Rebecca Dykes Writers Scholarship Fund

What happens when a writer loses her daughter to violence?

She tells the story.

If you have been affected by femicide or gender-based violence, we want to help you tell your story too.

The Rebecca Dykes Writing Scholarship to End Violence Against Women and Girls was created by author Jane Houng in honor of her daughter, humanitarian Rebecca Dykes , who was raped and murdered by a taxi driver while working for the British Government in Lebanon on projects for refugees and disadvantaged locals.

The scholarship is open to all writers of any genre or level who wish to explore gender-based violence in their work for children or teens, with special attention given to applicants of Middle-Eastern heritage, asylum seekers, and marginalized people.

Since the death of her daughter in 2017, Jane has dedicated her life to fighting gender-based violence, including opening Becky’s Bathhouse , a wellness center for refugee women and children in Lesvos, Greece and creating Becky’s Button , a panic button to be distributed to some of the world’s most vulnerable women.

Jane holds an MFA in Writing for Children and Young Adults from Vermont College of Fine Arts and it is her belief that sharing stories with young people—her story, Rebecca’s story, and the stories of other women and girls—is the best way to combat the ubiquity of gender-based violence.

:: Are you passionate about story as a tool to help end violence against women and girls? ::

Recipients of the Rebecca Dykes Writing Scholarship to End Violence Against Women and Girls will have all workshop tuition, room, board, and travel covered for the 2023 Rebecca Dykes Writing Workshop.

Should additional funds be available, we'd like to help support writers working to end violence against women and girls through their stories by either providing funds for other Highlights workshops, or similar kidlit workshops of their choosing.

Approximately $2500 covers one writer's expenses for this workshop.

$5000 would support two writers. If we raise additional funds, see below.

Our 2022 Rebecca Dykes Writers Scholarship Recipient

This scholarship was awarded for the first annual Rebecca Dykes Writers Memorial Workshop at Highlights Foundation in Pennsylvania, held in November 2022.

Azra Rahim is a Muslim Indian Afghani, born in India, raised in Iraq and an immigrant to the US. As a physician, writer, and Sufi practitioner, she brings her passion for change to the page and her infectious laugh and deep wisdom to the writers she spends time with. A delight to have at our retreat, Azra is the embodiment of a Rebecca Dykes Writer: a fierce advocate for women, her words are sure to have a ripple effect wherever they are read.

Her work-in-progress, Welcome to Womanhood, is a planned anthology / memoir that creates a space for women to share their own lives and experience in order to create guidance for future generations. The work is targeted to Muslim Desi women specifically and women in general.