It was a profound honour to bring The Ages of Woman workshop to African Women’s Development Fund‘s Knowledge Circle, where feminist theory and lived experience converge. As a spatial designer for women’s shelters and healing spaces, I’ve come to understand that true empowerment lives in the intersection of physical environments and embodied practice.

This 45-minute movement workshop, among others during this 5-day forum, distilled years of designing trauma-informed spaces into a living architecture of feminist care. Just as I carefully arrange shelter courtyards to catch morning light for weary mothers, we structured this space to honor the body’s unspoken wisdom. The archetypes we explored—the curious Girl, creative Woman, nurturing Wise Mother, and visionary Elder—mirror the life stages I’ve designed for in orphanages and maternity or, sadly, prison wards, where every texture and sightline carries meaning.

What emerged was more than an activity; it became a mobile sanctuary. When a participant whispered that the movement circle felt like “the courtyard you built—where my body could finally breathe,” I recognized the throughline connecting all my work: whether through bricks or gestures, we’re creating spaces where women rediscover their innate architecture of strength.

AWDF’s principles of autonomy, dignity and transformation guided every choice—from the symbolic shells passed hand-to-hand (echoing tactile therapies in girls’ homes) to the closing ritual of stone-laying (inspired by birth room ceremonies). These elements formed what I call feminist infrastructure: the often-invisible supports that make healing possible.

As I move forward with new projects reaching to new vulnerable communities, I carry the lessons from this circle: that a well-placed silence can hold as much safety as soundproofed walls, that a collective exhale can reinforce like steel beams, and that every space—whether permanent or ephemeral—must first answer the question: How do we want to feel here?