Tea with Mama Cash

As anarchist activist Emma Goldman (1865-1940) said: If I can't dance, I don't want to be part of your revolution.

Conceptualised in Nairobi, Kenya by multidisciplinary arts collective The Nest, Strictly Silk is a party for and by women and non-binary people. And on March 7th, the first international edition of Strictly Silk will take place on at Radio Radio in Amsterdam to kick off the Mama Cash Feminist Festival!

We took the opportunity to speak to two of its founding members, Njeri Gitungo and Dr. Akati Khasiani, about the relationship between the arts and activism, how and why Strictly Silk got its start, and why women and queer folk reclaiming the dance floor is a feminist act.

Get your tickets: https://bit.ly/32tpwDM

More info on the Mama Cash Feminist Festival: https://bit.ly/2w9rTzz

More info on The Nest and Strictly Silk: https://bit.ly/3cfslMY

*Transcript forthcoming*

PS: Tea with Mama Cash is taking a spring break! After making more than fifteen episodes we want to reflect on what we've learned and how we want to move forward. Especially now, we'd love to hear what you liked about Tea with Mama Cash, what could be better, and topics you'd like to see covered. Get in touch via [email protected]!

The first 2020 episode of Tea with Mama Cash is all about the future! We're talking feminist utopias, dystopias, and what these imagined futures can tell us about the present.

For this discussion on all things speculative and social justice, Zohra is joined by two very special guests: Hakima Abbas, Co-Executive Director of AWID, and Geeta Misra, Executive Director of CREA.

Let us know what you think and what you want to hear more about or submit a #feministmishap of your own by getting in touch via our social media - @mamacash on Twitter, @mamacashfund everywhere else - or via [email protected].

Learn more about...

Mama Cash: https://www.mamacash.org

AWID: https://www.awid.org/

CREA: https://www.creaworld.org/

Even within feminist spaces, the regulation of sex work is a contested topic. So for this International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers, we invited two sex workers' rights activists to join us on the podcast: Velvet December, Advocacy Coordinator for Dutch sex workers' union PROUD, and Vera Rodriguez, Programme Associate at international fund for sex workers' rights activists the Red Umbrella Fund.

We unpacked about how sex work intersects with capitalism and patriarchy, recent developments in legislation and activism around the world, and what sex workers themselves want (hint: it's not the Nordic model).

Mama Cash: www.mamacash.org

PROUD: www.wijzijnproud.nl

Red Umbrella Fund: www.redumbrellafund.org

English Collective of Prostitutes: www.makeallwomensafe.org

Climate change is one of the most urgent issues of our times, and fortunately it has gained the mainstream attention it deserves. But one important element is missing from the conversation. To create a sustainable future for all, we need to talk about gender and climate change.

In this episode of Tea with Mama Cash, hosted by our Executive Director Mama Cash and our Programme Officer for Environmental Justice Erika Mandreza Sales, we dive into the sexist impact of climate change, and other hierarchies that influence who is making decisions that affect all of us, and who is most affected.

Want to learn how you can join us, and support the environmental justice movement? Sign up for our special newsletter series: https://tinyurl.com/environmentaljustice-mamacash

Transcript available via www.mamacash.org/en/tea-with-mama-cash-why-climate-change-is-sexist

October 11th is the International Day of the Girl. What better time to get on the line with FRIDA | The Young Feminist Fund?

We had a chat with FRIDA's co-Executive Directors, Majandra Rodriguez Acha and Nino Ugrekhelidze about stereotypes put on young people, how girls are organising to change the world, and our co-commissioned report published last year about girl-led activism, 'Girls to the Front.'

Learn more about FRIDA: www.youngfeministfund.org

Check out the report Girls to the Front: www.mamacash.org/en/report-girls-to-the-front

You can also listen to Tea with Mama Cash on Apple Podcasts, Spotify or Stitcher. Submit your own feminist mishap to us - as well as any other feedback, comments or questions - on Twitter @mamacash or via [email protected]. We'd love to hear from you!

September 15th is the International Day of Democracy. What better time to reflect on what democracy was meant for, how it's playing out on the ground today, and most importantly, what we might want it to be?

For this episode we invited two guests, who from their respective experiences lend us their feminist perspectives on the matter: Nandini Archer, assistant editor at OpenDemocracy 50.50, and Gina LaFour, volunteer at Stem op een Vrouw. So tune in for the tea on democracy, the rise of far-right movements, and equal representation of women in politics!

Questions, feedback, or a feminist mishap of your own to share? Find us on Instagram, Facebook or Twitter, or shoot us an email at [email protected]!

“Whoever convinced us that we are consumers? We are earthlings.”

On this episode of Tea with Mama Cash, hosts Zohra and Happy - along with our first ever guest (!), Chihiro Geuzebroek of Climate Liberation Bloc - tackle the question that many of us keep returning to: what do we do with the contradictions that emerge between our politics and our personal lifestyle choices? From plastic straws and public transport to makeup and diapers - how much do the choices we make about how and what we consume matter in the big picture?

Listen and subscribe here, on Apple Podcasts, iTunes, Spotify, or Stitcher!

Have feedback, suggestions, or want to submit a #feministmishap of your own? Get in touch via [email protected]

Special thanks to our guest Chihiro Geuzebroek, co-founder of our Spark grantee-partners Climate Liberation Bloc. Learn more about Chihiro's work at www.chihiro.nl

"Abortion rights, sexuality rights, sex work, all of it… we can talk about the way women’s bodies are used in an ideological battle that is patriarchy vs feminism, but I still come back to the idea that we would only know truly that we were free if we would feel it in our bodies, no matter what words are coming out of our mouths."

Earlier this month we launched the international campaign #MyBodyIsMine. And in this episode of Tea with Mama Cash, Zohra and Happy unpack that seemingly simple statement. Why is the body such a feminist issue in the first place? How do bodies play a role in the activism of women, girls, trans and intersex people? And in what way can we use our bodies to practice solidarity? All this and more, so tune in for the tea!

Do you want to join the campaign, and make your own statement? Then head to www.mybodyismine.com to watch the video portraits of eight inspiring activists, read the stories that have already been shared, and get your own temporary #MyBodyIsMine tattoo.

Happy is cringing, but that's exactly why this time on Tea with Mama Cash we're talking about BLOOD. Our Executive Director Zohra Moosa and Director of Programmes Happy Mwende Kinyili unpack the shame around menstrual bleeding, discuss the tampon tax, debate menstrual cups, and take a look at feminist activism re: menstruation around the world. Plus: tune in to learn why Zohra's pet peeve is the phrase ‘menstrual hygiene’ and why, as Happy explains, that’s related to - yep, you guessed it - colonialism.

Like what you hear? Please rate and review Tea with Mama Cash on iTunes! That helps us to reach more people.

Questions, comments, or a feminist mishap of your own to share? Reach out to us via [email protected]!

Shownotes

Learn more about Mama Cash: www.mamacash.org

Amika George and #FreePeriods: https://www.teenvogue.com/story/amika-george-21-under-21-2018

Protest of exclusion of women of a 'menstruating age' from a Hindu temple in India: https://womenintheworld.com/2019/01/02/women-form-385-mile-human-wall-to-protest-exclusion-from-hindu-temple/

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As we approach International Women's Day on March 8th - and so too the Mama Cash Feminist Festival - we ask some tough questions about engaging with arts, culture and media as a feminist. What does it look like to consume (often problematic) popular culture as feminists? How, if at all, can we relate to art outside of a capitalist framework of consumption and production? What makes art political, or feminist? And how exactly can art help change the world?

Tune in for the tea with your hosts, our Executive Director Zohra Moosa and Director of Programmes Happy Mwende Kinyili!

In the Netherlands on March 8th? Join us in Amsterdam, Groningen, Utrecht or Rotterdam for an evening of discussion, performances, and dancing. More information: mamacash.org/en/celebrate-international-women-s-day-at-the-mama-cash-feminist-festival