Pramila Bhul (left) at Reshma Kumari Nepali’s (right) tailoring shop in Haldyaam village. Early in Pramila Bhul's career as an elected member of the ward council in her village in western Nepal, she secured funds for a training program to help women to learn to become tailors and start small businesses. Reshma was one of the participants. (Photo: Rashik Maharjan/Oxfam)
Fighting for a Feminist and Gender Just World
The world around us
Every day, in every country in the world, women and non-binary people are confronted by discrimination and inequality. They face violence, abuse and unequal treatment at home, at work and in their wider communities – and are denied opportunities to learn, to earn, and to lead.
Despite progress in advancing women’s rights and LGBTQIA+ inclusivity, well-funded global movements under anti “gender ideology” banners are striving to reverse gender equality gains. Bodily autonomy is central to this progress, yet recent attacks on gender justice target sexual and reproductive rights, seeking to restrict access to safe abortion, contraceptives, and LGBTQIA+ rights.
The global economy, rooted in colonial legacies, patriarchal structures, and racial inequalities, concentrates wealth among transnational corporations and religious and political elites at the expense of the Global South. This unjust economic model accelerates ecological and climate breakdown. There is an urgent need for a feminist, just transition toward sustainable, equitable alternatives.
Yannick, Ivanka and Peter outside the Vanuatu Pride (VPride) office. Oxfam local partner organisation, VPride works in Vanuatu to advocate for policy change, equal rights for SOGIE-diverse people, to educate the public and reduce discrimination as well as to provide sexual health training and information. Oxfam acknowledges the support of the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program. (Photo: Arlene Bax/Oxfam)
Our Vision
We envision a feminist future of lasting gender justice and long-term transformation of all systems of power, where all women, girls, trans, non-binary people enjoy their rights and autonomy, living a life of dignity, safety, and joy in a just and sustainable world.
Our Mission
We fight patriarchy and inequalities to end poverty and injustices. We actively stand with and support intersectional feminist activism, leadership and movements in their struggles for the realization of rights, equality and justice for all.
Recognizing the interconnected systems of oppression, we commit to also challenge racism, colonialism, white supremacy, economic and ecological collapse and all other forms of injustice and discrimination.
Rangison Harugura is a project participant of multipurpose cash transport supported by Oxfam and PACIDA smilling at her home in Marsabit. (Photo: Andrew Mboya/Oxfam)
Our Values
We recognize that there is no economic, social, racial, and environmental justice or decolonization without gender justice. Feminist principles guide all our actions and interactions.
We speak truth to power and act with conviction for justice in our causes.
We put people power at the heart of everything we do. We build ‘power with’ by engaging in collective action and seek to expand people’s agency over their lives and the decisions that impact them.
We believe everyone has the right to be treated fairly and to have the same rights and opportunities.
We support and collaborate with feminist and LGBTQIA+ movements, partners and allies across boundaries in working towards an intersectional feminist future.
We examine our power and privilege critically and we take responsibility for our actions and inactions and hold ourselves accountable to the people we work with and for.
We embrace diversity and difference and value the perspectives and contributions of all people and communities in their fight against poverty and injustice.
Poasa (he/him), also known as Porsha, at the PRIDE farm that he oversees. The PRIDE farms project began after COVID-19 when food insecurity issues facing queer people in Fiji became heightened. Rainbow Pride Foundation, a local partner of Oxfam in the Pacific supported through the Shifting Power Shifting Voices project, works on addressing these issues as well as other socioeconomic and political challenges facing people of diverse SOGIESC in Fiji today. Oxfam acknowledges the support of the Australian Government through the Australian NGO Cooperation Program. (Photo: Alipate Laveti/Oxfam)
Our Three Strategic Goals
1. Amplify, support, and enable feminist movements and leadership
Everywhere we work, intersectional feminist and LGBTQIA+ movements guide us towards a just and equal future for everyone. We will respond to and be led by the priorities of women’s rights, feminist, and LGBTQIA+ activists, organizations and movements.
2. Advance feminist transformation and system change
Achieving gender justice requires a radical, long-term, and bottom-up feminist transformation, emphasizing systemic change. We will adopt a holistic, interconnected and multidimensional approach to dismantle patriarchy and end ecological collapse, climate breakdown, inequality, and poverty.
3. Center decolonial and feminist practice in our organization
Decolonization is intrinsic to achieving gender justice for all. Our sector comes from an extractive colonial history – hetero-patriarchal and racist in nature. Neocolonial dynamics continue to shape our sector’s work and approaches. We will evolve into an organization that centers decolonial and feminist practice by building on our principles and initiatives to deeply integrate them into every aspect of our work.
Nang Noy, Khmer community leader (Sesan River, Cambodia) and 3SPN Program Manager trains and coaches other women to advocate for community issues with local authorities. Recently, a banana company stopped pumping water thanks to provincial government intervention and their ongoing advocacy work. Oxfam acknowledges the support of the Australian Government through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). (Photo: Patrick Moran/Oxfam)
Our Campaigns
Whether it’s pushing back against laws restricting healthcare choices, protecting community spaces for free expression, or valuing care work and feminist economies, we are building a world where people and planet come first. Our three campaigns, Feminist Solutions for a Fair World, Hands Off Our Spaces, and Personal to Powerful, are tackling today’s challenging times head-on. Find out more:
Hands Off Our Spaces
Protecting public space, preserving our future
#HandsOffOurSpaces is about protecting the public space where feminists, LGBTQIA+ movements, and human rights defenders make change together. We want safer spaces and stronger feminist movements.
Personal to Powerful
The campaign for solidarity and bodily autonomy
Our rights are under attack. Women & LGBTQIA+ people face increasing threats, with harsher policies restricting bodily autonomy and fundamental freedoms. We stand in solidarity for our rights.
Feminist Solutions for a Fair World
#UniteForFairChange
It’s time for a feminist power shift! We want a future sustained by decolonial feminist alternatives, for people and planet.
Oxfam Global Gender Justice Strategy (2024-2029)
This strategy deepens our commitment to center decolonial and feminist practice. Supporting women, girls, and people of diverse SOGIESC is the most powerful way to drive change.
