“There is still a great deal of incredible and interesting research that can be carried out on feminism and religion: in addition to the tradition of Christian feminist theology, there is Islamic feminism. How do the different schools of thought within this field interpret women’s emancipation? How do the pious principles of orthodox Jewish, Christian, or Muslim women relate to emancipation?” asked Karin van Nieuwkerk, who is Professor of Islam Studies and a member of the NFRF’s advisory committee, which reviews applications. If you are a student or researcher and you would like to design a research activity that involves feminism, religion or gender, you can contact the NFRF.
About the NFRF
The NFRF was set up by the former Nijmegen Support Fund Foundation for Feminism and Religion (NOFR), which was established in 1991 to support education and research at the university that was associated with feminism and Christianity. In addition to Karin van Nieuwkerk, Mariecke van den Berg and Grietje Dresen are now serving on the advisory committee. “Although we obviously now interpret religion as a term that involves more than just Christianity, we do adhere to the original, emancipatory approach that is enshrined in the concept of feminism. This emancipatory approach remains a criterion when assessing applications.” Examples of funding that were granted in 2023 include payment of the travel and accommodation expenses that were associated with research on Frieda Gross (1876-1950), who was a pioneer of the sexual revolution and lived her life in a conservative Roman Catholic village in Switzerland. An application to finance the cost of visiting the digitised and non-digitised archives of the National Library of Kazakhstan could also count on support from the fund.
Which projects are eligible for grants?
The NFRF grant is for expenses that are not covered by the faculties. These expenses include those associated with attending a conference, issuing an invitation to a guest speaker, as well as publication expenses, travel expenses, etc. Salary expenses are not eligible costs. The maximum amount of grant per person is €2,500.
Applying for a grant
The NFRF issues two calls per year; the deadlines are May 1 and November 1. You will receive a response within a month after these dates. If you have any questions about this scheme or if you would like to apply for a grant, please contact ellen.doomernik [at] ru.nl (ellen[dot]doomernik[at]ru[dot]nl).