The 91st PEN International Congress, held in Kraków, Poland in 2025, brought together hundreds of writers, editors, and human rights advocates united by a shared belief in the power of words to drive change. Amid this vibrant gathering, the PEN International Women Writers Committee (PIWWC) stood out as a driving force for progress, amplifying the voices of women and gender-diverse writers across every region. Their leadership at Kraków reaffirmed PEN’s long-standing commitment to equality, creativity, and global solidarity.

Throughout the week, the PIWWC engaged in panel discussions, working sessions, and collaborative forums that explored how gender and expression intersect in a rapidly shifting world. Delegates exchanged ideas on the future of advocacy within literature — from protecting writers at risk to confronting the structural inequalities that still define many creative spaces. The energy in Kraków was one of resolve and renewal, echoing PEN’s mission to defend freedom of expression in all its forms.

The Committee’s work culminated in the presentation of two landmark resolutions — on Gender Diversity Justice and Climate Justice — both of which were adopted by the Assembly of Delegates. These milestones represent not only the PIWWC’s expanding leadership within PEN, but also a deeper commitment to addressing the interlinked challenges of gender, climate, and creative freedom. The spirit of Kraków 2025 will continue to inspire the Committee’s work long after the Congress concluded, as PIWWC members carry these principles into their ongoing campaigns and collaborations worldwide.

Dr. Olha Mukha on the Role of Women in the War on Ukraine

Dr Olha Mukha delivered this POWERHOUSE address on the current situation in Ukraine and the necessary role of women as witnesses, as warriors, as writers, and as support for journalists at the general meeting of the Women Writers Committee, during the 2025 PEN International Congress in Kraków, Poland. As she said so eloquently, “Women are at the heart of everything…the very act of documenting, advocating, and caring—the core work of PEN, the work of writers—is powered by women’s empathy and determination. Ukrainian women are keeping the current of our culture alive. Their voices are irreplaceable. In the spirit of this Congress, and of our shared commitment to “Words of the Free,” let us listen to them, and let us not allow their work or their experience to slip into silence.” Dr. Mukha is a Ph.D., philosopher, researcher, editor, manager, and curator of cultural, art, and academic projects, expert on international communications and human rights. Programme Director of Ukrainian Association of Cultural Studies – Lviv; Head of Information & Education sector of Memorial Museum “Territory of Terror” (Lviv, Ukraine); Curator of Unseen Force project on NVR in Ukraine; Senior Strategist at IN2 (London, UK); Information Lead of World Executive Board of PLAST (Ukrainian Scouts Organisation); Founder and Director of “Culture Ambassador” initiative; member of the Women Writers Committee’s Advisory Board;

A special video message from Carina Carriqueo, writer, photographer, composer, activist, and singer of the Mapuche-Tehuelche Indigenous Nation, offering a singing and chanting ritual to call in the rain, at the recent Women Writers Committee’s panel titled Rooted Resistance – Indigenous Women, Climate Crisis and Ancestral Knowledge, 91st PEN International Congress, Krakow, Poland, 2025.

This panel, chaired by Mahi Ramakrishnan, president of PEN Malaysia, member of the Advisory Board of the WWC, brought together voices from across the globe to reflect on the disproportionate impact of the climate emergency on Indigenous women, while also celebrating their resilience, ancestral wisdom, and cultural practices that safeguard both people and the planet.

Born in Bariloche, Patagonia, Argentina, Carina Carriqueo is a writer, photographer, composer, and singer of the Mapuche-Tehuelche Indigenous Nation, and a member of PEN Argentina. She is dedicated to spreading her culture, where respect for Mother Earth is the foundation of her identity.

Batool Abu Akleen, Award Winning Gaza City Poet Seeking Support, Shares a Poem

Batool Abu Akleen is an award-winning poet, writer and translator from Gaza City, currently pursuing a BA in English Literature and Translation. At 20, her work has been featured by Modern Poetry in Translation, The Funambulist, The Olive Tree Journal, ArabLit Quarterly, We Are Not Numbers etc., as well as in several anthologies (Voices of resistance, Letters from Gaza, Gazans’s Narrations of the Genocide). She has been translated into several languages and has herself edited and translated into English Sea Shells, an anthology of emerging poets from Gaza. In 2025 she has published her first poetry collection, 48 kg, in a bilingual Arabic/English edition (Tenement Press, UK). She was the 2024 virtual poet-in-residence with Modern Poetry in Translation and is the recipient of Jean-Jacques-Rousseau Fellowship 2025 for writers in distress.

Batool Abu Akleen is currently still in Gaza and awaiting evacuation to France, where she has been accepted to study film at the Sorbonne Nouvelle.

You can help support Batool Abu Akleen’s studies in France by donating via the crowdsourcing platform Chuffed, started by The Funambulist editor Léopold Lambert. The goal is to cover her living expenses in France for two years, in the form of a monthly scholarship (having guaranteed means of support is also one of the conditions for her evacuation).

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