Kawther Ramadan - A researcher, storyteller, and the Executive Director of the Women for Justice Foundation, Egypt

In a recent interview with Voices in Exile, Kawther Ramadan reflects on a journey shaped by exile, resistance, and a commitment to gender justice that crosses borders. Ramadan’s work spans Canada, Egypt, and transnational spaces where civic freedoms are increasingly under threat.

Forced to leave Egypt in 2017 amid a widening crackdown on journalists and civil society actors, Ramadan arrived in Canada seeking safety and the ability to continue her work. The move, she explains, did not mark an end to her activism, but a transformation of it. Living in exile exposed the interconnected nature of struggles faced by Arab, Muslim, and racialized communities—both within democratic societies and under authoritarian rule.

At the center of her work is storytelling—not as a communications tool alone, but as a method of producing knowledge and influencing public debate. Ramadan argues that traditional research and policy frameworks often prioritize data while sidelining lived experience. Storytelling, she says, makes visible what statistics alone cannot: fear, grief, resilience, and the everyday impact of discrimination and injustice.

The interview highlights two projects that illustrate this approach in practice. Fearless Cities, a Canadian initiative, documents the experiences of visibly Muslim women and women of colour navigating harassment, surveillance, and restricted mobility in public spaces across the Greater Toronto Area. By centering these narratives, the project reframes urban safety as a gendered and racialized issue, offering insights relevant to municipal policy, urban planning, and anti-racism strategies.

The second initiative, Reclaiming Our Voices Through Storytelling, focuses on Egypt, where women from marginalized and rural communities face intersecting pressures—from environmental degradation and climate change to political repression and shrinking civic space. Through participatory storytelling, the project amplifies women’s leadership in climate advocacy, community resilience, and environmental justice, challenging dominant narratives that often exclude them from policy discussions.

Ramadan also speaks candidly about the risks of transnational activism. Even in exile, she notes, women human rights defenders remain vulnerable to harassment, surveillance, and online abuse. Navigating faith-based and conservative contexts adds further complexity, particularly when women’s leadership is questioned or constrained by social norms.

Yet the interview closes on a note of resolve. Exile, Ramadan argues, can become a space of political and intellectual re-imagining—a place to build new networks, methods, and solidarities. For women working toward justice from afar, she emphasizes that their voices remain essential, and that justice work does not end at national borders.