Y-WE is a youth space for joy, support, and combatting injustice

Young Women Empowered, also known as Y-WE, is a youth development organization that’s been around for roughly 10 years. Their mission is to cultivate the power of diverse young people to be leaders and changemakers.

RadioActive’s Sadeen Al Ziyad looked into how Y-WE uplifts youth, especially youth of color, through programs that offer skill-building, joy, and a sense of belonging.

[RadioActive Youth Media is KUOW's radio journalism and audio storytelling program for young people. This story was entirely youth-produced, from the writing to the audio editing.]

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he Y-WE space in Hillman City in South Seattle has shiny wooden floors and large windows. Y-WE serves girls, young women, and trans and nonbinary youth ages 13 to 26. Y-WE reached more than 750 youth this year through its programs, which are all offered for free.

I talked to Aya Zouhri, who works at Y-WE as a coordinator for the organization's tech program.

Unlike other tech programs where you just learn how to code and make robots, this program also focuses on how young people, especially young women of color, can navigate the tech field.

“This program focuses on folks between the ages of 12 to 18, and we also focus on folks who identify as women, queer, gender non-conforming and trans, in order to really create a space for people that, a lot of times, there are no spaces for them in the outside world, and make that [space] super intentional and feel really safe,” Zouhri said. "You can show up as the person that you want to show up as, and not who you feel like you have to show up as."

Zouhri said this program allows students to not only talk about their identities, but also brainstorm ways to dismantle the injustices they might face in the tech industry.

Y-WE programs are not limited to tech. There’s also writing, farming, swimming, horseback riding, and more.

I also spoke with Fatema Metwally, a co-facilitator of their theater program called Y-WE Speak. Metwally has been coming to Y-WE for three years. She started as a participant. Now, she helps run it.

“I was a participant, so I got to see it all the way through, and then give my feedback as a participant and implement it as a facilitator," Metwally said. "It was like a full circle moment."

I wasn’t a Y-WE participant like Metwally, but I wish I had been.

Growing up, people in my life treated me differently than my brother because of my gender. Sports were for boys. Playing outside was for boys. And girls were expected to be quiet — even invisible.

If I had a place like Y-WE, I could have learned to be proud of my identity as a girl. Zouhri and Metwally make the space that I wish I had.

Zouhri said working at Y-WE has allowed her to influence positive change, without feeling overwhelmed by systemic racism and sexism.

“Being in a space where I'm contributing to creative facilitation and joy, and gaining skills and knowledge for young people to be able to make decisions confidently in their future, feels like that place where I can hold the structural injustices, while also knowing and feeling like I'm making progress in my work.”

Women of color are the change agents of the world. According to a Tufts University survey done after the 2020 election, young Asian women, young Black women, and young Latinas are more likely to talk politics, participate in elections, and fight racism than their peers.

Having spaces specifically made for us allows us to combat injustices while cultivating joy and building a supportive network.

This story was produced in a RadioActive Youth Media Advanced Producers workshop for high school and college-age youth. Production assistance by Dayana Capulong. Edited by Diana Opong. Prepared for the web by Alayna Ly.

Note: The print version of this story was updated on September 5, 2023 to reflect a more accurate number of youth served by Y-WE. At the time Aya Zouhri was interviewed, the organization had served 550 youth in 2023. By the time the article was published, months later, the more accurate number was 750 youth. The audio version of the story was not updated.

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