Working group on Wellbeing
Pleasure is Power: Towards Fully Realising our Sexual and Reproductive Health, Rights and Justice
Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) are fundamental human rights that encompass more than just access to family planning. The Wellbeing Working Group addresses the broad scope of SRHR, emphasizing the necessity of integrating pleasure and positive sexuality into SRHR discourse and services.
Podcast on Awkward Conversations
Episode 1 | Pleasure and Stigma: Unpacking Reproductive Health Conversations
In the first episode, Iqbal Hossain, Sabrina Gacad, Shebana Alqaseer and Tasaffy Hossain, take a deep dive into the often-awkward conversations about pleasure, sexuality, and reproductive health. They explore the rights to pleasure and the challenges of navigating these discussions in contexts where sexual and reproductive health is still stigmatized.
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Episode 2 | From Traditions to Transformation: Exploring Pleasure and Consent Across Generations
In the second episode, Tasaffy Hossain, Sarah Kaddoura and Ana P. Santos, explore how cultural norms and generational perspective shape conversations around pleasure, consent, and sexual rights. Tune in to join a discussion on breaking barriers and creating spaces where pleasure and consent are openly discussed.
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Episode 3 | Breaking Barriers: Overcoming Shame and Stigma in SRHR Advocacy
In the third episode, Shebana Alqaseer, Shiprah Belonguel, Riju Dhakal and Shelani Palihawadana, tackle the impact of shame and stigma on sexuality and pleasure, and how these factors affect the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) advocacy. The episode calls for inclusive policies and offers recommendations to advance SRHR and make conversations about pleasure less awkward.
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Policy brief
Pleasure is power
Kathmandu, 2024
Download publication (210 KB, PDF-File)
Working Group Members
Iqbal Hossain is the Program Advisor at FES Bangladesh, where he coordinates gender justice work, as well as regional and national trade union activities. Prior to joining FES, Iqbal used to work as a lecturer at various universities. He holds an MBA and is the recipient of the 2024 Chancellor’s Gold Medal from the Southeast University.
Nandin-Erdene Oyunbileg holds a PhD in Medicine from the Mongolian National University and excels in public health, law and administration. She has served as General Director at Mongolia's National References Laboratory for Food Safety and as Deputy Director at the Health Department. Currently, she is the Head of Health Promotion and Disease Prevention at the National Center for Public Health, where she actively participates in professional groups and trainings to enhance her expertise.
Renee Magpantay-Tumaliuan is a Program Coordinator of FES Philippine, primarily handling gender justice, climate and energy projects for local and regional offices. She also supports programs on good work and fair economy. Renee works with civil society and other local partners to achieve the dream of a just transition to sustainable energy, highlighting intersectionality with gender justice, democratic resource governance and sustainable economy.
Sabrina Gacad is an Atlantic Fellow for Health Equity in Southeast Asia. She is also the founder director of Lunas Collective and the Chair for the Department of Women and Development Studies, University of the Philippines. She finds pleasure in defying patriarchal and capitalist regulation of bodies, identities, relations and individual and collective aspirations.
Shebana Alqaseer is a Filipino-Bahraini feminist working on gender and social justice through advocacy, research, policy reform, and feminist organizing. She holds a Master of Arts in Women and Development from the University of the Philippines and is a senior lecturer at the Department of Women and Development Studies.
Tasaffy Hossain advocates for gender and sexuality rights within the South-Asian feminist movement. Since 2010, she has led feminist leadership initiatives with Bonhishikha, focusing on social justice and inclusion. Her expertise spans research, strategy design, project management, and M&E, emphasizing feminist perspectives to challenge norms and foster inclusive dialogue and programming.
