Malaysia
For more than two decades, sexual harassment in Malaysia remained largely invisible in law, despite being widely experienced in workplaces, universities, and public institutions. Since 2000, Women’s Learning Partnership has worked in long-term partnership with AWAM to change that reality by building feminist legal and advocacy infrastructure from the ground up. Through sustained leadership training, coalition-building, and legal expertise developed within the women’s movement – and maintained across multiple changes of government – AWAM helped drive a national push for reform. After a stalled legislative process in 2020, AWAM mobilized public support through nationwide petitions, digital advocacy, and direct engagement with lawmakers, ultimately strengthening key provisions of the bill. In July 2022, Malaysia passed its first Anti-Sexual Harassment Act, now protecting millions of women and girls. This victory reflects WLP’s distinctive impact: investing in long-term feminist capacity that endures long enough to change the law itself.
Turkey
When the February 2023 earthquakes devastated southern Turkey, Women’s Learning Partnership and its partner KEDV were able to respond immediately, because feminist infrastructure was already in place. Through a nationwide network of women’s cooperatives built over years of leadership training and economic empowerment, KEDV mobilized 78 women-led cooperatives, many led by Syrian refugee women, to deliver aid, open neighborhood kitchens, and support recovery in the hardest-hit regions. As emergency response shifted to rebuilding, KEDV established new Women and Children Centers, expanded cooperative-based livelihoods, and resumed large-scale leadership and economic literacy trainings reaching thousands of women. By investing in women’s cooperatives as engines of resilience, WLP and KEDV are demonstrating how feminist leadership enables communities not only to withstand crisis, but to rebuild with dignity, solidarity, and long-term power.
Indonesia
In Indonesia, Women’s Learning Partnership, through its partner WYDII, is strengthening democracy by building a long-term feminist political leadership pipeline. Ahead of the 2024 elections, WYDII trained 95 women candidates from 11 political parties, equipping them with political literacy, digital safety skills, and strategies for ethical, community-based campaigning. Eleven women were elected, while many others gained strong vote totals and lasting political experience. Over the past decade, 12 WYDII-mentored leaders have gone on to serve in parliaments and election oversight bodies, demonstrating the power of sustained mentorship. By pairing candidate training with youth civic education and a focus on integrity in public life, WLP’s impact extends beyond elections, helping women shape democratic institutions for the long term.
Nigeria
In Nigeria, Women’s Learning Partnership is strengthening women’s leadership on peace, security, and justice in communities affected by conflict and gender-based violence. Through long-term Women, Peace, and Security trainings with partners such as CEADER, WLP has equipped women activists to launch public awareness campaigns, support survivors, engage media, train community volunteers, and work directly with police and state authorities to improve responses to violence against women and girls. Over time, trainees have gone on to train hundreds of other women, establish multi-agency GBV case management committees, and mentor youth leaders, demonstrating how sustained feminist leadership development strengthens human security, democratic participation, and community resilience long after training ends.
Pakistan
In Pakistan, Women’s Learning Partnership, through its partner Aurat Foundation, is strengthening feminist leadership across media, public institutions, and policy spaces. Women trained through WLP have formed national networks such as the Women Journalists Association of Pakistan to advocate for representation and legal protections, influenced legislation including the enforcement of women’s political quotas, and led institutional reforms such as improving accessibility and safety in public services. At the same time, women leaders are mobilizing communities, shaping public discourse, and engaging in peacebuilding initiatives across the country. By investing in long-term leadership development, WLP is helping build a feminist ecosystem where women are not only participating in public life — but actively shaping the systems that govern it.
Senegal
In Senegal, Women’s Learning Partnership, through its partner GIPS-WAR, is enabling rural women to shape climate and land policy at the highest levels. Women farmers trained through WLP’s leadership programs have organized locally, connected to regional movements, and successfully advocated for the adoption of their demands by the African Union — embedding women’s land rights into continental policy frameworks. At the same time, WLP and GIPS-WAR are strengthening youth leadership and ensuring grassroots voices are represented in global climate discussions. By linking local leadership to regional and international advocacy, WLP is helping build a feminist infrastructure that transforms women’s lived experiences into lasting policy change.
Kyrgyzstan
In Kyrgyzstan, Women’s Learning Partnership, through its partner Bir Duino, is supporting women in environmentally affected communities to lead advocacy for policy change. In the Jalal-Abad region, women impacted by uranium contamination organized and successfully pushed national authorities to revise policies on toxic waste monitoring and land management. Across the country, WLP-trained leaders are advancing environmental justice, forming new civil society organizations, and influencing local governance. By connecting grassroots leadership to institutional change, WLP is building a system of feminist environmental governance that transforms community experience into lasting accountability.
Indonesia
Across Indonesia, Women’s Learning Partnership, through its partner WYDII, is transforming how universities respond to gender-based violence by building lasting feminist infrastructure on campus. Since 2022, WYDII has connected and supported a growing network of 22 universities, training students, faculty, and administrators using WLP’s leadership methodologies to move from awareness to institutional change. Within months of training, students launched campus initiatives, formed survivor support groups, engaged university leadership, and helped establish task forces and reporting mechanisms to combat sexual violence. Several universities have since received government recognition for their gender-responsive systems. By investing in student leadership, inter-university collaboration, and accountable governance, WLP and WYDII are turning campuses into spaces of democratic practice, and cultivating a new generation of feminist leaders equipped to drive change far beyond the university walls.
Kazakhstan
In Central Asia, Women’s Learning Partnership, through its partner Shymkent Women’s Resource Center (SWRC), is strengthening feminist civil society in contexts where civic space is shrinking. Through regional training and long-term mentorship, activists have gone on to train more than 900 women across eight countries, establish new organizations, and build cross-border networks advancing gender equality and human rights. In Kazakhstan, this includes the creation of new women-led institutions such as the Astana Women’s Information Center, expanding a critical but underrepresented sector. By connecting local leadership to regional collaboration and institutional influence, WLP is building the infrastructure that enables feminist movements to grow and endure.
Mauritania
In Mauritania, Women’s Learning Partnership, through its partner AFCF, is enabling women to move from community leadership to positions of political and institutional power. In 2023, all 75 women trained through AFCF ran for office and were elected, marking a significant expansion of women’s representation in government. These leaders are advancing legislative reforms, including protections against gender-based violence, while WLP-supported initiatives are also strengthening women’s economic independence, community leadership, and roles in peacebuilding. By linking grassroots leadership to political, legal, and social change, WLP is building a system of feminist governance that is transforming Mauritania’s future.
Brazil
In Brazil, Women’s Learning Partnership, through its partner CEPIA, is strengthening feminist and youth leadership to shape policies and laws addressing gender-based violence. WLP-supported advocacy contributed to the development and unanimous approval of Rio de Janeiro’s Municipal Plan to Combat Sexual Violence Against Children and Adolescents, with youth leaders playing a direct role in its design and public accountability. At the national level, CEPIA’s work has helped strengthen legal protections for women under the Maria da Penha Law. By linking grassroots leadership to policy reform and legal change, WLP is building systems that improve protection, accountability, and access to justice.
