About
the project

Remarkable Women Who Move the World is a feminist arts project focussing on the lived experiences of women working in the public transport sector globally. We tell stories of how women overcome misogyny and exploitation every day to keep the world moving, while organising for change at the local, national and international levels.

Women transport workers move the world, and we are proud to be part of a project that helps empower some of those remarkable women and their unions, creating visibility around the challenges women face in urban mobility.

Our project is rooted in the labour movement and the proud history of women organising into trade unions to improve their lives and wider society. We work with unions in Brazil, India, Indonesia, Uganda and beyond to tell these inspiring stories.

Remarkable Women Who Move the World is funded by the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ), an agency of the German federal government, as part of the Transformative Urban Mobility Initiative (TUMI). It belongs to the TUMI programme Women Mobilize Women and delivered by the International Transport Workers’ Federation (ITF).

Since 2019, when the first edition was published, 165 people from 47 different countries have been featured!

The publication gives awardees a forum to share their perspectives on their work, visions and inclusive, sustainable transport to inspire a truly diverse generation of changemakers.
 
Together with ITF, we are proud to add numerous stories of women transport workers to this series, collected throughout 2024. Check out previous editions .

I have got a lot from boda boda riding. It has helped me pay school fees for my child, to look after my well-being and my home.

Boda boda rider, Uganda

In Her Words: We

we were the first                      to do it             to fight            to be part         of the commission                   we faced                      a strong rush    of hot air  our duty           bain that it is    quest that it is              that women     work together              attend              a male public               a female public              it doesn’t matter           what    matters            is willpower     blood pressure             your want and your potential               it makes             all the difference                      my name is Ms Tia       peace be upon you       air, sea or land             in your daily struggles             my name is Ana Cristina Bispo da Silva                  I have completed         five      chestless hours             in my journey               my name is Jucélia       I was a bus collector                       for thirteen years          the night          knows to inspire         my name          is Mrs Saskita               I learned how to                      be sensitive      when he was right        I congratulated him     when he was wrong     I criticized       I pursue my rights       it is not just our aspiration                     to show support          for women       with difficulties                        it is our duty    to make a vow             that you’ll be proud             of your daughters.

Poem composed by Dylan McNulty-Holmes, drawn from the words of remarkable women brought together by this project