GENDER.ED - EUSA 2025 Undergraduate Feminist Trailblazer Awards: Second Prize Winner

2025 was the fourth year of the GENDER.ED-EUSA Undergraduate Feminist Trailblazer Awards. The awards celebrate outstanding contributions to feminist scholarship and activism within the University of Edinburgh community. We asked Thulsa Miqdaadh Moosa - who won second prize - to reflect on leading Girl* Up Edinburgh and the importance of finding and building feminist communities of solidarity at university.  

It is hard to put into words just how important the last three years at Girl* Up Edinburgh have been for me. Not only have I been able to dedicate time towards educating myself and others about the many humanitarian injustices faced by marginalized communities worldwide, but importantly, I have learned how to address it, mobilise it, and the power of solidarity. From the censorship of women’s voices, to the genocide of innocent civilians, to forced starvation, gender-based violence, misogynistic legislation, and the forcible displacement – the responses are not straightforward, and my greatest reflection is that solidarity is crucial.  

I count myself lucky to have met the most amazing people during my time at Girl* Up. To have worked alongside my fellow comrades and student activists, to fight against gender-based violence on campus, to raise thousands of pounds for charities that serve to protect important causes like reproductive rights, to say no to genocide and demand for an end to complicity through investment, to educate society and empower the voices that are forced into the margins. As we all should already know, gender equality is not an isolated cause. Whilst I believed it was my passion for gender equality that brought me to the society, I leave knowing that it was my empathy for the voices unheard, and the people unjust, that will always drive me to spaces of advocacy. Because until all of us are free, none of us are free – and it is only together that we can strive to make a difference.  

I feel incredibly honoured to receive the Feminist Trailblazer award, and it felt like the perfect closure to my feminist activism journey on campus, and with GENDER.ED as I will be leaving their Steering Group which I have had the pleasure of sitting on for the last 3 years, as representative of Girl* Up Edinburgh. I truly enjoyed the time I spent striving to empower the unempowered, because the least we can do from positions of privilege is to foster spaces that provide platforms for agency, change, and build community. Whether it be helping to start Brown Girl Soc, an undergraduate feminist book club, or Girl* Up Edinburgh’s very first podcast – or facilitating consciousness-raising events, campaigns regarding gender-based violence, Afghan women, and the liberation of Palestine – the memories I cherish most from these initiatives are the time spent working on them in solidarity with my team and fellow activists.  

On that note, I would like to share a word with those who have a passion to make a change: If you ever feel a the minority, or have a cause you believe is worth finding for – finding feminist and activist spaces are so important. It can be daunting to go to a protest for the first time, it can be hard to put yourself out there and meet new people, and it can be difficult to come to terms with un-learning what you have been conditioned to believe your whole life. But the minute you enter spaces of solidarity, and find like-minded people who want to make a difference – you will not feel alone. You will find ways to overcome your isolation, to take on your fears, to break down the barriers, to fight for what you believe in because you know you are not alone. Some of the best people I found at University, are the same people that I spent my University days working endlessly with to fight for what we believed was important.   

Author bio:  

Thulsa is a recent International Relations and International Law graduate from the University, and served as President of Girl* Up Edinburgh’s President for two years. She is passionate about advocating for gender equality, humanitarianism and climate justice. Reflecting on her experiences as a Maldivian woman of color has motivated her to promote greater awareness on the diverse experiences of marginalized people across geopolitical contexts.