Feminist Activist Feature: Amanda Nguyen
FEMINIST sat down with Amanda to learn more about her activism journey and upcoming space mission.
Amanda Nguyen @amandangocnguyen
Amanda Nguyen is about to make history as the first Vietnamese woman and the first Southeast Asian woman to go up to outer space. Growing up, Amanda dreamed of becoming an astronaut, but her dreams were derailed when she was sexually assaulted while pursuing her degree at Harvard University. After this experience, Amanda became a champion for the rights of survivors, helping to pass sexual assault survivor rights in the United States and United Nations. She also ignited the Stop Asian Hate movement, was nominated for the 2019 Nobel Peace Prize, and is a 2022 TIME Woman of the Year. Now, Amanda is back on track to pursue her dream of flying to outer space in the upcoming Blue Origin launch.
What does being a feminist mean to you?
Being feminist means letting women live.
Live without fear.
Live with dreams.
Live to have access to the full human experience.
Congratulations on your upcoming space mission! Can you tell us more about what the mission means to you, and how the process of training and preparing for it has been?
This spaceflight means I get to honor who I was before I became a rape survivor. It has always been my dream to be an astronaut, but I gave it up after I was raped to fight for my rights and the rights of 1.3 billion other gender-based violence survivors accross the world. But once I passed the laws I decided I can honor the dreams I had before I was hurt. I've been a bioastronautics researcher at IIAS. That training has included academic and physical exams, like high g-force flights, space egress simulations, survival systems, and hyperbaric chamber tests. I want all survivors to know that your dreams matter. That they can still come true.
You’re about to make history as the first Vietnamese woman and the first Southeast Asian woman to go up to space! Why haven’t we seen more women in space, and what can the space industry do to improve this?
Undeniably gender based violence is a significant factor in why women have dropped out of the workforce, especially in STEM industries. It is my hope that I bring my community with me as I break the Karman line. I may be the first, but I won't be the last.
You have helped so many sexual assault survivors by speaking out about your journey as a survivor. How did your experience with sexual assault inform your activism journey?
I became an activist after I was raped, becasue I met a broken criminal justice system that was not trauma informed. My activism came out of an organic need for rights and no one was going to write these laws for me, so I wrote them. Sexual violence is inherently a crime about power, and I want all survivors to know that you are not alone, that it gets better, and that your voice has unbelievable power.
A bill that you created to help survivors was signed into law by former President Barack Obama in 2016, which was a major win for the feminist community. What was the process for proposing, drafting, and eventually helping to pass the Sexual Assault Survivors’ Rights Act?
Convincing the United States Congress to unanimously pass the Sexual Assault Survivors Bill of Rights meant sharing my story but also consistently convincing people that our rights mattered. The greatest thing that worked was radical empathy. Bringing constituents from all different walks of life to show that survivors can be anyone and come from anywhere.
Since then you passed the UN Resolution to recognize survivor’s rights internationally, tell us about this and the status of this profound resolution.
After 6 years of organizing, the United Nations General Assembly passed the resolution that my team and I drafted and advocated for. For the first time in world history, world leaders had to recognize rape as an issue important in and of itself. The resolution passed unanimously and now we are fighting for it to be legally binding through our Universal Jurisdiction treaty campaign.
As you gear up for your next adventure, how do you hope to continue creating positive change as the first Southeast Asian woman to go up to space?
The work continues until there are no more rapes, and until survivors all around the world have equal access to justice. We will continue to fight. I'm grateful for this historic opportunity to shine a spotlight on the work that we have been doing, and also show to all the southeast Asian women that we belong in the stars.
