Sister-to-Sister: Building Collective Power, Healing, and Feminist Solidarity

Marking the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM
Theme: “Towards 2030: No End to FGM Without Sustained Commitment and Investment”

Each year on 6 February, the world marks the International Day of Zero Tolerance for Female Genital Mutilation (FGM) a moment to reflect, recommit, and renew collective action toward ending this harmful practice.

In 2026, under the theme “Towards 2030: No End to FGM Without Sustained Commitment and Investment,” we are reminded of a powerful truth: we are reminded that to end FGM, commitment cannot be seasonal, and investment cannot be symbolic. Ending FGM requires long-term political will, sustained financing, and unwavering community-led action. It demands that governments, donors, civil society, traditional leaders, faith institutions, and young people move beyond declarations and into consistent, accountable action.

As we move towards 2030, our commitment must be measured not by statements made on international days, but by the lives protected, the girls educated, the communities transformed, and the harmful norms dismantled. Ending FGM is possible; but only if we choose, every day, to fund it, prioritize it, and stand with those leading the movement from the ground

Across Kenya, grassroots women are leading some of the most transformative efforts to end FGM/C, child marriage, and gender-based violence. They are survivors, sisters, mothers, youth leaders, and community mobilizers deeply rooted in the everyday realities of their people. They carry lived experience, cultural wisdom, and moral authority that no external intervention can replace.

Yet, despite their central role in social transformation, many continue to work in isolation under-resourced, under-recognized, and exposed to emotional, social, and physical risks. Their labour is often celebrated in words but neglected in practice.

It is within this reality and in alignment with the spirit of Zero Tolerance that the Sister-to-Sister Convening was born.

A Feminist Response to Isolation and Invisibility

The Sister-to-Sister Convening was designed as a healing-centred, feminist, and survivor-informed space that brings grassroots women leaders together not as beneficiaries, but as knowledge holders, strategists, and movement architects.

Rooted in the principles of African Women Rights Advocates (AWRA), the convening centered:

Feminist leadership and shared power
Healing and collective care
Community-rooted advocacy
Survivor-informed approaches
Sustainable and ethical resourcing
Intergenerational solidarity

Rather than reinforcing hierarchies, the space intentionally dismantled them. Every sister arrived as both learner and teacher, storyteller and strategist, holder of pain and carrier of hope.

For many participants, it was the first time they had been in a space where their full humanity, not just their activism, was acknowledged and honored.

We cannot achieve elimination by 2030 while frontline leaders remain invisible, unsupported, and exhausted.

From Individual Struggle to Collective Power

Grassroots activism is often lonely work. Women on the frontlines face backlash, emotional exhaustion, threats to safety, and financial instability. Many navigate these challenges in silence, believing they must be strong at all times.

The Sister-to-Sister Convening disrupted this narrative.

Through dialogue circles, reflection sessions, storytelling, and peer learning, sisters were able to:

Name their struggles without fear
Share lessons from their communities
Celebrate victories, big and small
Grieve losses collectively
Reconnect with purpose and joy

What emerged was a powerful shift from isolated resistance to collective power.

Sisters began to see themselves not as lone actors, but as part of a national ecosystem of feminist leadership working toward a shared vision: a Kenya free from FGM/C, child marriage, and all forms of gender-based violence.

As we mark Zero Tolerance Day 2026, this collective power is exactly what sustained commitment looks like in practice. Rooted in Legacy, Visibility, and Feminist Resourcing, The convening builds on years of courageous grassroots leadership, powerful survivor storytelling, and growing calls for ethical movement financing.

Sustainable change must be led by those most affected.

Healing as a Political and Feminist Practice

For survivors and defenders who work daily with trauma, violence, and loss, burnout is not a personal failure. It is a structural consequence of unsupported labour.

The convening intentionally created space for:

Emotional restoration
Trauma-informed conversations
Spiritual and cultural grounding
Rest and reflection
Collective affirmation

By prioritizing well-being, Sister-to-Sister challenged the culture of overwork and self-sacrifice that often defines social justice spaces.

Co-Creating a Shared Vision for Change

Through participatory sessions, Sisters collectively identified priorities for strengthening grassroots work, including:

Stronger community accountability mechanisms
Safer spaces for survivors
Improved documentation and storytelling
Youth-centered prevention strategies
Cross-county solidarity networks
Ethical and flexible funding models
Enhanced safeguarding systems

Most importantly, they envisioned a movement where no woman works alone.

A movement where information, resources, and protection are shared.
A movement where leadership is nurtured and defended.
A movement where frontline voices shape national and regional agendas.

ion on Zero Tolerance Day 2026

As we mark the International Day of Zero Tolerance for FGM in 2026, we issue a clear call:

Ending FGM is possible but only with sustained commitment and meaningful investment in grassroots women.

At AWRA, we remain committed to amplifying frontline leadership, centering survivor voices, and advancing feminist approaches that are ethical, accountable, and transformative.

The Sister-to-Sister initiative reminds us that when women are resourced, trusted, and supported, they do not merely participate in change.

They lead it.