DEADLINE: April 28th, 2025 @ 11:59pm PT

DURATION: Early-August 2025 to late-July 2026 (12 months)

LOCATION: Initial in-person convening in New York City, then mostly virtual, a final convening in-person (location TBD)

The Afghan Feminist Leaders Fellowship brings together Afghan women and gender non-conforming persons to propose and build on projects and strategies, and lead efforts to enhance tools and structures that support the global movement to end gender apartheid in Afghanistan.

During this 12-month fellowship, participants will receive mentorship, opportunities to network with other civil society leaders, as well as lead their own initiatives within the framework's advocacy goal of ending gender apartheid in Afghanistan (EGA). 

This Fellowship kicks off with a two-day in-person (August 1-3) convening in New York City and meets virtually for the following 12 months. The Afghan Feminist Leaders Fellowship aims to build capacity and strategies to strengthen current global efforts to combat gender based discrimination and persecution in Afghanistan. The Fellowship will culminate in an attendance of a strategic convening around the issue of ending gender apartheid.

Fellowship activities:

During the 12-month fellowship, fellows will be immersed in workshops, frameworks and conversations in order to invest in the grassroots leadership of the Afghan community. You will receive:

• Opportunity to learn from and connect with other social movements and leaders

• Mentorship focused on developing your leadership skills

• One-on-one and group support for project planning and project implementation

• Collaboration with and opportunities to build meaningful networks with other feminist activists, scholars, and practitioners

• Invitation and connection to opportunities and events related to peacebuilding and EGA for you to attend 

• $750 stipend to support you or your project

Workshops

During the fellowship, you will be attending hybrid workshops covering a wide range of topics including:

• Writing and media narrative workshop: how to write effective op-eds, articles, and media features

• IGO frameworks: how do international institutions uphold, enforce, and codify human rights laws

• Strategy building sessions for policy solutions: identifying audiences and policy recommendations

• Community mobilizing + inclusion

• Power of community-centered narratives and other mechanisms to combat disinformation

Outcomes

• Publishing media pieces, articles, and op-eds in various publications

• Draft your own Public Narrative 

• Complete & launch a community-based project that supports communities impacted by gender apartheid in Afghanistan

Fellows responsibilities:

• Being committed, responsive and engaged throughout the entirety of the fellowship

• Can commit to at a minimum of 10 hours a month to this fellowship

• People who can attend an in-person convening in New York City during August 1-3 and a 12-month fellowship consisting of virtual meetings

We are looking for ideas that are impactful in the short-term but have a long-term goal as well. Examples of project ideas:

• Visual arts such as drawing, paints, films and other artistic ideas

• Collections of stories and narratives directed at policy makers

• Investigative works (example: combatting disinformation, economic/social/ humanitarian reports)

• Afghan-centered discussions regarding gender & Afghanistan’s political future

How we will select you:
After your submission, we will ask you for a quick phone conversation to get to know you further. We are looking for passionate individuals who are eager to learn and see themselves as part of the broader movement to bring real social change.

Who should apply:

• Members of the Afghan community who reside within the United States and are 18 years or older

• If you are passionate and committed to a better tomorrow where Afghans and other marginalized people are treated with dignity

• If you can commit to two in-person convenings throughout the duration of the fellowship, tentatively scheduled for August 2025 and mid February 2026

• If you are passionate about the movement to end gender apartheid in Afghanistan

Due to restrictive immigration policies, we are sadly unable to support folks applying from outside the United States.

About Afghans For A Better Tomorrow
AFBT aims to organize the Afghan-American community to bring about systemic change in the U.S. and beyond to ensure all Afghans have lives of safety, dignity, and freedom.