What does justice mean to you?📜

Hi Friend,

FRIDA’s office has always been virtual. This is before WFH became a common acronym since the pandemic hit and zoom fatigue became a globally recognized phenomenon. Since we have always relied on secure technologies, new moons and virtual signals to communicate as a staff, we begin all our meetings with a round of answering fun and thought-provoking questions. Curious about some of our work practises and how we make remote working fun? Click here to read FRIDA’s working styles and principles.

In a recent team meeting, we asked each other what justice means to us. Some of us shared poems, some of us doodled, some of us shared links to videos and articles that we always go back to. In this edition of the newsletter, we share some of our staff members’ responses on what justice means to them. We hope this sparks your inspiration quotient today.

What does justice mean to you? Tweet us your answers and tag us as @FRIDAfund when you do. We are eager to learn!

Until then, all our love
Team FRIDA <3

"It was difficult to imagine justice; our brains only seems to remember injustices," reflected Adity as she scribbled these words.

"I picked this poem by Gibran because it represents what justice is in our world today to me - rather than what justice should be," said Maryam. A loose translation of the poem is below:

and justice on earth makes the Jinn weep if they were to hear of it
and makes the dead laugh if they saw
because prison and death is for the small ppl who commit crimesand glory and pride and riches for the big people
He who steals a flower is looked down upon and despised
and he who steals the field is called brave
and he who murders a body is murdered by his action
and he who murders a soul people don't know about

Mayra selected Vivir Quintana - Canción sin miedo ft. El Palomar: a movement song that has become an anthem in the marches against femicides and disappearances in Mexico.

"Joy Harjo is pure inspiration for me and I always read her during rough times," said Valerie as she shared this quote.

"Justice = savage nature. Justice is for all beings to be able to flourish and thrive as they want to, to explore their potential and wild instinct and natural energies, in all our diversity and shape, color and form. Just raw life without unjust human-built barriers or harmful ideas that constrict and oppress us," reflected Majandra as she doodled this.

Deepa shared verses from her favourite poem Joy is the Justice We Give Ourselves by J. Drew Lanham

Joy is the justice,
we give ourselves.
It is Maya’s caged bird
sung free past the prison bars
holding spirits bound—
without due process
without just cause.

[Illustration by Diana Ejaita]

"I doodled the things that came up for me when I thought about justice. There were more questions than answers," said Paige as she drew this.

"When I think about justice I think about the ways in which we carry the weight of injustice in the core of our beings and the work we need to do as individuals and a collective to dismantle the systems that have caused us harm," said Darcelle as she quoted excerpts from the book she is currently reading: Oppression and The Body (edited by Christine Caldwell and Lucia Bennett Leighton)

"Justice for me is related to attentive decision making that considers the specificity and individuality in order to compose a diverse whole," said Leticia as she shared this doodle.

Mobilizing resources towards young feminist organizing is also a form of justice. Consider making a donation to FRIDA, the only youth-led fund supporting young feminist activism worldwide.