A Woman Rises

By Punya, 18, India

In shadows cast by doubt and fear,
A woman rises, strong and clear.

Her spirit, fierce, a beacon bright,
Empowered soul, a guiding light.
With every stride, she breaks the chains,
Defies the echoes of old refrains.

In unity, her strength unfolds,
A tapestry of stories told.

No longer bound by biased views,
She paints the world in vibrant hues.
Her voice, a melody of might,
Resounds through every day and night.

In resilience, she finds her grace,
A symphony of strength, embrace.
Empowerment, a flame untamed,

A legacy by her name proclaimed.
Through trials faced and battles won,
A woman's journey's never done.

United, let our voices ring,
In empowerment, together sing.

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Punya is an 18-year-old teen who is driven by a fierce passion through various forms of creative writing, including poetry. Through her dedication to reading, writing, and learning, Punya has cultivated a deep curiosity about the world around her and a desire take a meaningful impact on the society. She was previously published by She’s the First as part of the Power of Poetry campaign.

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Artwork provided by British Library/Unsplash

Those Scars and Fallen Stars

By Mishika Kapoor, 19, India

Those Scars

The scars prominent

Fevering the skin into dominance

The splashes still alive

Burning my heart from inside

Bruised face I hide behind the veil

Cause no one will stand for my pain

My eyes rain heavily

But emotions go silent

If I speak out people will talk

Such are the words I hear on loop

Will I hide all life

Covering my face can I survive

The revenge was baseless

Denial was my decision

But it wasn't respected,

I was abused, and lashes were painted on my face

A small ego destroyed my existence

For them it was a joke

But my whole life will rot

They are laughing while I cry in pain

I won’t sit behind bars

It wasn't even my fault

The guilt will cry

Many more like me will come out with pride

I will voice against the wrong

Acid attacks are not cool at all

The bruises burns the heart

Ripping the soul deeply apart

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Fallen Stars

Sitting under the open sky

Gazing, as the stars fly

In the embrace of winters

Feeling frozen even around cinders

I think about the world

And my mind all swirled

A muse with the stars

The future bars.

My fallen stars

Jingling at my door while playing guitar

For I never wanted the story to end

YOU were a blessing to me, Oh Friend!

A magical spell so pale

Just like the fairy-tale

Of Prince, Princess and the Magic Hat

People said, ‘life isn’t like that’.

‘There are no wonderlands, no magic’.

But still I had dreams, such dramatic

My magic spell got shattered and frozen

Leaving just a soul completely broken

Which was mine, such a plight

Was the world right………?

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Mishika Kapoor is a 19-year-old student studying Medicine who has had two volumes ov her poems published. “Being from India, I have seen women go through a lot since my childhood. Women choose to keep quiet due to societal pressure, and this is what I want to stand up for. I think women are no less than men, and men have no right to violate women or their rights.” Mishika wants to motivate women to speak out and change this patriarchal society. She has been writing since she was four, and her poems have been published in various national and international journals.

Cultural Heritage

Author: Punya

The roots of Hinduism run deep 
 and strong, 
A heritage of centuries, 
         a tale so long. 
       From the banks of the Ganges to the southern seas, 
    The essence of Hinduism shines with a brilliant gleam.
       In the halls of temples and the offerings made,
   In the chant of the mantras and the puja parade, 
   In the colorful festivals and the sacred dances, 
   Lies the heart of Hinduism, its cultural prances.
The myths and legends, the stories so grand, 
   Of gods and goddesses, holy and bland.     

     From the mighty Vishnu to the fierce Kali,                   
    The stories of Hinduism are woven so lively.
The moral teachings, 
   the philosophy divine, In the scriptures of Hinduism, so sublime. 
     From the Vedas to the Bhagavad Gita,   The wisdom of Hinduism shines so brighter.
        The art and architecture, the music and song, 
     The rich cultural heritage of Hinduism belongs. 
    From the Ajanta caves to the sculptures of Khajuraho, 
   The beauty of Hinduism is on full display, don't you know?
    So let us cherish and preserve this rich tale, Of Hinduism's heritage, 
    beyond time and scale. 
  For it is a part of our identity and pride, 
    A cultural heritage that we should keep by our side.

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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 Global Action Week for Education.

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Punya is a 17-year-old teen from India who is keen and passionate about public speaking, writing and reading. She is a self-proclaimed "eco-freak" as well.

How the Girls' Bill of Rights Lives On -- One Year Later

Author: Vishaka Agrawal
Contributors: Faith Nwando, Genevieve (Jenny) Niwenambaza, & Claris Nadini

Around the world, having explicit documentation of major policies and laws help ensure consent and set expectations. So having the Global Girls’ Bill of Rights officially documented makes us feel more empowered than ever.

The bill, which was passed at the United Nations HQ and with UN Women in October 2019 on the International Day of the Girl, was co-organized by She’s the First, Akili Dada in Kenya, and MAIA Impact in Guatemala, and it can be used as a reference by any girl around the world to demand their rights. 

One year later, we still have a long way to go in terms of the implementations of the rights featured within smaller communities, but we feel extremely fortunate that we could take this very crucial step towards a fairer, more inclusive world. Throughout the experience, we met really inspiring girl advocates and had the opportunity to represent the voice of girls from more than 30 countries. Helping draft the bill and sharing ideas with panelists from 15 different communities (and across timezones) was a proud experience. 

“The bill reaching governments of all countries will mean impact across more local communities where the majority of discrimination happens.”

The Global Girls’ Bill of Rights is the first step to ensure that girls are not denied their basic rights, and it is also a step towards achieving the potentially less obvious rights like the right to pursue STEM and representation in leadership roles. The bill reaching governments of all countries will mean impact across more local communities where the majority of discrimination happens.

We also request social media followers and influencers, global leaders, and students to help us widen our reach and amplify the impact of the bill, because it is easy to take for granted these rights when we are privileged and do not see the social problems that exist even in our own institutions. 

Vishakha (left) and Faith (right) at the UN

Alongside myself, fellow girl activists Faith, Claris and Jenny were also part of the panel that worked on the wording of the bill and finalized the final ten rights. Faith and I were two of six girls to present the bill to the Deputy Secretary General of the United Nations. Later that day, we had an interview with NPR. The two of us also spoke at the annual She’s the First Summit, where I talked about inclusion in STEM (being a girl in computer science myself) and Faith introduced one of our guest speakers Isha Sesay who reported about the missing girls in Nigeria (especially with the issue being very close to Faith’s heart). 

Since launching the bill, it has impacted our own engagement across our campuses. I came back to India after the event and started the first Women in Computing chapter of my college which now has more than 300 active members. This paper in Nature, a top-tier science journal shows that women are only rarely featured as the first or last author in leading journals, so now I organize research-themed events to facilitate discussions between faculty researchers and female students to expose them to the research community. 

The right to education was the most important part of the bill for Faith. Where she lives in Maine, there is a large population of immigrants from Salmi and most kids are non-English speakers. Today, she regularly takes part in touring local high school students around, since the teachers face difficulties supporting the needs of all the students. 

Moving forward, we want to make sure that every girl is aware that the Girls’ Bill of Rights was passed at a global level, in a way that supports their rights, so that they can demand it without any hesitation. No one should be denied these basic rights. Striving tirelessly towards a better, more inclusive world is a responsibility of every citizen. 

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About the author: Vishakha Agrawal is a Computer Science undergrad from India. She is passionate about empowering girls pursuing STEM, especially research in Computer Science. You can hear more from Vishakha on Twitter (vishakha__a) and on her LinkedIn (vishakha-a).

About the contributors:

• Faith Nwando, originally from Nigeria, is a high school senior in NYC. She is an active member of her college communities and a fierce advocate of girls’ rights. 

• Genevieve (Jenny) Niwenambaza lives in Kigali, Rwanda. She is in her last year of university at Davis college, Akilah campus. She is 21 years old and a proud feminist. You can find her on Twitter (nizagenevieve) and on Instagram (jennygeniale).

• Claris Nadini is a Mechanical Engineering student at Ashesi University. She is the Chair of Badili Zone Organization that upholds education in Mukuru Community in Kenya. Claris is passionate about extending educational opportunities and bringing positive change to political leadership in Kenya. Find her on Twitter (ClarisNadini) and on Instagram (clarisnadini).