The Doria Feminist Fund (DFF) is a feminist fund founded, led by, and serving feminists and activists from the Middle East and North Africa region. It strengthens the ecosystem of feminist leaders, initiatives, and movements by leveraging financial and other resources, providing opportunities for capacity sharing, addressing root causes of gender injustice, responding to crises, and engaging in funder influencing and philanthropic advocacy. The Doria Feminist Fund believes in centering trust, care, safety, and security in its relationships, institutional policies, and practices.
We work to make sure that both new and established feminist groups in the MENA region have access to more and better funding to continue and develop their work, articulate their own priorities and produce local knowledge.
We introduce you to Zaha.
In the Arabic language, “zaha” is a verb that means to grow, bloom and blossom. It also means to shine or light up. It is the best expression for one of our best endeavours yet.
It is the result of a series of discussions, consultations, reflections and a collective thought process that involved a wonderful group of dedicated feminist activists, groups and organizations operating throughout the Middle East and North Africa.
With them, we have been united by love, partnership and a common struggle for justice and freedom.
Amid the exceptionally difficult times experienced by our region and people, we want for Zaha to be
a glimmer of hope, and the best example of the achievements possible when we come together
and create safe and warm spaces that stimulate innovation and hope. Zaha is the proof of our
continued struggle, togetherness and solidarity in the face
of tyranny, oppression, patriarchy, persecution,
discrimination, occupation and violence.
Zaha is the tomorrow we dream of.
It is a fruit waiting to blossom.
Zaha is our answer to the question:
“Where are the feminists in what is happening in our region?”
Here we are, bent on marching together towards
a feminist future of justice, freedom and joy.
The Doria Feminist Fund is a feminist fund that strengthens activists, institutions, and movements through grantmaking, capacity sharing, convening spaces, mutual solidarity and support. DFF ensures that feminist movements have sufficient and flexible resources to identify and determine priorities independently, develop and sustain their activism, produce knowledge by and for their constituencies, and advocate for the rights of all women and LGBTQI+ individuals and groups in their countries. As a feminist fund, Doria mobilizes financial, political, and technical resources from a wide range of funders, and engages in advocacy and education to build an ecosystem of donors that have an understanding of the political, economic, cultural, and social context of activists across the region.
Diversity and inclusion >
Solidarity >
Holistic Approach >
Sustainability >
Visibility >
Respect >
Co-creation >
Radical Trust >
The Middle East and North Africa region has a rich and dynamic history, vibrant and diverse cultures and deep traditions of feminist writing, activism and mobilization. While countries in the region are currently experiencing some of the most protracted conflictsand human-generated crises, funding for those serving communities in need and building more inclusive, feminist and just futures, is drastically lacking. Feminist leaders, organizers and movements at the forefront of building and advocating for more inclusive societies in particular do not have the resources they need and they are often under attack for the identities they hold and the work they do. The Doria Feminist Fund was founded in 2021 to address funding gaps at the national and regional levels and resource those advancing progressive change. While Doria’s vision has consistently been to “strengthen activists, institutions, and movements through grantmaking, capacity sharing, convening spaces, mutual solidarity and support”, its efforts have evolved in response to shifting dynamics and needs across the region. For example, the DFF began providing one-year grants to seed and support as many emergent groups as possible; as its funding base evolved, it has moved to offering multi-year grants when possible. Since 2021, the region has experienced multiple protracted and new crises, and natural disasters including the Palestinian, Syrian and Sudanese wars and earthquakes in Turkey and Morocco. The DFF has responded by developing an emergency response grant-making mechanism tailored to the needs in the region that offers crisis funding across the region, including Turkey where it had not previously done grantmaking.
The Doria Feminist Fund is governed by a Board of Directors who give their time, expertise and network on a voluntary basis. Day to day work is assumed by a small group of feminist consultants and advisors. Doria also relies on a core group of feminist organizations and scholars from the region to provide the much valued coaching and mentoring.
Mozn Hassan is an Egyptian feminist activist and founder of ‘Nazra for Feminist Studies’. She has received many awards, amongst them the Global Fund for Women’s inaugural Charlotte Bunch Human Rights Award in 2013. Hassan and Nazra were jointly awarded one of the Right Livelihood Awards, often called the "Alternative Nobel Peace Prize", in 2016 "for asserting the equality and rights of women in circumstances where they are subject to ongoing violence, abuse and discrimination” and the decision was made to dedicate the totality of this award for the creation of the Doria Feminist Fund.
