Opening your computer, you find yourself looking forward to attending your first club meeting. Issues like misogyny, sexist online cyberbullying, and sexual harassment are still rampant in today’s society, even at Miramonte. A club that discusses these topics sounds fascinating, and you feel your excitement build as you click the meeting link.

The Miramonte Intersectional Feminist Association (MIFA) was created by juniors Zoe Moga and Anaya Budayr during the school year. According to the club presidents, MIFA’s first semester was very successful, with a regular turnout averaging at seven people.

Written in MIFA’s Instagram bio, they say “[their] purpose is to focus on growth and dismantling harmful ideologies at Miramonte”. They are one of the many clubs that have utilized Instagram as a platform to give members information about upcoming meetings and events. Regular meetings are held weekly after school on Tuesdays from 4:00 to 4:30 p.m. with the help of staff advisor Rebecca Promessi, Living Earth and Yearbook teacher.

“Zoe and I had the idea to create MIFA last year when we were discussing how the school didn’t have a club that focused on women’s issues. We both realized we were really motivated to make change in our community, so we started planning it all out then,” co-president Budayr said.

Typical meetings begin with a “get to know you” check-in question, followed by an outline of the rest of the meeting’s discussions. Then, prompts are introduced and everyone takes a few minutes to reflect in preparation for the coming conversation. 

“We talk about our own experiences or look at things we have witnessed in real life or online. An example of something we have talked about in a meeting is misogyny and treatment of women online,” co-president Moga said. According to member Aya Banaja, these discussions have been very productive since they talk about topics that aren’t mentioned often in society, such as sexual assault and rape culture and the presence of sexism in social media.

“I decided to be a part of MIFA this year because, as a new student at Miramonte, I wanted to find a group of students with similar beliefs and motivations as me, while allowing myself a platform for my voice to be heard,” junior Banaja said.

First semester was an evident success for MIFA, and they have bigger plans for the following one. The focus for the spring semester is shifting over to how MIFA can use the knowledge and discussions they have to enact change at Miramonte in regards to misogyny and double standards on campus. 

“This semester we want to try to implement change at Miramonte. We are looking to work with administration this year on addressing misogyny and sexual assault that exists on this campus for now we don’t have anything concrete plans but we are working with our club on ideas that we can turn into action,” Moga said. “Hopefully by the next school year we will have implemented something on campus!”

As the meeting comes to a conclusion, you say goodbye and leave the Zoom. Looking forward to the next session, you decide to open Instagram to look up MIFA’s account and find out when they’re meeting again.