About the series
Care is everywhere. It exists in our language, our movements, our organising and our politics. We hear care being ‘resistance’, ‘political’, ‘radical’, and ‘collective’ among other things. Yet, we have not introspected on what these terms, paradigms, and waves actually mean to us as both individuals and as movement actors. Are we willing to explore the contradictions in our understanding of care as much as we rally around our shared take?
For instance, what changes when care is understood beyond an individual and capitalist framing? Who is included in and excluded from the “collective” of “collective care”? How do we practise care across disagreement, difference, and harm?
This virtual series invites participants to unpack and engage with feminist conceptualisations of care as a political strategy, a contested practice, and a shared commons.
All sessions, including discussions, will be conducted in English.
Who is it for?
- Global South-based feminists with experience in movement building in their respective contexts
- Activists with a preliminary engagement or interest in frameworks of care
Commitment
- Participants must commit to attending all seven sessions and complete mandatory pre-session assignments
- Time commitment of approximately 8 hours per week (spread across two sessions and pre-session readings)
- The sessions are intensive and require participants to engage with each other and in group work.
Schedule
Starting from February 13, 2026, two sessions will run once a week, every Wednesday and Friday (except for the last two sessions) from 4:30 pm – 7:00 pm Bangkok / 3.00 pm – 5.30 pm New Delhi / 12.30 pm – 3.00 pm Nairobi
Session 1, February 13: Our imagination of Care as individuals
Session 2, February 18: Decolonising Care
Session 3, February 20: The State and the Theft of Care
Session 4, February 25: Hierarchies of Solidarity and Care
Session 5, February 27: Platforming Care
Session 6, March 2: Care in the Context of Disagreement, Harm, and Precarity
Session 7, March 16: Grief, Loss and Care
Reunion (TBC)
How to apply:
Registration for the series is now closed.
Successful applicants will be notified by Friday, February 6, 2026.
Any queries can be directed to wgg@iwraw-ap.org
Session facilitators:
Kavitha Devadas, Programme Manager, IWRAW Asia Pacific
Kavitha has been working with IWRAW Asia Pacific since 2021. Her current body of work focuses on health, disability justice, political participation, and using CEDAW as a feminist tool for advocacy and movement building.
Hameeda Syed, Fellow, IWRAW Asia Pacific
Hameeda Syed (they/she) is a journalist, gender consultant, and co-founder of Dignity in Difference (DiD), an organisation resisting digital violence through tools, research, and advocacy in South Asia. At IWRAW Asia Pacific, they support communications, outreach, and logistics.
Guest Presenter: Dharini Priscilla, Independent Digital Rights Consultant
Dharini Priscilla is a researcher and consultant, based in Sri Lanka, focusing on gender and digital rights. Dharini’s work focuses on building safer and inclusive spaces for vulnerable communities by utilising the power of research, advocacy, and storytelling.
Guest Presenter: Dr. Sharmila Parmanand, Assistant Professor, London School of Economics
Among her many areas of interest, expertise and research, Sharmila explores the colonial histories and gendered logics that underpin development and humanitarian interventions. Her work also focuses on governance structures and knowledge practices in the contexts of migration, gender-based violence, precarious and informal labour, and poverty alleviation programmes.
Guest Presenter: Dr Ratnaboli Ray, Anjali Mental Health
Ratnaboli Ray is an Ashoka Fellow, trained clinical psychologist and mental health activist who is the founder of Anjali, a rights-based organisation based in Kolkata, West Bengal, which works for persons with mental health condition and or psychosocial disability.
Guest Presenter: Faith Njahĩra Wangarĩ, Zaidi Ya Misuli Resource Center
Faith Njahîra Wangarî (She/Her/Hers) is a feminist scholar-activist, researcher and disability expert with muscular dystrophy committed to research and community work guided by disability justice, feminism and anti-ableism. She is the Co-Founder and Co-Executive Director of Zaidi Ya Misuli Resource Centre, dedicated to demystifying, researching, and supporting those with muscular dystrophy.