Our History
20+ years of progress to meet the changing realities of women and girls.
Since 2005, Womanity has evolved from supporting a single programme in Morocco to partnering with organisations across 9 countries in the Global South to advance gender equality. Along the way, we've tested new ideas, built lasting partnerships, responded to global crises, and continuously adapted our approach based on what we've learned from our partners and the communities we serve.
2005–2008
Where it all began
Womanity was founded in 2005 as the Smiling Children Foundation, grounded in the belief that investing in women and girls can create lasting change.
One of our first programmes supported young domestic workers in Morocco. As our work grew, we expanded into livelihoods, education and higher education opportunities across Morocco, Palestine, Israel and Afghanistan. These early years also saw the launch of our first fundraising events, helping build the long-term support that would sustain our work.
2009–2012
Investing in women's voices and leadership
Recognising that changing narratives is as important as changing policies, Womanity began investing in media as a catalyst for social change.
In 2010, we saw the launch of Radio Nisaa, the first women-led radio station in Palestine, giving women a platform to shape the conversations that affect their lives. It marked the beginning of our work to support women transforming media ecosystems across South West Asia and North Africa.
We also expanded our education work in Afghanistan. In 2011, we launched WomenChangeMakers in Brazil to strengthen women’s leadership, expanding the programme to India the following year.
In 2012, we became Womanity, marking a broader vision for our work to advance gender equality.
2013–2018
Building partnerships for systemic change
As our work expanded, so did our belief that lasting change requires collaboration.
We launched the Womanity Award (now Freedom from Violence) to recognise partnerships tackling violence against women and children, introduced Girls Can Code — a vocational course for secondary school girls to increase their digital literacy — in Afghanistan, and continued strengthening women-led media and social innovation initiatives. During this period, Womanity also gained international recognition for its philanthropic approach and growing global impact.
2019–2022
Responding to changing contexts
The years that followed brought new challenges across the communities and contexts where we work. We responded by adapting our programmes, supporting our partners through crisis and deepening our work where needs were greatest.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, we mobilised emergency funding to support partners working to prevent violence against women and girls as they adapted to unprecedented challenges. In 2021, following the Taliban takeover in Afghanistan, we pivoted our programme to focus on primary and community-based education, adapting our approach to protect access to education for girls.
Our media work continued to evolve, growing into what is now the Disruptive Media programme and expanding across new initiatives, formats and geographies. In India, we launched Her Ground (formerly Land for Women), strengthening livelihoods, resilience and opportunities for rural women. We also transitioned to a co-leadership model, with two Co-CEOs taking on the leadership of Womanity in 2022.
2023–Today
Shaping what's next
Today, Womanity continues to adapt alongside the communities and organisations we support.
We strengthened our education work in Afghanistan through teacher training and support to primary education, expanded opportunities for women storytellers and filmmakers across South West Asia and North Africa, and shared new research on violence against women and girls with global audiences. Throughout our journey, our commitment has remained the same: investing in local leadership and long-term change.
