Aliza Puri, an STF Youth Ambassador from Nepal, wrote this poem as a letter to the world from every girl who has been abused, who finds it hard to come forward and ask for justice because she is too scared and embarrassed—until she decides to fight for herself.
Yaneth: Defying Challenges to Pursue Her Dreams
In a rural Village in the Andes Mountains of Peru, 15-year-old Yaneth is taking a path that no one in her family has ever taken—one of Education, Leadership, and Empowerment. She’s determined to shatter the glass ceiling and break all preconceived perceptions that are built around girls like her. It's a story of Resilience, Bravery, and Hope!
Announcing the 2025-2026 Girl Activist Fellowship Cohort!
She’s the First is proud to announce our 2025-2026 Girl Activist Fellowship cohort! The Girl Activist Fellowship is an 18-month program where girls learn grassroots organizing skills by planning and executing their own campaigns for girls’ rights.
This year marks a special moment in the history of the Girl Activist Fellowship program: for the first time, we have simultaneous cohorts. While our 2024-2025 cohort finishes its last five months of experience, the 2025-2026 cohort is just beginning. By overlapping, these girls will have the opportunity to learn from one another from two sides of the same experience.
A Year of Impact: How We Built Girls’ Power Together Across the Globe
As we approach a new year, we’re looking back at all we accomplished in 2024 with the support of our community.
Our 2024 in a snapshot: building girls’ power in Nairobi, convening practitioners in Uganda, amplifying voices in Liberia, launching the Girls First Institute, and witnessing girls speak truth to power at the UN.
From local communities to global stages, these moments remind us of the unstoppable force of girls and their mentors—and the power we have when we work together as a movement to ensure girls have more agency in their lives.
A Letter to the Girls of She’s the First
She's the First Girl Leaders Discuss The Power of Girls' Education and Leadership
From STF Campus to STF Chapters: What You Need to Know About Our Name Change
Safiya Speaks Up! Makes Waves in Southeast Asia
Safiya Speaks Up!, the impactful children's book developed by five She’s the First Girl Activist Fellows, is making significant strides in Southeast Asia through the efforts of two of its passionate authors and advocates, Anya Legarda and Allison Choong. It was created to educate young girls about combatting sexual violence and using their voices. Since its digital publication last fall, mentors and parents have shared Safiya’s story with more than 3,000 girls across the globe.
5 Lessons for Girl-Led Activism
Welcoming the Newest Cohort of Girl Activist Fellows
Girl Activist Fellows Produce Pop-Up Gallery Shows with the Theme “My Body, My Choice”
Girl Activist Fellows from Kenya and the U.S. produced pop-up gallery shows with the theme “My Body, My Choice” for International Day of the Girl. Reproduce This! was a bi-continental art gallery experience produced by a team of girls, for girls. The fellows spent the last year in our program learning how to imagine, plan, and execute an activism campaign and these gallery shows were the result.
Girl Activist Fellows Write Children's Book to Help Girls Navigate Unsafe Situations
In Safiya Speaks Up, Safiya learns the difference between safe and unsafe touch and identifies three trustworthy adults in her life. The accompanying Mentor’s Guide provides additional information, context, and resources so that trusted adults can help girls understand Safiya’s story and how they can use the tools that Safiya used. This project was created, written, and illustrated by fellows between the ages of 15 and 21 across Malaysia, Kenya, the Philippines, and the United States.
Girl Activist Fellows Launch Power of Poetry Campaign
A girl with an education is unstoppable—but barriers like gender discrimination, poverty, and exploitation prevent many girls from reaching graduation.
Our Youth Ambassadors created the Power of Poetry campaign to amplify girls' voices about this issue for National Poetry Month and the Global Week of Action for Education. Girls aged 11 to 22 from Afghanistan, India, Guatemala, Kenya, Malaysia, Morocco, Nepal, Nigeria, South Sudan, the U.K., and the U.S. submitted their work.
