Allison Choong is a 20-year-old activist from Penang, Malaysia. She is pursuing a double major in Criminology & Justice Studies and Sociology at Drexel University on a fully funded Global Scholarship. She has been a finalist for the Canon Young Champion of the Year and Women of the Future Southeast Asia awards. She is an alumna of She’s the First’s Girl Activist Fellowship and a current member of the organization’s Girls Advisory Council. She enjoys using her voice to raise awareness about crucial issues affecting youth and marginalized communities.
The Girl Gazette is Here!
The latest edition of The Girl Gazette is here! This edition features a powerful poem about girls' leadership, an important essay about a patriarchal community, and artwork that encourages girls to end period stigma and feel good about their bodies.
The Girl Gazette shares girls' voices from around the world who work with our Partner Coalition organizations. Girls from She’s the First’s Partner Coalition express themselves through art, poetry, and essays about their experiences.
Girls Challenge Gender Stereotyping in Rural India
By Preeti Yadav, 14, a student in India with our partner Sahas Foundation
Girls have right to education, and they should be allowed to study just as boys, so that they can achieve their dreams. And if somebody does anything wrong, then we can teach them a lesson. This happened when our school was closed for vacation; there was bhagwat (a religious gathering where a saint talks about gods and their teachings) going on.
I asked my grandmother, “Can I go and fill the kalash (a practice where a pot is filled with water from a nearby river.) She said that girls can’t go that far to fill the kalash. So, I can’t go to the river to fill the water because it is far away, (previously) I can’t be sent to the school because it is far away. If a boy would have asked, no one would have refused them. This is one of the cases where rights of girls are taken away.
Thanks to Sahas, I got to go back to school. I’m in 7th class.
Preeti’s essay was also published in the September 2024 edition of The Girl Gazette, a biannual publication of artwork, poetry, and essays by girls in the She’s the First partner coalition.
A Force Untamed
By Sushila Giri, 18, Nepal, a student with our partner Shequal Foundation
In every girl, there's a leader inside,
She walks with strength, with grace as her guide.
In her heart, ambition ignites,
Guiding others through the darkest nights.
With wisdom's voice, she leads the way,
In her presence, doubts start to sway.
She doesn't falter, her flame burns bright,
Empowering others, she spreads her light.
In every girl, a force untamed,
In her leadership, the world is reclaimed.
Let's celebrate her strength and might,
She's the beacon shining in the night.
I am powerful, she proudly proclaims,
Leading with courage, she makes her name.
In every girl, this power resides,
With her leadership, the world abides.
Sushila’s poem was also published in the September 2024 edition of The Girl Gazette, a biannual publication of artwork, poetry, and essays by girls in the She’s the First partner coalition.
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.
Hot Off the Presses: The Girl Gazette!
Going Beyond the Book: Behind-the-Scenes of “Safiya Speaks Up”
We’re proud to launch of Safiya Speaks Up, a children’s book and mentor’s guide written by girls between the ages of 15 and 21 from the She’s the First’s Girl Activist Fellowship. This “tell-all” is a memoir of the stories behind the book, as well as the memories we shared throughout its creation.
Reproduce This! Art Contest By Girls, For Girls: CALL FOR ARTWORK INSPIRED BY THE THEME: MY BODY, MY CHOICE
She’s the First is a non-profit organization that teams up with grassroots leaders to make sure all girls are educated, respected, and heard. As the co-organizers of The Global Girls’ Bill of Rights®, we stand by Right #5, which states: “All girls have the right to comprehensive sexual education and access to free, quality, reproductive healthcare.”
To uplift this right around the world and rally girls together, our Girl Activist Fellowship’s Sexual Health and Reproductive Rights Committee, a youth-led group in STF, is hosting the Reproduce This: Art Contest. The theme of this Art Contest is "Your Body, Your Choice," and we will be accepting all types of visual art mediums (sketches, watercolors, color pencils, acrylic, oils, etc).
*The only eligibility requirements: being a girl* who is less than 22 years old!
The Reproduce This: Art Contest is an art contest hosted by girls, for girls, and will raise awareness for reproductive rights around the world in a SAFE way. All girl-centered and anti-oppressive entries to the Reproduce This: Art Contest will be showcased on our website, and if that's not enough... Selected entries will be showcased in two simultaneous GALLERY SHOWS located in New York City and Nairobi, Kenya, on International Day of the Girl, October 11, 2023.
Create a difference, embrace your talents, and sign up today! Submit your art today!
Use this link to commit to creating artwork (deadline for submission is August 15): bit.ly/reproducethissubmit
*gender-nonconforming, genderfluid, transfeminine experiences included!
Download the flyer here.
The Joy of Learning
Author: Aliza Puri, She’s the First Youth Ambassador
My grandmother learnt the first letter at 65
I remember her strive
To write her name
Thinking about how signing her name instead of thumb prints
Would be a changed game
For her.
I remember her eye beaming with pride
As she tried
To remember the letter and what they look like
And what they sound like
And I couldn't be happier for her.
My mom was married off in 9th grade.
The exchange of her education with household responsibility was not a fair trade.
Reading and writing Nepali is no big deal
But English is the real deal.
My mother can't understand my English poems
But she will still watch the whole video
And it has become a norm
For her to ask me for a translation
"K vaneko yo video ma Aliza?"
What are you saying in this video, Aliza?
But she is learning and even though she doesn't like to believe
At the age of 50 she is growing.
She is learning to read English
The words probably sound rubbish to her
She recently learnt to post her comments in social media
And she needs no body's help
Sometimes she may comment
"Beuteful" instead of "beautiful"
Under my picture
But I know what she meant
And I am proud of her
For me,
I love learning Maths and Sciences,
I love to read poems and stories in Nepali and english
I am amazed by learning how our body works in perfect coordination
How the systems in the earth work
And how this universe work
Thanks to the education that I have received
I learnt about the stars and sky
And the ants and fly
and moons and sun
and our heart and our brain
and men and women
and the rock and mountain
and the river and sea
and also about you and me.
But I also learnt that maybe you aren't as blessed as me.
And that makes me feel a little bit guilty
I feel greedy
For not being able to share everything that I have learnt so far
I feel angry
That sometimes those who can
Choose not to.
I hope someday,
All of us would learn about this amazing world, and our amazing body,
And amazing people in this world.
I hope one day,
All of us would learn and grow
Not just academically
But also as person
We will learn to be kinder and braver
And world would really be this amazing place
That I believe it is.
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 Poetry Month and the Global Action Week for Education.
Aliza Puri, 20, is a She's the First Youth Ambassador (and co-creator of the Power of Poetry campaign!). Currently studying medicine in Nepal, Aliza has been involved with She's the First since she was a student at our graduated partner Kopila Valley School! Aliza sees poetry as a creative outlet for her activism. Read her poem, "Dear World," 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.
If I Ever Have Children
Author: Adelia Khalid
If I ever have a daughter,
I will teach her to be brave.
I will tell her to be wise.
I will teach her modesty but I will also teach her pride,
I will tell her that her worth is not defined by,
The size of her lips or her hips or her eyes,
But of the honesty of her heart and the intricacies of her mind,
I will tell her to smile,
Because the world needs more smilers,
I will tell her to work hard,
Because sometimes she will have to work twice as harder.
I will tell her that there will be people who think that she doesn't deserve the things that she's achieved,
I will tell her that there will be people who will never believe what she has to say,
Never listen to her just because of who she is,
I will teach her that she is not just a supporting role in someone else's story.
I will tell her that she is more than just her body,
That she was not put on this earth with the sole purpose of satisfying someone else,
That she is not an accessory to a crime she didn't commit,
I will teach her to have empathy.
I will teach her that her existence is a resistance to those who disagree.
My daughter,
I will teach you to be kind,
But if someone touches you,
In a way you know they shouldn't,
I promise you,
I don't think they will make it home.
If I ever have a son,
I will teach him to be strong,
I will teach him to be gentle,
I will tell him that it is not a crime to feel,
That crying to human beings is just as important as watering is to a tree,
I will tell him that his worth is not defined by.
Muscles and emotions you think you have to hide,
And there is nothing wrong with liking the colour pink,
And that you are not excused from kitchen duties and dirty dishes in the sink,
I will tell him that people will expect too much of him,
And if it gets too much,
I will be there for him and tell him that he is more than enough for me.
There will be people who will tell you that you are inherently vicious,
When you and I know otherwise,
I will teach him that violence is never the answer,
I will remind him to protect his sister when
I won't be able to.
I will tell him that it is more than okay to say "I'm not okay" "I love you,"
I will teach you to be brave,
To stand in the eyes of hate,
Shout to the ears of wrong-doers,
Listen and let their victims tell their story,
I will teach him that his existence is a resistance to those who disagree.
I will teach you to be kind,
I will try to be kind,
But if you come home having touched someone's daughter,
In a way you know you shouldn't have,
Not even thinking if the same happened to me or your sister,
Even when I've taught you to,
I assure you,
You will no longer have a home to come back to.
If I ever have children,
I will teach them to love,
Until the world starts to do the same,
In the meantime, my child,
I will promise you,
I will love as furiously as I hope you do too,
So that when you get here,
You won't have to.
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 Poetry Month and the the Global Action Week for Education.
Adelia Khalid, 21, is the #1 MPH [the Malaysian bookseller] bestselling author of All Minds Are Broken. Growing up in Malaysia, she would be seen with a book wherever she went. Her love for books and reading moved her to start writing her own stories. Eventually, she wrote her debut novel at 17. She is currently pursuing her Degree in English Literature at Universiti Malaya. She writes songs and poetry in her spare time.