Fueled by Women is a music compilation that is raising funds for two women-focused charities: 1) Nomi Network, which creates pathways to fight against human trafficking and equip women and girls with economic tools, and 2) the Center for Reproductive rights, which works globally in the court of law to maintain and advance women’s reproductive rights. 

The compilation, organized and curated by New Jersey native Sara Abdelbarry who fronts the project Teen Idle, features women artists covering a song by another woman or woman-identifying artist of their choosing.

The compilation was released on December 2, 2022 and available for purchase on Bandcamp. Cassettes will also be for sale and can be pre-ordered on the Bandcamp page.

The challenge in curating the compilation, and also the most worthwhile part, was to make a body of work that featured contributions from solely women. Sara found it soon became difficult to scout out more than a handful of female-fronted music projects in her area, and had to search beyond the borders of central NJ to make a full-fledged compilation. This difficulty also speaks to what the compilation is trying to foster: a musical space for women created and led by women.

The compilation features women-fronted bands and music projects from all over the U.S. (many from the tri-state area) and one from Australia. While Sara initially started the project during Women’s History Month and wanted to release it then, life got busy. To make the compilation the best it could be, the release date got pushed back months and months.

It’s a compilation created at a volatile time for many women, including what’s happened globally with women being targeted by oppressive regimes, in the U.S. supreme court regarding women’s reproductive rights, and further legislature designed to work against women and other minorities.

In collecting money for Nomi Network and Center for Reproductive Rights, Fueled by Women hopes to do the small part the indie music community can to help better several of the issues mentioned above.