In It Together
The Feminist Resilience Toolkit is a co-created resource developed by the Heinrich Böll Foundation’s Global Unit for Feminism and Gender Democracy together with the foundation’s global network of feminists across five continents. Emerging as a response to rising authoritarianism, shrinking civic spaces, escalating anti-rights attacks, and continuous funding cuts, the toolkit is designed to support feminists and human rights defenders with practical exercises, tips, and strategies to tackle the effects of repression, war, digital and physical threats, and financial instability.
Grounded in feminist, intersectional, and decolonial principles, it offers practical, experience-based tools covering chapters on well-being, digital security, leadership, and funding. Showcasing nine regional case studies - from Albania and Bosnia and Herzegovina to Colombia, India, Kenya, South Africa, South Korea, Tunisia, and Turkey; it maps the diverse realities in which feminist actors operate, highlighting shared patterns of pressure, resistance, and resilience.
More than a publication, this toolkit is a living document: a flexible guide and a reminder that sustainable change requires care, strategy, and collective power.
Co-Authors: Akinyi Odera, Alma Sukić, Edona Bylykbashi, Joontae Philip Kim, Kealeboga Mase Ramaru, Luisa Rodríguez Gaitán, Mahassen Segni, Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman, Naida Kučukalić, Yonca Verdioğlu
Concept and coordination: Naida Kučukalić (naida.kucukalic@de.boell.org)
Product details
Table of contents
Introduction
Not Just Another Toolkit: Tools for Feminist Action, Care, and Resistance
Reclaiming “Resilience” Amidst Repression in SWANA, Mahassen Segni.
Chapter 1: The Mind Matters: Wellbeing at the Finish Line
- The Question We Forget to Ask: “How Are You, Really?”
- The Courage to Be Visible
- Circles of Support
- Balancing Guilt, Exhaustion, and the Need to Recharge
- Too Tired to Keep Going, Too Committed to Stop – Recognizing the Signs of Burnout
- The Complexity of Boundaries
- From Burnout to Belonging: The Power of Solidarity
- The Art of Mutual Care
We Were There: Feminists in the Making of the Albanian State, Edona Bylykbashi
Patriarchy, Politics, and Resistance: The Anti-Gender Landscape of the Balkans, Alma Sukić
Chapter 2: The Digital Shield: Staying Safe and Sound Online
- Introduction: Why Digital Safety Matters
- Reframing Digital Security – What Does This Mean?
- Digital Rights – Feminist Principles of the Internet
- Who Is Responsible for Protecting Our Digital Rights?
- Threats in the Digital Space
- Common Types of Digital Threats
- User Behavior
- Devices and Data Security
- Tracking Devices and Apps
- Shared Visibility, Shared Responsibility
Refusing Silence: The Many Faces of the Feminist Struggle In Turkey, Yonca Verdioğlu
India: Nationalism, Gender, and the Illusion of Empowerment, Mirza Zulfiqur Rahman
From Victories to Backlash: Feminist Movement and Anti-Gender Groups in Colombia,
Luisa Rodriguez Gaitán.
Chapter 3: Feminist Funding in a Shifting World
- Where Does the Money Go? The Funding Landscape.
- Tax (In)Justice in the United States
- Whose Crisis Is It?
- A Taxonomy of Crisis: Toward Better Preparedness.
- Feminist Response – Can You Fund Us Like You Want Us to Win?
- Recognizing the Boiling Point: A Strategy for Survival
- Values: What We Refuse to Lose
- Values as a Compass Toward Funding Strategies
- Alternative Allies, Alternative Funding
- Building Resilience: Feminist Leadership and Collective Power
- Forms of Power
- Power and Leadership
Against the Tide: Feminist and Queer Resistance in Southern Africa,
Kealeboga Mase Ramaru
Kenya at the Crossroads, Akinyi Odera
Rights on Hold: The Backlash against Gender, Sexuality, and Human Rights in South Korea, Philip Kim
ANNEX to Chapter 1
ANNEX to Chapter 2
ANNEX: USEFUL RESOURCES