Emergency support for Feminist NGO The Sistah Sistah Foundation is a Feminist NGO that seeks to further the rights of women,children and minorities through gender equal programmes created to educate, empower andprotect the groups we work with. An equal world is a safer world and through its programmes,SSF works to not only equip its groups with knowledge and resources but with a voice that willdemand equality and an end to oppression. At the core of all the organization’s work is thedeclaration that the rights of women are in fact inalienable, integral andindivisible to all humanrights and fundamental freedoms.

INCIDENT
On March 4, 2023 The Sistah Sistah Foundation hosted its annual women's march, which it has beenorganizing since 2019. March was in protest against the increasing Sexual Gender Based Violence againstwomen and girls in Zambia. As an intersectional organization, the march was open to All victims ofsexual and gender based violence. In the spirit of body autonomy protestors dressed freely, carriedfeminist placards with them while some carried rainbow flags. During the March, feminist and bodyautonomy slogans were chanted such as “No means No!” and “My pussy My Choice!” (also translated inour local languages). In preparation of all this, we also wrote to the Zambia Police to request a permit topublicly protest, which was granted to us.https://www.instagram.com/reel/CpaVOSxI3aE/?igshid=YmMyMTA2M2Y=Unfortunately, onlookers took pictures and videos of the march and spun a narrative to persuade thepublic to think that Sistah Sistah organized an LGBTQ+ protest which was untrue. Zambia is a Christiancountry that has homophobic laws and hence the LGBTQI+ are continuously persecuted. Protestorspictures were posted online with malicious intent, instigating sexual harassment and cyberbullying.Additionally, as a result of the media sensationalism around this topic, three of our team members werearrested and charged with the offense of unlawful assembly, public disturbance and providing police withfalse information.The discourse in the media space from political groups turned this into a politically motivated witch-huntto appease bigots. The police and social media blogs released the arrested individuals' private informationto the public, which puts their lives and families at great risk. While in custody the arrested members werebullied, intimidated, threatened withviolence and consistently denied their right to a bond. After the
release of the organization's members, the public chose to threaten violence against them, mobs organizedthemselves to burn down the homes of arrested individuals, one member had their home broken into and afew others were asked to evacuate their homes due to homophobic neighbors. One of the arrestedmembers was asked to drop out of university for her safety and evacuate her college boarding house.Nine members of the organization had to go into hiding for three weeks. All projects had to come to a haltas the organization was at risk. Hotels and other establishments terminated working contracts with theorganization for all its planned convenings. The CSO space has recently been an unsafe space for ourmembers, as Zambian organizations refused to come to the aid of our organization due to the refusal tosupport LGBTQI rights. The organization’s usualconvening space was compromised by someone withinthe CSO and so the foundation has resorted to convening in safe houses and online.

Sistah Sistah Foundation is an intersectional feminist organization in Zambia, ledby a team of young feminists all under the age of 30, working towards theadvancement and protection of women, girls, and minority rights in Zambia.Since 2018, Sistah Sistah has worked as a collective of intersectional feministsmobilizing online, and organizing for feminist movement building. In 2022, weofficially registered the organization to operate as a non-profit organization.

The Sistah Sistah Foundation hosted a women’s March on March 4, 2023 inprotest against the increasing Sexual Gender Based Violence against women andgirls in Zambia. The march was open to All victims of sexual and gender basedviolence, and protestors dressed freely while some carried rainbow flags. Duringthe March, we alsochanted feminist slogans such as “No means No!” and “Mypussy My Choice!” (also translated in our locallanguages). In preparation ofallthis, we also wrote to the Zambia Police to request a permit to publicly protest,which was granted to us.Unfortunately though, onlookers took pictures and videos of the march and spuna narrative to persuade the public to think that Sistah Sistah organized anLGBTQ+ protest, which is untrue. Protestors pictures are also being posted onlinewith malicious intent, instigating sexual harassment and cyberbullying.Additionally, as a result of the media sensationalism around this topic, threewomen, two of which are our team members, have been arrested and chargedwith the offense of unlawful assembly - this offense carries a maximum sentenceof five years imprisonment.
The discourse in the media space from political groups has alsoturned this into apolitically motivated witch-hunt to appease bigots.