Our Mission

The National Asian Pacific American Women’s Forum (NAPAWF, pronounced “NAP-off”) builds collective power with AAPI women and girls so that we can have full agency over our lives, our families, and our communities. 

In 1996, a group of 100 AAPI women came together to establish an organization that would amplify AAPI women’s stories and experiences. NAPAWF’s “founding sisters” recognized that the voices of AAPI women all too often went unseen and unheard. They founded NAPAWF to center our lived experiences within the broader public narrative. More than 25 years later, NAPAWF continues this mission by empowering AAPI women and girls to shape policy, influence cultural change, and gain agency over every aspect of our lives.

Today, with active members and supporters across the United States, we are mobilizing and building power to create social, political, and economic change for AAPI women and girls.

We approach our work with a reproductive justice lens.

Reproductive justice is a social movement rooted in the belief that all individuals deserve the resources and autonomy to make the best decision for their families and communities. A reproductive justice lens recognizes that each person’s lived experiences are shaped and informed by intersecting identities that can ultimately affect the choices they make about their lives and future, including having or not having children.

History