What is the Feminesto?

The Feminesto is a call to action for feminist futures in precarious times. It brings together a shared vision: that feminist movements can , and have the responsibility to, shape the world we need, especially in a period of growing backlash and inequality grow.

It is grounded in a simple truth: progress is neither linear nor guaranteed. The gains feminist movements have made have been built, defended, and renewed through sustained collective action and they are fragile and dependent on our collective action.

The Feminesto invites us to:

  • stand firm against anti-gender backlash
  • centre justice and power
  • build a future where liberation, for all people and the planet, is not an aspiration, but a shared, lived reality.

Feminesto Methodology

The Feminesto is shaped by collective feminist imagination and intersectional analysis — connecting gender justice to Indigenous sovereignty, climate justice, racial equity, disability justice, queer and trans liberation, and economic justice.

Our approach is:

  • Collective: built through shared dialogue, solidarity, and interdependence
  • Intersectional: confronting patriarchy, capitalism, racism, ableism, colonialism, and extractivism together
  • Care-based: recognising care, respect, mutuality, and collective wellbeing as political practice
  • Accountable: moving beyond symbolic commitments to lived accountability and structural change
  • Living: designed to evolve through reflection, critique, and practice

Where was it created?

The Feminesto emerged from the ANU Gender Institute Symposium: Feminist Futures in Precarious Times (24-25 November 2025).

The Symposium created a space to connect ideas across movements, sectors, and generations and to name the urgency of this moment: the rise of anti-gender movements, democratic erosion, and the politics of exclusion.

This work is supported and amplified by the Persephone Network and National Foundation for Australian Women (NFAW), alongside collaborators and community.

The future of the Feminesto

The Feminesto is not a one-off statement. It is a living document — built to grow as conditions change, as new threats emerge, and as feminist movements build new strategies and solidarities.

Over time, the Feminesto will:

  • deepen its accountability and reflection
  • expand participation and consultation (especially youth leadership that is shared in power)
  • support practical pathways for movements, academia, civil society, government, philanthropy, and the private sector to act
  • continue to connect gender justice and climate justice — and insist that futures worth living are built through care and collective strength
Contributors (people involved)

The Feminesto is a collective effort, shaped through convening, dialogue, and collaboration across sectors and communities.

Core contributors include:

  • Yeva Avakyan Editor and Lead
  • Honorary Associate Professor Sally Moyle, ANU Gender Institute, and Chair, National Foundation for Australian Women
  • Emerita Professor Fiona Jenkins, ANU Gender Institute Director
  • Associate Professor Maria Tanyag, ANU Gender Institute
  • Brianna Delahunty Co- Founder, The Persephone Network
  • Akrti Tyagi, Co- Founder, The Persephone Network
  • Asha Clementi ,Co – founder, The Persephone Network
  • The Persephone Network – Cassandra Collective
    1. Khayshie Tilak Ramesh
    2. Hannah Fearnside
    3. Ananya V. Banerjee
    4. Sienna MacMillan
    5. Trinity Ford
    6. Cashelle Dunn
    7. Georgia Shakeshaft
    8. Laura Campbell