Femmes For Freedom

What Femmes For Freedom does

Femmes For Freedom is a Dutch non-profit foundation (stichting) established in 2011 by Shirin Musa and headquartered in The Hague, Netherlands. It is dedicated to defending the rights of bicultural women in the Netherlands — women navigating life between Dutch and non-Dutch cultural contexts — with primary focus on marital captivity, forced marriage, and honor-based violence. The foundation combines direct legal casework, policy advocacy, public awareness campaigns, and cultural programming, and was designated a national expertise center on bicultural women's rights in 2015.

Its core outputs are not commercial products but services and advocacy instruments: legal representation and case support for individual beneficiaries, legislative advocacy (notably the 2012 criminalization of marital captivity and the 2023 Dutch Senate Law Against Marital Captivity), media productions such as the "Gedwongen Geloften" documentary, and cultural campaigns including "Mijn Kleding Mijn Keuze." The organization operates with a small core team of approximately six employees and runs service points in The Hague and, since May 2025, Utrecht. There is no proprietary technology platform or digital product described in available materials.

The business model is a non-profit funding model. The foundation holds ANBI status (Dutch public-benefit designation enabling tax-deductible giving) and sustains operations through diversified revenue from Dutch government ministry grants, private foundation contributions, and individual donations. There is no transactional customer revenue; beneficiaries receive services at no cost, and "customers" in the commercial sense do not exist. An international expansion strategy targets Europe, Australia, and North America, and founder Shirin Musa joined the Dutch Senate (Eerste Kamer) in September 2025, materially expanding the organization's legislative and reputational footprint.

Name

Femmes For Freedom

Legal name

Stichting Femmes for Freedom

Website

https://femmesforfreedom.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2011

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Femmes For Freedom is a Dutch non-profit foundation founded in 2011 and headquartered in The Hague, dedicated to defending the rights of bicultural women in the Netherlands through legal advocacy, policy work, and public campaigns against marital captivity and honor-based violence.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Women's Rights Advocacy

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Social Advocacy Organizations (8133)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Gender Equality & Women’s Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Gender Equality & Women’s Empowerment (BPAGABAF)

Keywords

• Women's rights advocacy
• Gender equality services
• Legal aid support
• Anti-violence campaigns
• Nonprofit foundation

Headquarters

HQ city

Den Haag

HQ country

Netherlands

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Government Grants and Subsidies: Femmes for Freedom receives funding from Dutch government bodies including the Ministry of Social Affairs and Employment (SZW), the Ministry of Education, Culture and Science (OCW), the Municipality of The Hague, and the Municipality of Utrecht. These grants support core operations and specific project activities.
2. Foundation and Fund Grants: The organization receives financial support from various private foundations and funds including Adessium Foundation, Oranje Fonds, Fonds 1818, Mama Cash, Dioraphte, Vereniging voor Vrouw & Recht, Laurensfonds, and Zonta. These grants fund project-specific work and organizational activities.
3. Individual Donations: The organization accepts monthly or one-time donations from individual supporters via its website, supporting its ongoing advocacy and service delivery activities.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

Femmes for Freedom provides free legal and social support directly to bicultural girls and women in the Netherlands facing forced marriage, marital captivity, polygamy, FGM, economic violence and honour-related threats, and runs the Vrouwenrechtswinkel Utrecht first-line legal assistance point. It complements this direct service with evidence-based research, policy advocacy, and structural lobbying at Dutch, European and UN levels (UN CSW, Council of Europe, European Parliament), and delivers lectures, workshops and training for professionals who encounter the target group.

Product overview

Femmes for Freedom is a non-profit organization that provides a multi-faceted approach to women's rights advocacy. The organization offers free legal and social support services as its core offering, complemented by training and advisory services. It runs various campaigns including 'Mijn Kleding, Mijn Keuze', 'Celebrate Love', and 'Brave Girls'. The organization also operates the Vrouwenrechtswinkel Utrecht for direct legal assistance and produces publications and documentaries such as 'Gedwongen Geloften' to raise awareness about issues affecting bicultural women. Services are delivered through direct support, advocacy work, training, and public awareness campaigns.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Free Legal and Social Support Direct, free legal and social support services provided to bicultural women in the Netherlands facing exclusion, power inequality, marital captivity, forced marriage, domestic violence and related rights violations. Women self-refer through the website's "ik zoek hulp" portal.
• Training and Advisory Services Lectures, workshops, training courses and debates sharing Femmes for Freedom's expertise on freedom from and violence against women, gender equality and women's emancipation. Bookable via the ZijSpreekt speakers platform or direct contact, and delivered to professionals, government bodies, municipalities, police, social services, NGOs and educational institutions.
• Vrouwenrechtswinkel Utrecht (Women's Rights Shop Utrecht) Physical first-line legal assistance point in the Overvecht neighborhood of Utrecht providing direct legal help to women in vulnerable socio-economic positions.
• Brave Girls Program Program under the Jong Gelijk alliance focused on strengthening the voice and equality of bicultural young women who want to be themselves.
• Gedwongen Geloften Documentary Documentary film produced by Femmes for Freedom and BNNVARA highlighting the struggle against forced marriage, marital captivity, marital exploitation and abandonment.
• Publications Reports, policy documents and educational materials on marital captivity, forced marriage, female genital mutilation and women's rights in the Netherlands.

Quantifiable outcome

• Criminalization of marital captivity in the Netherlands (2012) — first country in the world
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and major.

• Girls Not BridescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFemmes for Freedom is a member of Girls Not Brides, a global partnership of civil society organizations committed to ending child marriage. This membership supports the organization's international advocacy and knowledge sharing on forced marriage issues.
• Netwerk VN-VrouwenverdragcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of the Dutch CEDAW Network, working to promote compliance with the UN Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in the Netherlands.
• Wo=MencoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of Wo=Men, the Dutch gender equality and women's rights network, facilitating collaboration with other women's rights organizations in the Netherlands.
• Women Against Violence Europe (WAVE)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMember of WAVE, a European network focused on violence against women and children. Active participant in WAVE conferences and joint initiatives. Presented at the 27th WAVE Conference in Bucharest (2025).
• Renew Europe Group (European Parliament)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFemmes for Freedom collaborated with Renew Europe Group at the European Parliament to organize a hearing on the role of Europe in addressing marital captivity and strengthening protections for victims.
• Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFemmes for Freedom's work influenced the PACE Committee for Equality and Non-Discrimination to adopt the report 'Finding solutions for marital captivity' with a call for international recognition of marital captivity as a human rights violation.
• Vital VoicesmajorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFemmes for Freedom participated in the Vital Voices Global Leadership Awards in New York (2024/2026) and the Vital Voices Festival in Washington (2023). Vital Voices is a US-based organization that recognizes and supports women leaders advancing human rights.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Mama Cash: International feminist foundation based in the Netherlands that funds Femmes for Freedom. Comparable as a Dutch-rooted organization supporting women's rights and gender equality globally, with grantmaking to grassroots and advocacy organizations.
• Terre des Femmes: German human rights organization advocating for gender equality and against violence against women. Closely comparable to Femmes for Freedom as a European national NGO combining direct support, advocacy, and policy campaigns on forced marriage, FGM, and women's rights.
• WAVE (Women Against Violence Europe): European network addressing violence against women and children, of which Femmes for Freedom is a member. Directly comparable as a Europe-wide women's rights advocacy network with similar focus on policy change, training, and coalition building.
• Girls Not Brides: Global partnership of civil society organizations committed to ending child marriage, of which Femmes for Freedom is a member. Comparable as an international advocacy coalition working on forced marriage and gender-based violence.
• Atria (kennisinstituut voor emancipatie en vrouwengeschiedenis): Dutch knowledge institute for gender equality and women's history, based in Amsterdam. Closely comparable to Femmes for Freedom as a Netherlands-based NGO focused on women's rights, gender equality advocacy, and policy influence, with similar Dutch government and foundation funding.
• WO=MEN Dutch Gender Network: Dutch gender equality coalition network of which Femmes for Freedom is a member. Directly comparable as a Dutch umbrella advocating for women's rights and gender equality, coordinating civil society organizations and engaging with government on policy.

Broad incumbents

• European Women's Lobby: Largest European umbrella organization of women's rights associations, lobbying EU institutions. Comparable to Femmes for Freedom's European Parliament and Council of Europe advocacy work on gender equality and violence against women.
• Plan International: Global NGO advancing children's rights and equality for girls. Comparable as a large international NGO working on girls' rights, child marriage, and gender equality with both direct programs and policy advocacy.
• UN Women: United Nations entity dedicated to gender equality and the empowerment of women. Comparable as a global institution working on the same policy issues (marital captivity, forced marriage, FGM) at international level where Femmes for Freedom engages at UN CSW.

Regional players

• CoMensha: Dutch national coordination center against human trafficking. Comparable as a Netherlands-based organization addressing human rights violations affecting vulnerable women, including those from bicultural backgrounds.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/share.php
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/femmes-for-freedom

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Femmes For Freedom