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Toshi Haufiku (Marang)

Toshi Haufiku (Marang)

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Organisation / Affiliation: Women’s Leadership Centre
Languages: English, Oshiwambo, Afrikaans and Otjiherero

Advocacy Areas

  • Indigenous peoples’ rights
  • LBQ women’s rights
  • Feminist leadership
  • Arts, culture and storytelling for social change

Toshi Haufiku is a Namibian feminist activist, educator, facilitator and creative practitioner whose advocacy is rooted in belonging, healing and justice. She believes transformation begins when people feel safe enough to remember who they are and recognise their own power. Her work brings together feminism, creativity and community to create spaces where lesbian, bisexual and queer women, as well as Indigenous San women and girls, can reconnect with themselves, one another and their histories. Through storytelling, music and dialogue, she invites communities to imagine new possibilities while honouring the wisdom that has always existed within them. She dreams of a Namibia where every person belongs, difference is celebrated and diverse histories, identities and voices are recognised as essential to building a more just and compassionate society.

Background

Toshi is a Namibian feminist activist, educator, facilitator and creative practitioner with a passion for using art as a tool for healing, leadership and social transformation. Her work is rooted in communities that have historically been excluded from decision making, particularly lesbian, bisexual and queer women and Indigenous San women and girls. Over the years, she has designed and facilitated leadership programmes, creative workshops, community dialogues and advocacy initiatives that encourage people to explore identity, challenge harmful gender norms and strengthen collective power. Drawing on her background in education, she creates participatory learning spaces where people are not treated as beneficiaries, but as knowledge holders whose lived experiences are a source of wisdom and change.

Toshi sees art as a way for people to recognise themselves in one another, reclaim stories that have been silenced and imagine futures rooted in dignity and freedom. Alongside her facilitation work, she writes, creates music and uses storytelling to spark conversations around gender justice, belonging, healing and human rights.

She is especially passionate about preserving and amplifying the histories, knowledge and lived experiences of LGBTQI+ communities and Indigenous peoples. Her advocacy is grounded in the belief that reclaiming these stories is both an act of remembrance and an act of justice. She believes lasting change happens when communities are trusted to lead their own transformation and when creativity becomes a bridge between personal healing and collective liberation.

Areas of Expertise

  • Feminist facilitation and participatory learning
  • Creative storytelling, theatre and arts based advocacy
  • Community mobilisation and leadership development
  • Human rights advocacy, gender justice and movement building

Current Projects / Work

Toshi currently facilitates feminist leadership and community empowerment programmes with the Women’s Leadership Centre, working alongside Indigenous San women and girls and lesbian, bisexual and queer women across Namibia. She is also part of the Namibian delegation scheduled to participate in the African Feminist Forum in August 2026.

She is currently organising and producing music videos for Brave, an original album she curated to celebrate the love, freedom and autonomy of lesbian, bisexual and queer women in Namibia. Through music and visual storytelling, the project challenges harmful narratives while creating affirming representations of LBQ women rooted in joy, dignity and self-determination.

Alongside this, Toshi continues to use creative methodologies to strengthen dialogue, healing and collective action. She is also committed to documenting and preserving the histories, knowledge and lived experiences of LBQ communities in Namibia, recognising that visibility, memory and storytelling are powerful acts of resistance and essential to building a more inclusive future.

Affiliations

  • Women’s Leadership Centre
  • Young Feminist Movement Namibia
  • Pride Pop
  • Marang Fund
  • Indigenous peoples’ rights and community justice initiatives

Social Media / Website