What FEMENA does

FEMENA is a private non-profit organization founded in 2017 that supports women human rights defenders (WHRDs), their organizations, and feminist movements across the MENA and Asia regions, with particular focus on contexts where civic space is shrinking or closed and on areas impacted by conflict and extremism. Operationally, the organization is structured around three core program areas: the Yara WHRD Center (a self-care, wellness, and security resource hub for WHRDs), Protect & Expand Civic Space (a program addressing authoritarianism, fascism, and extremism, which includes the "Building and Sustaining our Movements" video documentation series and the "WHRD Voices" interview platform), and Violence Prevention (which comprises sub-initiatives on sexual and gender-based violence and restorative justice). The country-level advocacy footprint spans Afghanistan, Egypt, Iran, Syria, Lebanon, Sudan, Iraq, and Palestine.

The underlying "technology" is a publishing and documentation platform built on a WordPress website (femena.net) available in English, Arabic, and Farsi, supplemented by email newsletters, webinars, a multi-language social media presence, and video content. The organization produces thematic reports, country reports, public statements, and articles, and operates an ongoing webinar series. There is no proprietary software, API, or integrated technology product; the value proposition is delivered through human-expert research, advocacy, and convening rather than through a technology platform.

As a non-profit, FEMENA does not operate a commercial revenue model. Its operating economics depend on donations (the website includes a "Support Our Work" call-to-action) and likely institutional grant funding, both of which are undisclosed. The "customers" are beneficiaries (WHRDs, feminist movement organizations, civil society, media, and policymakers) who receive content and programming free of charge, rather than paying customers. Headcount is reported at 1-10, no funding rounds, leadership, or governance details are publicly disclosed, and no revenue or financial figures are available.

Name

FEMENA

Legal name

FEMENA

Website

https://femena.net

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

FEMENA is a non-profit organization that supports women human rights defenders and feminist movements across MENA and Asia through protection, advocacy, research, and the Yara WHRD Center resource hub, serving activists in countries such as Afghanistan, Iran, Syria, Egypt, Lebanon, and Sudan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Human Rights Advocacy and WHRD Support Services

NAICS

Human Rights Organizations (813311), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Gender Equality & Women’s Rights Advocacy (BPAGAFAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

Gender Equality & Women’s Rights (BPADAGAF), Domestic Violence & Abuse Support Services (BPAGAEAD)

Keywords

• Women rights advocacy
• Human rights documentation
• Feminist movement support
• Civic space protection
• Gender-based violence prevention

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

FEMENA is a non-profit organization that supports women human rights defenders (WHRDs), their organizations, and feminist movements in the MENA and Asia regions through programmatic areas including Protect & Expand Civic Space, Violence Prevention, and the Yara WHRD Center. The organization delivers advocacy, research, documentation, capacity-building, and self-care/wellness resources through reports, statements, webinars, video series, and a dedicated WHRD resource center.

Product overview

FEMENA is a human rights organization offering a portfolio of programs, publications, and engagement platforms focused on supporting women human rights defenders (WHRDs) and feminist movements in MENA and Asia regions. The core offerings include the Yara WHRD Center (a wellness and security resource hub), two main programmatic areas (Protect & Expand Civic Space and Violence Prevention), and content platforms featuring interviews, reports, statements, and webinars. The organization functions as an advocacy and documentation center rather than a technology product company.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Yara WHRD Center: A space for Women Human Rights Defenders (WHRDs) from the MENA and Asia regions to come together and learn about self-care, wellness, and security. It provides WHRDs with critical and up-to-date information from the region from a feminist perspective.

Products and services

• Yara WHRD Center

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Women's Learning Partnership (WLP): International organization supporting women's rights movements in MENA, Asia, and Africa through leadership and capacity building. Comparable to FEMENA's capacity-strengthening and movement-building mandate.
• MADRE: International women's human rights organization partnering with grassroots women-led groups. Comparable to FEMENA's movement-building and resource-program model for feminist movements globally.
• AWID (Association for Women's Rights in Development): International feminist membership organization supporting women's rights movements and resources for activists. Comparable to FEMENA's movement-building and feminist resource mobilization across regions.
• MENA Rights Group: Geneva-based organization advocating for detainees and human rights defenders across MENA. Comparable to FEMENA's advocacy, documentation, and protection of WHRDs in MENA.
• Kvinna till Kvinna (Woman to Woman Foundation): Swedish foundation supporting women human rights defenders and women's organizations in conflict-affected regions including MENA. Comparable to FEMENA's WHRD support and feminist movement strengthening.
• Karama: Arab-region organization focused on ending violence against women and supporting women leaders in MENA. Highly comparable to FEMENA's Violence Prevention program and MENA focus.
• Nazra for Feminist Studies: Egypt-based feminist organization working on women's rights issues and supporting WHRDs in the MENA region. Directly comparable to FEMENA's country-specific work in Egypt and adjacent MENA contexts.
• Front Line Defenders: Global Dublin-based organization focused on the protection of human rights defenders, including WHRDs. Highly comparable to FEMENA's protection mandate and global/regional advocacy approach.
• Urgent Action Fund for Women's Human Rights: Rapid-response feminist fund providing security and urgent resources to WHRDs globally, including in MENA and Asia. Directly comparable to FEMENA's protection and rapid-response role for WHRDs.

Broad incumbents

• FIDH (International Federation for Human Rights): Large international human rights federation with member organizations across MENA and Asia. Overlaps with FEMENA's advocacy and documentation work but operates at a broader, multi-issue scale rather than focusing exclusively on WHRDs.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

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

Frequently asked questions about FEMENA