Feiru Ma

About Me

Growing up in Asian countries and in Asian communities, I have felt and experienced the impacts of the patriarchy, and how even girls and women can have unconscious biases and discrimination towards gender. Ever since then, I have been a passionate feminist. Especially as I have lived in Japan for the past few years, I have recognized that there are many hidden problems within Japanese society, such as the feminization of poverty and the stigma surrounding women taking leadership positions or any action that goes against cultural norms. This is why I created my initiative, U2Leader.

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Project Description

U2Leader is an online academy accessible to all girls to not only develop leadership skills but also leadership in sustainability. Our vision is to empower girls to become leaders in sustainable development while embracing their identity as a female, as women often tend to believe that the only way to success and leadership is by eliminating their feminine qualities. At U2Leader, our activities most directly relate to SDGs 4, 5, 10 and 11, as we believe that gender stereotypes must be challenged through improving leadership education and reducing inequalities for girls so that we can build sustainable cities and communities for the future.

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Achievements Since UNITAR:

"I have received a Certificate of Recognition from the Syrian Embassy in Japan in December 2022! This is because a refugee empowerment club I founded worked with the Embassy to deliver over 4,200 stationeries to rural schools in Syria after conducting a stationery drive and collaborating with the stationery company “PLUS”.

In addition, my club raised over 2000 USD for first aid relief for the Syria-Turkey Earthquakes."