As in many places around the world, sexual and reproductive health (SRH) is a complicated issue in Peru. In a 2013 report, 61.3% of Peruvian women aged 20-24 reported giving birth between the ages of 15 and 18. Lack of awareness about sexual and reproductive health is a key factor shaping this scenario, as well as communication barriers between teenagers and their parents and teachers. WGLG Peru has been working to break this cycle by ensuring that communities with low access to information about SRH don’t slip through the cracks.

In April 2017, Arif Hossain stepped in to stop Eti Khatun from becoming a 13-year-old bride. As a WGLG Best School for Girls facilitator, he has been supporting students at the Puiya High School to prevent child marriage and school drop-outs by making the school more girl-friendly. However, when Arif’s 23-year-old friend Rayhan told him […]

The idea that powerful true stories can drive social change is at the heart of Women and Girls Lead Global‘s work. We are honored to have an opportunity to share the model that we’ve developed for using film to start breakthrough conversations, and to convert those conversations into action, at the Empowering Women and Girls through […]

In this blog series, Koen shares some of his experiences from the making of Girl Connected. In his visit to India, Koen meets Ayesha, an international Karate champion and advocate for women’s safety. Koen remarks, “Girls as young as six years old come to her weekly class…When she enters the park for her training sessions, everything changes… Her speech becomes louder and clearer, and her body is strong and determined… This is where Ayesha is at her best, fulfilling her dream to become a teacher to other girls.”

In this blog series, Koen shares some of his experiences from the making of Girl Connected. In his visit to Bangladesh, Koen meets Latifa, a fourteen-year-old anti child marriage activist, driven by her own narrow escape from the fate of a child bride. Koen shares, “When you hear Latifa argue with the adults, you’d think she was 18… Then as she walks on to the next village, a duck crosses her path. She starts chasing it with a friend, giggling their way through the high grass. You look at her then and she’s twelve years old again, living the moments she missed when she went into hiding, fearing for her destiny.”

In this blog series, Koen shares some of his experiences from the making of Girl Connected. In his visit to Kenya, Koen meets Michelle Buyaki, one of six female engineering students in her class, and a powerful advocate for girls’ leadership in every field. Koen recalls an intimate evening with Michelle and her family in their Nairobi home. Over food and dancing, Koen reflects, “Once you get to know Michelle’s family: her mother and father, her aunt Vanessa, her grandmother and her siblings, you start to understand where goodness in people is born.”

In this blog series, Koen shares some of his experiences from the making of Girl Connected. In his visit to Jordan, Koen meets Ghazal, a stereotype-defying artist who invites other women and youth into her creative world. Koen reflects, “Ghazal might not seem so different from my own teenage daughter and the girls she hangs out with, but in her country she is truly unique…. Ghazal challenges the perception of onlookers, the common people on the street, while involving other women in achieving it…. I can’t think of a more peaceful, colorful and beautiful way of using creativity as a motor behind the liberation of young Jordanian women. “

In this blog series, Koen shares some of his experiences from the making of Girl Connected. In his visit to Peru, Koen meets Josi, a youth activist and reproductive rights advocate from the Amazon. Koen recalls, “Josi proved to me that it isn’t necessary to be outgoing in order to be passionate. You just have to believe strongly in what you are talking about, and then the words will come by themselves.”

Iron Ladies of Liberia persuaded a male candidate running in local elections in Kenya to see the importance of women’s leadership.

WGLG India’s Hero Academy initiative has been  engaging boys and men to become heroes for women’s rights through an intensive nine-week course that uses a film-based curriculum to cultivate empathy and respect for women and girls. On March 17, WGLG India partnered with USAID India to celebrate real life “Heroes for Gender Equality”. “Men and […]