Feminist Movement in Southeast Asia
In Southeast Asia, feminist movements have emerged from deeply diverse political, cultural, and historical backgrounds, yet they share common struggles against inequality, violence, and exclusion. Feminist issues in the region are closely connected with wider social, political, economic, and environmental challenges. Even with limited resources and shrinking civic spaces, feminist activists continue to organize with creativity, resilience, and care for one another.
This web dossier builds on research carried out in 2024 on feminist movements and networks across Southeast Asia. The research aimed to understand the challenges and opportunities these movements face, and to provide relevant insights for future advocacy and support. Based on this research, and with the support of Heinrich Böll Stiftung, the Femnimitr research team through this dossier expands on some of the key findings and presents them in the form of a web dossier and podcast.
The dossier highlights four thematic areas that explore key regional priorities: Peacebuilding; Climate and Land Rights; Gender-Based Violence; and Democracy and Violence against Activists. The aim of the SEA through Feminism dossier is to show how feminist movements in Southeast Asia respond to shared challenges through strategies that are locally rooted yet regionally connected. Together, these stories seek to encourage dialogue, strengthen regional networks, and help the public better understand feminist struggles and solidarity in Southeast Asia.
Related topic: A Scoping Paper (2022) examined the impact of COVID-19 on feminist movements in Southeast Asia. It explored how women and marginalized groups navigated the crisis, highlighting both the challenges and opportunities for advancing gender equality.
Welcome to the first theme of the SEA Through Feminism dossier. In this section, we share how feminist movements in Southeast Asia are working to build peace from the ground. Often, the voices of people in local communities are left out of big conversations about peace, but their work is what truly sustains the society.
Through this episode, we learn that peace is about more than just the end of a conflict. It is about creating a world where everyone feels safe, equal, and supported. We want to invite you to learn about local efforts and the strong solidarity that keeps them going.
You can engage with this theme through both a written piece and a podcast episode.