01
Bodily Integrity
Freedom from violence, access to youth-friendly SRHR, and autonomous decision-making.
ActionAid · Ghana · India · South Africa · Malawi · Kenya · Zimbabwe · Liberia · Ethiopia · Nigeria
Empowering 5,800 Voices. Changing the Global Future.
The Young Urban Women (YUW) Programme is a multi-national movement across Ghana, India, and South Africa. We secure bodily integrity, economic security, and equitable care for the next generation of female leaders.
I am a feminist leader — Global South at the centre
Young women organizing in the city
5,800
Young women organizing
9
Countries
12+
Years of programming
The Framework
The Human Rights Based Approach to systemic change.
Findings from our official baseline research define three interlinked pillars driving programme design across every country of operation.
02
Economic Security
Challenging exploitation, securing living wages, and transitioning from the informal economy to decent work.
03
Equitable Care Work
Redistributing the disproportionate burden of unpaid care through gender-responsive public services.
The Interactive Video Platform
The Evidence of Impact.
Watch our latest dispatches from the front lines of the movement across Africa.
"Austerity has a body. We are teaching those bodies to fight back."
Follow program manager Phindu Zaya Banda and activist Jessica Mandanda as they present Malawi's maternal health crisis at the Marrakesh People's Tribunal, tracing how IMF-enforced public cuts directly lead to deaths in unlit maternity wards. See how Whitney Heno and her Kenyan cohort fought back, using public participation to force their municipal government to build and equip a fully operating public maternity facility.
"Feminism isn't written in books. It is baked in community kitchens."
Step inside South Africa's Mamelodi and Tsakane townships. Meet ex-offender and drug-recovery leader Lungile Valencia, whose "Girls on the Run" campaign organizes young allies to protect mobile toilets in informal settlements. Witness how young women use scone-baking to demystify macroeconomic costing, and find out how the "Mantsha-Tlala Project" community kitchens provide vital care-economy relief to domestic workers.
"We are not waiting for a seat at the table. We are building the table."
Feel the electric energy of the Global Convening in Johannesburg as hundreds of young women roar the "Sister, Sister" chant. Learn how Boniswa Ka conquered her fear of public speaking to lobby municipal leaders, and how Pammy breaks down complex policy like the National Strategic Plan for GBV in our Feminist Parliaments.
"Ten Years of Building Grassroots Agency"
A dynamic, fast-paced compilation showcasing the history, growth, and methodology of the Young Urban Women Movement. See our shift from an isolated local development program into an organic, politically conscious, continental network of self-determining leaders.
"Who We Are: A Movement Shaping Urban Futures"
A visual journey of our identity, solidarity, and voice across borders. Tracing the core of who we are, this video features local activists defining our connection of struggles, concluding with a powerful on-screen definition by Wangari Kinoti (Global Lead for Women's Rights, ActionAid).
Institutional Partners
Become an Institutional Partner.
We are currently raising our next round of programmatic funding to scale these movements. Leave your details below to receive our full investment prospectus and schedule a direct briefing.