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This is a personal history of a feminist journey which began in the period leading up to the United Nations Fourth Conference on Women at Beijing in 1995. It offers a first-hand account that might also reflect the experiences of many other feminists globally. This experience of participation in the preparations for Beijing, and attendance at the Conference itself as well as the parallel Huairou civil society event, provided a high point and a catalyst for a lifetime of activism in the Middle East and North Africa regions. I reflect on the opportunities created, the challenges encountered, and the learning gained. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Welcome to I Gender & Development i 's issue to mark Beijing +25. In her context, women's rights and the rights of LGBTQI+ peoples remain largely unrealised, the basic rights to determine one's choices - including reproductive and sexual rights among many - are often denied, and yet the very notion of feminism is commonly disparaged and caricatured as a foreign agenda. Ulemu reflects on tensions between her generation of feminists and older generations, identifying young feminists' focus on sexual rights and the rights of LGBTQI+ individuals as areas of significant differences. While acknowledging the scepticism of many feminists about the UN's efficacy as a champion of women's rights, they also recognise the importance of the UN as a target and venue for transnational feminisms: while the UN and the procession of four World Conferences on Women played a significant role in feminist transnational organising of the time, perhaps the UN is not the appropriate focus any more. [Extracted from the article]