Image courtesy of Exile Hub. Used with permission.

While women account for half the global population, they only appear in 26 percent of global news coverage, according to a September 2025 study by international communication rights organization WACC Global and UN Women. This lack of representation means women and girls are often overlooked in news coverage, and their voices and perspectives are left out of crucial stories. Feminist storytelling emphasizes the experiences and stories of women and girls, including those who have been historically marginalized due to their ethnicity, religion, or social status.

But feminist storytelling isn’t just about offering representation through mainstream media. A broad, more inclusive form of storytelling must engage in different forms of knowing — such as women’s oral traditions, songs, and community knowledge systems. This situates feminist storytelling within a deeper historical continuum of resistance. This approach helps not only to diagnose injustice but also to allow women and girls to envision futures for transformative movements, such as economies of care, equitable governance, and ecological sustainability.

Global Voices is partnering with ExileHub, an NGO that supports human rights defenders, journalists, and activists from around the world, to center and prioritize feminist storytelling through a fellowship program. This special coverage will also feature other works of feminist storytelling, both original and from other partners.