By Iman J. Shaikh
In honour of International Women’s Day 2025, LSESU Feminism Society (FemSoc) organised a dedicated Women’s Week, beginning on Monday 3 March. Centred around the theme of ‘Accelerated Action: Resistance and Resilience’, FemSoc, in collaboration with various other societies from the LSE community, coordinated several events and activities open to all, ranging from games nights and crafting, to film screenings and discussion circles, culminating in the ‘Million Women Rise’ rally on Saturday 8 March.
To kick off the week, FemSoc co-hosted a Pilates Workshop with LSESU Pilates, followed by a showing of Smoke Sauna Sisterhood in a special edition of LSESU Film Society’s weekly film screenings, where members vote on a range of movies to watch grounded in an overarching common theme. That week’s theme was ‘women’.
The following days featured casual, activity-based social events, including a charity games night aimed at raising funds to tackle menstrual poverty, a Sip ‘n’ Paint session jointly organised with LSESU Crafts Society, and an informal Feminist Discussion Circle on Wednesday evening.
Of particular note was the Ladies’ Self Defence Workshop held at The Venue in collaboration with the LSESU Brazilian Jiu Jitsu (BJJ) Society on Thursday 6 March, which The Beaver was invited to attend. A dozen attendees sat intently focused on the workshop facilitator, Mithalina, a final year Social Anthropology student.
Having first ventured into BJJ as a form of self-defence, Mithalina is now in her third year of practising BJJ. “It can feel intimidating, and there still aren’t a lot of girls in the sport,” Mithalina explained, “but there are a lot of misconceptions. BJJ is great for those who are small-framed, as it’s more about grappling than pure striking power.”
Mithalina’s fondness for BJJ is rooted in an appreciation for the sport as an art form, where unlike other forms of martial arts, one’s strength or mass does not correlate to one’s proficiency in the sport—rather, it is one’s technique. Larissa, a student rugby player, commented on her appreciation for BJJ’s ability to bypass these physical barriers that girls may often face when participating in certain sports.
Another student, Anne, first attended a ‘Give-It-A-Go’ session held by LSESU BJJ at the beginning of the academic year. “Boys get into fights with each other at a young age, but girls will generally avoid being physical,” Anne explained when asked about her motivation for joining BJJ. “My father stressed to me the importance of self-defence and martial arts. It’s a universal skill, it’s not gendered.” Now a BJJ regular, she greatly values the boost in confidence and strength she gained since first playing in September.
Following the workshop, Friday saw a ‘Show & Tell’ event co-hosted by LSESU’s Literature Society, where attendees could share “artworks, pieces of poetry, literature works, or anything else that resonates with the theme of this week”. On Saturday, FemSoc joined LSESU LGBTQ+ Society in attending the annual ‘Million Women Rise’ rally to round off a week of finding community and building friendships—the core tenets of accelerating any calls to action.
