East Africa, Africa
She's the First
"Let Girls Lead"

Joan Kembabazi is a 25-year-old feminist activist who champions an end to child marriage and girls' education in Uganda. Joan is the Founder and Team leader of Gufasha Girls Foundation and is currently a fellow in She’s the First’s Girl-Centered Incubator.

Africa, Asia, East Africa, Latin America, South Asia, West Africa
She's the First
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.

Asia, South East Asia
She's the First
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.

Safiya Speaks Up! Makes Waves in Southeast Asia
Africa, Asia, East Africa, Latin America, South Asia, West Africa
She's the First
Hot Off the Presses: The Girl Gazette!

Check out the newest issue of The Girl Gazette: Volume 5, Issue 1 for Winter 2024! The Girl Gazette amplifies the voices of girls globally and empowers them through art, poetry, and more. We highlight girls around the globe who are a part of our Partner Coalition organizations.

Hot Off the Presses: The Girl Gazette!
Africa, East Africa
She's the First
A Youth Ambassador’s Reflections on the Girls ...

Youth Ambassador Gladys Njeri shares her experience participating in the Girls First Summit, She’s the First’s annual event that brings together organizations for knowledge-sharing and targeted training, with local and global insights on best practices for supporting girls’ rights.

A Youth Ambassador’s Reflections on the Girls First Summit

South Sudan

,

She's the First Girl Leaders Discuss The Power of Girls' Education and Leadership

,
She's the First Girl Leaders Discuss The Power of Girls' Education and Leadership

Investing in girls' education and leadership is essential for advancing gender equality. On October 3, She’s the First and Rise Up hosted a virtual event, "The Power of Girls' Education and Leadership: A Spotlight on Africa," to highlight the efforts of young leaders transforming their communities. Alumni from both organizations discussed the challenges and potential of girls' education in Africa, with She’s the First Girls Advisory Council members Sukeji Modi and Njeri emphasizing the role of local leadership and mentorship in tackling issues like teen pregnancy and menstrual poverty.

,

Give Me a Pen

,

Author: Sukeji Modi, She’s the First Girls Advisory Council Member

Living in a world where I call my home 
Yet I feel marginalized with pain & grieve 
Asked questions as to why I felt so!
Society defined me in a way too doom!
I cry and mourn every to live my dreams 
Give me a Pen!

Allow me to discover the lioness in me 
That can change society and sprinkle a light 
Far above all sentiments enacted on me 
They call me names and put me in chains 
Robbing all my dreams and fantasies 
I want to live and make a change 
Give me a pen!

Witnessing abuse and denial from school
Abandoned from play and all my games 
Kept in dismay behind the walls
Hooked in toxic beliefs and wicked counsels 
Kindly break the chain and hear my pen 
Give me a pen!!

Perceived as a tool for marriage, a puppet, and less important human 
Yet with my pen, I can do wonders
Liberate my world and speak justice 
Unleashing all the pain and speaking the gain 
The truth of my power and strength of my days 
Give me a pen!

Ready to change history 
Ready to break narratives
A rising of what empowerment  means to every girl 
It's every  girl that has a pen that step in and brings the change 
I need to rise to build myself 
Give me a pen!

I dream so big every day 
I need a school and a pair of shoes 
I need some books and a piece of chalk 
I want to read and write my truth 
I want to fly and to reach the sky
Give me a pen!

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.

 

Sukeji Modi Sube, 21, is the Executive Director of Girls' Voices for Change in South Sudan. She is also a girl child activist, public speaker, and a member of the She's the First Girls Advisory Council. Currently, she is a first-year student at the University of Juba studying Medicine. She is passionate about fighting gender-based violence, empowering girls, leadership, creative art, and public speaking. During her free time, she likes to sing, dance and read.