The name “Fòs Feminista” honors the histories of the Haitian Revolution and Black liberation and the stories of all who live at the margins.
On 21 August 1791, thousands of enslaved Africans working on French-colonized land in the Caribbean rose up in a coordinated rebellion against their slavery. The rebellion sparked what would become known as the Haitian Revolution: a monumental moment in the history of Black liberation, as for the first time in history enslaved people led the colony into independence and towards the successful abolition of slavery. Saint Domingue was no longer, and the land was renamed, Haiti.
Naming ourselves is an act of self-determination. It is an act of choosing to remember what those who named us tried to make us forget. It is a process of weaving back the ties between ourselves, and the women who raised us and who led us here to ensure that their stories inform our future.
Over the past three years, the organization formerly known as IPPFWHR has undergone its own transformation in its decision to pursue independence from the global International Planned Parenthood Federation (IPPF) and build an alliance with two mission-aligned organizations, CHANGE and IWHC. This reform has been driven by a sense of urgency to create a model for our work that is responsive to the needs of our partners as they confront new challenges in their efforts towards sexual and reproductive justice both locally and globally.
In this critical moment, we are also called to give ourselves a new name—a name that acknowledges the leaders of our histories, symbolizes the blend of energies and histories prevalent in the current ecosystem of sexual and reproductive health and rights actors, and holds ambition and accountability for the vision we have for the future.
Fòs Feminista tells the story of an alliance between sexual and reproductive justice-driven organizations who refuse to forget. It is a name that honors the truth of our histories: that they are led by those at the margins, and that the margins of any boundary are powerful, and far stronger than the center when united.
The word fòs, meaning ‘strength’ in Haitian Creole, weaves us, as people across the Global South, to a shared history of liberations and revolutions. It calls us to amplify the truths that others have tried to bury, and center our knowledges, needs, and experiences as women, girls, and gender-diverse people.
The word feminista, or feminist in English, is used and understood across many languages, and unites us as women, girls, and gender-diverse people across the world in our commitment to sexual and reproductive health, rights, and justice. It unapologetically clarifies the side on which we choose to stand and the values of intersectionality and inclusion from which we choose to act.
Through Fòs Feminista, we see the realities and identities of partners reflected back at us. We see the dynamism, energy, and power in our movements. And we see the hope of an ecosystem of activists, health care providers, women, girls, and gender-diverse people that nurtures into being a re-imagined, just future for all.
