, and discrimination and advocating for inclusive anti-discrimination laws and policies that safeguard the Social, cultural, political, and economic rights of LBQGNC folk in Kenya.
Nurturing grassroots organizing and leadership of queer women
Coordinating MWA membership organized in chapters located in Nairobi, Nairobi environs, Meru, Mt. Kenya, and Rift Valley to collectively resist discriminatory laws, and build alternative structures for thriving, healing, and survival within their local communities. Additionally, we cultivate their leadership through skill-building, mentorship and facilitate access to resources that support their activism.
Enchancing MWA’s Survival
Enhancing MWAs’ survival capacities and sustainability for long-term impact in championing the rights of the LGBTI community and to withstand long term external pressure.This involves fortifying infrasuructure through investing in better technology, enhancing organizational processes, ensuring a robust staff/organizers structure, sustaining programs, building staff and organizers skills, sustaining field wide coordination, community care and building partnerships with organizations, aligned to MWA’s mission.
MWA VALUES
Minority Womyn in Action is a community-based activist led organization open to Lesbian, Bisexual, Queer women, and non-binary individuals living in Kenya who share in our mission rooted in the belief that everyone deserves autonomy over their own body, the right to self-accomplishment and development, and equal protection under the law, free from discrimination and violence.
We are guided by the values of:
RESPECT
We celebrate the full human rights of all individuals, their freedom, autonomy, and dignity.
INCLUSION
We believe the essence of community can only be achieved with the understanding that different oppressions intersect to form our experiences. MWA is inclusive to all Queer women and non-binary folk regardless of their social, cultural, ethnic, religious, and economic backgrounds.Our struggles intersect with struggles against racism, colonialism, homophobia, transphobia, sexism, ableism, classism, and other harmful systems
COMMITMENT
We are genuinely working towards eliminating all forms of discrimination based on gender, sexuality, religion, ability, and class in society.
INTEGRITY
We act responsibly with our resources, and strive to be transparent and accountable to our membership, partners, donors, and the LGBTI change movement