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Stories of Womanhood

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The power of a personal story

Stories of Womanhood, an initiative by Senior Fellows Sharona Badloe and Sophia Blijden, aims to show the power of a personal story. After the first successful edition of Stories of Womanhood in Amsterdam and a second edition in Hoorn, their Action Project evolved into a complete theatre series with an additional online platform that connects and empowers women to find their own voice. A third edition took place in June 2019, in Leiden, and a fourth edition in December 2019, in Utrecht. 

A workshop from the Amsterdam Fellowship inspired Sharona and Sophia to write a short play in which different women shared their perspectives on the concept of ‘womanhood.’ From this, Stories of Womanhood was born. At that time, polarization within academic and political discussions on feminism, sexism, and discrimination seemed omnipresent. Sharona and Sophia used this play to creatively to express not only themselves, but also give a voice to other women, and it felt like a needed  breath of fresh air. Through this project, they truly realized the connecting power of storytelling and that they wanted to show a different approach to the contemporary discussions on feminism and discrimination by using personal stories; personal stories that have the power to connect. 

Sharona and Sophia realized the power of storytelling and that they wanted an alternative approach to the contemporary discussions on feminism and discrimination.

Film, spoken word, storytelling, theatre, and music

The small theatre project grew into larger public theatre production, performed at Bijlmer Parktheater in Amsterdam. With the production, the two Senior Fellows use art to share stories and to provide a stage for women from a diverse set of backgrounds to tell their stories through film, spoken word, storytelling, theatre, and music. ‘Stories of Womanhood’ is a prime example of an initiative that supports women in finding their voice. Sophia and Sharona mention that they hope for visitors to leave the gatherings of Stories of Womanhood feeling inspired, empowered, and connected.

After a successful debut in Amsterdam, their Action Project evolved into a complete theatre series that connects and empowers women in finding their own voice.


For April 2020, a fifth showing of Stories of Womanhood was planned to take place in Rotterdam, but the organization recently announced that it was postponed due to COVID-19 restrictions. Follow Stories of Womanhood on Facebook and Instagram to stay informed of all of their activities coming up!