Saida is a feminist and an accomplished international policy analyst with an established record in strategy development. Her work is anchored in an understanding of how overlapping inequalities perpetuate poverty among women, girls, and sexual and gender minorities. By dissecting these multifaceted and interconnected issues, she formulates comprehensive strategies that both inform policymaking and catalyse systemic transformation.
Her expertise spans the global sustainable development landscape, enabling her to translate emerging international trends into actionable policy insights. She excels in fostering collaboration and building bridges among a diverse array of stakeholders—from policymakers and community leaders to international organisations—ensuring that innovative concepts are converted into tangible results. This ability to connect individuals and processes at various levels exemplifies her dedication to effecting substantive change locally, nationally, and globally.
Through a multidisciplinary lens, she develops progressive strategies that harmonise gender equality and sustainable development. Her efforts are sustained by the conviction that equitable policy formulation necessitates an appreciation of both macro-level trends and lived grassroots realities. Renowned for her capacity to reconcile strategic vision with practical implementation, she remains unwavering in her advocacy for the empowerment of women, girls, and other marginalised groups, thereby shaping policies that foster inclusive and sustainable progress.
Saida served as Global Program Manager at Hivos Foundation, for the Free to be Me program, in advancing the social and economic rights of the LGBTIQ+ community; Executive Director of the Coalition on Violence Against Women (COVAW), an organisation that works towards elimination of all forms of violence against women in Kenya; International Policy Officer with the International Women’s Health Coalition in New York and the Gender Lead with Action Aid International for the Support to the Africa-led Movement to end FGM/ C program, among other senior level roles. When Saida was 23 years old, she co-founded the Young Women’s Leadership Institute (YWLI), an organisation created as a feminist centre of excellence for nurturing the leadership of young women and girls. She serves as a Steering Committee member of the African Women in Dialogue (AfWID). She provides strategy support and organisational development coaching to various young feminist leaders and grassroot feminist organisations in Kenya.
Saida holds a Postgraduate Degree in Gender and Transformation from the University of Cape Town and an MSc in Inequalities and Social Science from the London School of Economics and Political Science.
Through my work with grassroots feminist leaders and organisations, I have witnessed first-hand the remarkable power of transformative change. These groups, often operating in the most challenging circumstances, redefine resilience, leadership, and community empowerment. They create spaces where voices previously marginalized find strength and solidarity, where ideas are nurtured into actionable solutions, and where collective action becomes the bedrock for sustainable societal change. I believe by resourcing and empowering grassroots feminist leaders, we invest in innovation, inclusivity, and sustainability.Saida Ali