The Women's Fund Asia (WFA) has launched a call for applications for the 2021-2022 Leading from South to support activism devised, implemented, and led by women, girls, and trans rights organisations in the Global South.

Leading from the South (LFS) is a special consortium created to resource feminist activism in the Global South, initiated by the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands (MFA). Through grantmaking, capacity building, and other resourcing, LFS will strengthen movements, networks, and organisations—especially their advocacy capacity.

The consortium comprises four women’s funds: three regional funds—African Women’s Development Fund (Africa and the Middle East), Fondo Mujeres del Sur (Latin America and the Caribbean), and Women’s Fund Asia (Asia)—and one global fund, the International Indigenous Women’s Forum.

Priorities

To effectively work towards achieving Goal 5 of the Sustainable Development Goals—working towards gender equality through empowering women and girls—in an expansive and sustainable manner, it is critical to have a framework rooted in the voices, experiences, and leadership of women, girls, trans, and intersex people. The programme framework is also rooted within the three main principles of the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)—substantive equality, non-discrimination, and state obligation.

WFA will prioritize grants that aim to address one or all of the following three objectives:

• Addressing all forms of violence against women, girls, trans, and intersex people and advancing their bodily integrity and autonomy.
• Protecting and ensuring full economic rights and justice for women, girls, trans, and intersex people.
• Expanding democratic space, sustaining inclusive governance, and equal participation of women, girls, trans, and intersex people.

The four women’s funds of this consortium have agreed to track outcomes related to the following indicators:

• Laws, policies, and strategies blocked, adopted, or improved to promote women’s voice, agency, leadership, and representative participation in decision-making processes in the public, private, and civic spheres;
• Success of CSOs in creating spaces for CSO demands and positions on women’s voice, agency, leadership, and representative participation in decision-making processes in public, private, and civic spheres, through agenda setting, influencing the debate, and/or movement building; and
• Strengthened capacity of organisations to advance women’s rights and gender equality.

Funding Information

Grants will range from USD 55,000 to USD 486,000 for a period ranging from 1 – 3 years. The grants are available in the following categories:

• Frontline Defenders grants (small-sized grants) for organizations working at community and subnational levels; the front line of defence against rights violations who are mobilizers of women, girls, trans, and intersex movements.
• Amplifying Voices grants (medium-sized grants) are directed to national and sub-regional organizations and networks working to advocate with key stakeholders and states to affect policy change, as well as campaigns focused on the human rights of women, girls, trans, and intersex persons. 
• Promoting Regional Feminist Agenda grants (large-sized grants) for cross-national, sub-regional, and regional groups and networks that are committed to advocating for state accountability, and to building the capacities, knowledge, and leadership needed to advance women, girls, trans and intersex rights. 

Eligibility Criteria

All applicants must fit the following criteria:

• Registration: Must be registered and based in one of these 17 countries: Bangladesh, Bhutan, Cambodia, India, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Malaysia, Maldives, Mongolia, Myanmar, Nepal, Pakistan, the Philippines, Sri Lanka, Thailand, Timor-Leste, and Vietnam. If you are from an unregistered group, you can apply as part of a consortium.
• Focus: Must have advancement of women, girls, trans, and/or intersex rights as a focus of their vision, mission, and programme. 
• Approach: Must be committed to feminist principles and rights-based approaches.
• Consortium Grants: In case the application is for a consortium, the board and staff lead and the board and staff composition of the lead organisation should comply with the criteria set out under the respective grant category. Additionally, the rest of the consortium members’s board and staff should be led by women, girls (ages 18-24), trans, and/or intersex persons and be based in one of the 17 countries. 
• Feminist/Women’s/Trans/Intersex Funds: Funds need to be registered and working in the region for a minimum of three years. They cannot provide sub-grants under the Leading from the South grantmaking programme, and can only apply for the Amplifying Voices and Promoting Regional Feminist Agendas categories.
• Individuals are not eligible to apply for this call.

For more information, visit Women's Fund Asia.