Josi, Michelle, Ghazal, Latifa, and Ayesha live thousands of miles apart, but the five young women are connected by a single mission: improving the lives of other girls in their communities. In Women and Girls Lead Global’s new film made by Koen Suidgeest, Girl Connected, we meet young women from Peru, Kenya, Jordan, Bangladesh and […]
The Hero Academy is a nine-week course for young men that uses a film-based curriculum to cultivate empathy and respect for women and girls. One of the Hero Academy’s key activities is community mapping. Inspired by a community mapping exercise in a film called Revolutionary Optimists, the activity challenges participants to interview women and girls […]
Women and Girls Lead believes that true stories about girls struggling to overcome adversity are transformative; they connect girls to each other across the world and inspire change. The Overseas Press Club of America – the country’s oldest and largest association of journalists engaged in international news – recently honored one of these inspiring stories […]
Girl Connected captures complex and inspiring stories of girls in five countries taking on the enormous challenge of tackling issues like child marriage, gender-based violence, reproductive health rights, and the many forms of discrimination girls face all over the world – all while balancing their lives as teenage girls. The film launched globally on our […]
As a community activist working to create sexual and reproductive health awareness, “Girl Connected” Josi is invested in empowering girls. She reminds us that the struggle against gender-based violence “is still on! It’s not over when the 16 days of activism against gender violence are over.”
This 16 Days of Activism, “Girl Connected” Latifah is confident “in the future, women will be more courageous to speak out about the humiliation and torture they have been facing from husbands, in-laws, fathers and their brothers.” In the meantime her call to action for us is to create a world where women feel safe to voice their concerns.
This 16 Days of Activism, “Girl Connected” Ghazal challenges families to give girls the freedom to pursue what they love. Girls around the world are often discouraged or prevented from pursuing their dreams, especially when those dreams are deemed inappropriate for women and girls. Ghazal uses art and photography to fight repressive gender norms that try to silence girls’ voices. Her work inspires other girls to think beyond gender stereotypes and tell their stories.
This 16 Days of Activism, “Girl Connected” Michelle’s call to action for girls is to believe in their dreams and express themselves. Battling gender stereotypes to pursue her own dream of becoming an aeronautical engineer, Michelle also mentored other girls to pursue their ambitions. She says, “Our society will not improve through great ideas that are in minds and stay there. These ideas need to be heard.”
This 16 Days of Activism, “Girl Connected” Ayesha Noor encourages girls to take up self defense lessons and fight GBV. How will you fight for girls’ rights?
“We had neighbors who opposed me riding a bike… Ma told them how my bike and I saved my brother’s life.” You may recall the heartwarming Saudi film Wadjda that met audience affection and inspired girls everywhere when it was released in 2014. Groundbreaking filmmaker Haifaa Al-Mansour told the story of a bold young Saudi girl who schemes […]