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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
Climate Change and its related effects such as natural disasters, rising sea levels, and extreme weather conditions are known to cause significant socioeconomic stresses. As climate change intensifies, it exacerbates existing gender inequalities, deepening poverty and undermining sustainable development goals.
By Desiree Okonkwo, 15, United States
I used to agree and accede,
As they laughed because the teacher turned off the lights,
Giggle and sniffle while tears formed in my eyes,
Embarrassment forever fortified in my mind,
I used to mumble and mutter,
Watching them rip my culture to shreds,
Mocking my family’s accents as they shook their heads,
Inescapable humiliation bound around me like thread,
I used to whisper and whither,
My hands reaching for a straightener at an awful attempt,
At the role of “white girl” that I only achieved when I dreamt,
Depravedly desperate for any skin whitening bleach,
My immense ignominy a life-sized leech,
I used to resent and recoil from my reflection,
Contempt created by my colored complexion,
Nails digging in as I hurriedly scrubbed at my skin,
As if I could scrape away the black to unlock the white within
Playing a game supplied by shame I could never win
I used to detest, but now I accept,
Bewitched by my brown color with a bit of remorse and regret
That I ever allowed myself to be so miserable misled,
That I ever viewed my home and heritage with horrid hatred,
That I ever believed racist rhetoric that was said and spread,
But worst of all, that I ever assumed that my blackness could make me less than.
You may be pondering why a mere high schooler is writing about paychecks when the relevance of a salary to a child's life is minimal; the truth is, I'm terrified of growing up in a world where my work is valued significantly less than my male counterpart. Undervalued to the extent that women statistically earn only 83% of what a man makes. This everyday experience of women across the globe is known as the Gender Pay Gap.
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.
An interview with Adela Tuy, a member of our Girls Advisory Council and a recent high school graduate of MAIA, a member of our Partner Coalition
Adela on stage with her parents on graduation day!
What does graduating mean to you?
To me, graduating means: a big achievement, that I am advancing, and it is the key that opens doors to other opportunities.
How has MAIA helped you achieve your goals?
MAIA provided me with different kinds of tools, resources to find the power of my voice and dream about a new future and world. Before MAIA I already had the dream of continuing studying and graduating from high school, but I didn't know when or how I would do it so I decided to look, and I found it in MAIA. Here there was a great team of people who helped me and showed me that there were different ways to rewrite my own story. Now I know who I was, who I am, and who I want to be, I know my roots and have a better vision of my life. In MAIA I learned that every day I can evolve, and with empowerment, I can empower other women.
“Now I know who I was, who I am, and who I want to be, I know my roots and have a better vision of my life. ”
What are your future plans?
My future plans are to continue to university, have a formal job, and improve my English. I want to work in projects that involve volunteering or give workshops about leadership, girls´ rights to Indigenous young people. I want to be a leader in my community and to become a famous writer.
The graduating class of the MAIA Impact School poses on stage.
Is there anything else you would like to share? For example, about girls’ rights, challenges you overcame, or your program experience?
I have a project called “Up and Up”, it focuses on girl’s rights and learning to raise our voices. I created it because there are very few women who are leading projects. When I started it, a lot of girls from my community did not want to participate because they were fearful and full of insecurities, they thought they could not become leaders. Today more than 15 girls from my community are part of this project.
Adela is a Kaqchikel Mayan woman from Guatemala. She is 18 years old and lives in Sololá, Guatemala. In 2022, she graduated from the MAIA Impact School, and now she’s a part of MAIA’s Launch Program. She’s also a part of the Communications and Fundraising team at MAIA.
In 2021, she was the winner of seed capital in the Ella Impacta Program of Vital Voices Guatemala, and she founded the Up&Up Youth Collective, a project for young women who exert influence in society. “One of the main objectives of my project is to promote the social participation of youth in my community.”
Adela is currently a member of the Girls Advisory Council at She's The First and an ambassador for Girl Rising.
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.
While menstrual stigma has long been a political topic, one Hon. Gloria Orwoba made a very public plea for women’s and girls’ rights this year in a new and different way. A first-time senator, Hon. Orwoba made her way to the Kenya Parliamentary session on 14th February 2023 in clothing that had menstrual blood. She was asked to leave halfway through the session after her fellow parliamentarians requested the speaker to eject her for supposedly violating the house’s “dress code.” Hon. Orwoba’s actions made a strong statement to advocate for free pads for school girls and female prisoners. As a young woman at the forefront of addressing Period Poverty, this was such a relief for me.
Autora: Wendy Palax, miembro del Consejo Asesor de Niñas de She's the First
Las miradas no fueron la herida, las palabras que me recorrían de arriba hacia abajo fue la nota más aguda que hubiera escuchado.
Los rostros eran los mismos, los mismos que dicen ser "Familia".
Los mismos que me llevaron a un gran abismo.
Los mismos que siguen sin creer.
Los mismos que juzgan sin saber.
Los mismos que dicen ser "Familia".
Esa tarde se convirtió en un lugar lleno de preguntas sin respuestas.
¿Dónde voy a vivir?
¿Con quién me debo casar?
¿Debo caerles bien?
¿Qué carrera llevar?
¿Cumpliré con los requisitos para no fallar?
Y sobre todo, el eco de las palabras rebotaban en mi mente.
"Eres mujer no pierdas vergüenza algún día"
Creí que no me había afectado
Creí que era ilusión mía
Creí que eran mentiras
Creí que debía aceptarlas para encajar.
Observé y me di cuenta que eran las mismas palabras y etiquetas, para ser aceptada en un mundo lleno de maldad y ciclos repetitivos.
Ciclos de etiquetas, requisitos, reglas. Para mantener un papel, orden y sobre todo ser aceptada.
¿Estoy en el camino correcto?
Me pregunté
Me observé
Me escuché
Me acepte
Me convertí
El espejo de mi habitación reflejó aquel puño de inseguridades a
un enredo de flores y espinas adornando la habitación.
Yo no quiero ser una más que dejó sus sueños anclados por la sociedad.
Mi voz será mi aliado para llegar a cada rincón.
No llevaré los requisitos de la sociedad.
No llevaré las reglas para ser aceptada.
Llevaré mis requisitos,
llevaré mis fallas a la sociedad.
Viviré disfrutado los días que vendrán.
Seré un rompecabezas
Seré la pieza faltante
Seré voz
Seré silencio
Seré la solución
Seré yo.
Una niña con educación es imparable- pero barreras como la discriminación de género, pobreza y explotación impiden que muchas niñas se graduen. Nuestras Jóvenes Embajadoras crearon la campaña El poder de la Poesía para amplificar las voces de las niñas sobre este tema para el Mes Nacional de la Poesía y la Semana de Acción Mundial por la Educación.
Wendy Palax, de 18 años, es una orgullosa mujer indígena maya y miembro del Consejo Asesor de Niñas de She's the First. Vive en Sololá, Guatemala. “Soy valiente y resistente y me dedico a aprender, comprender y lograr mis sueños. Quiero ser una líder en mi comunidad y en mi país. Quiero romper barreras y empoderar a otras. Soy una joven decidida. Soy una mujer indígena decidida. Romperé los estereotipos y demostraré que tenemos potencial”.
The looks were not the wound, the words that ran up and down in me was the sharpest note that I’ve ever heard.
The faces were the same, the same that claim to be “Family”.
The same who took me to a large abyss.
The same who continues without believing.
The same who judge without knowing.
The same who claim to be “Family”.
This afternoon has turned into a place filled with questions without answers.
Where will I live?
Who should I marry?
Should they like me?
What career to take?
Will I meet the requirements not to fail?
And above all, the echo of the words that bounced in my mind.
“You are a woman, do not lose shame one day”.
I thought it had not affected me
I thought it was my illusion
I thought that they were lies
I thought that I should accept them to fit in.
I observed and I realized they were the same words and labels, to be accepted in a world filled with evil and repetitive cycles.
Cycles of labels, requirements, rules. To maintain a role, order, and above all be accepted.
Am I on the right path?
I asked myself
I observed myself
I listened to myself
I accepted myself
I became
The mirror in my room reflected that fist of insecurities to
a tangle of flowers and thorns adorning the room.
I don’t want to be one more that left her dreams anchored by society.
My voice will be my ally to reach every corner.
I will not bear the requirements of society.
I will not carry the rules to be accepted.
I will carry my requirements,
I will take my faults to society.
I will live enjoying the days to come.
I will be a puzzle
I’ll be the missing piece
I’ll be voice
I’ll be silence
I’ll be the solution
I will be me.
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.
Wendy Palax, 18, is a proud Indigenous Maya woman and a member of the She’s the First Girls Advisory Council. She lives in Sololá, Guatemala. “I am brave and resilient and dedicated to learning, understanding, and achieving my dreams. I want to be a leader in my community and in my country. I want to break barriers and empower others. I am a determined young woman. I am a determined Indigenous woman. I will break stereotypes and prove we have potential.”
