Doris Tulifau

Tulifau grew up in a Samoan family in San Francisco.^[2] Her parents are Samoan, but had grown up in New Zealand before emigrating to the United States.^[3][2] After Tulifau completed high school, her family moved to Modesto, where they purchased a church since her father was a pastor.^[2] She studied for a BA in Education and Psychology at Sacramento State University, and also studied there for an MA in Multicultural Education.^[2] She considered doing a PhD, but ultimately wanted to work within community settings.^[2][4]

Tulifau is the founder of Brown Girl Woke (B.G.W.), which she initially established as an online campaign in 2014; she then moved to Samoa in 2018 to expand the organisation.^[4] B.G.W. is a feminist group that supports women and girls and campaigns against domestic violence in Samoa.^[5][6] The group uses social media and meetings on college campuses to raise awareness of women's rights, with both men and women joining the group.^[3] As of 2023 there were regular meetings at National University of Samoa and The University of the South Pacific, as well as schools based initiatives.^[4] During the COVID-19 pandemic, the organisation received a donation of face masks to distribute to community members.^[7]

In the course of her career Tulifau has spoken out on how the Samoan customary law, ifoga, is not suitable for use in cases of domestic violence.^[8] She has also called on the Samoan government to have a zero tolerance approach to gender-based violence.^[9] In 2024, she attended the 4th Small Island Developing States Conference and Gender Equality Forum, along with Samoan government officials and other activists, such as Nadia Meredith Hunt and Adelaide Nafoi.^[10]

Tulifau is also a podcaster, and television and radio host.^[11]

Tulifau is a victim of gender-based violence.^[5] She has two siblings.^[12] Palusami is her favourite food from Polynesia.^[12]