Girls know best what their needs are—that's why we put their voices front and center.
Listen to members of our Girls Advisory Council explain that "true equality begins with listening."
"I’m a girl and I know what I want."
Allison Choong is a 20-year-old activist from Penang, Malaysia. She is pursuing a double major in Criminology & Justice Studies and Sociology at Drexel University on a fully funded Global Scholarship. She has been a finalist for the Canon Young Champion of the Year and Women of the Future Southeast Asia awards. She is an alumna of She’s the First’s Girl Activist Fellowship and a current member of the organization’s Girls Advisory Council. She enjoys using her voice to raise awareness about crucial issues affecting youth and marginalized communities.
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.
Girls Challenge Gender Stereotyping in Rural India
By Preeti Yadav, 14, a student in India with our partner Sahas Foundation
Girls have right to education, and they should be allowed to study just as boys, so that they can achieve their dreams. And if somebody does anything wrong, then we can teach them a lesson. This happened when our school was closed for vacation; there was bhagwat (a religious gathering where a saint talks about gods and their teachings) going on.
I asked my grandmother, “Can I go and fill the kalash (a practice where a pot is filled with water from a nearby river.) She said that girls can’t go that far to fill the kalash. So, I can’t go to the river to fill the water because it is far away, (previously) I can’t be sent to the school because it is far away. If a boy would have asked, no one would have refused them. This is one of the cases where rights of girls are taken away.
Thanks to Sahas, I got to go back to school. I’m in 7th class.
Preeti’s essay was also published in the September 2024 edition of The Girl Gazette, a biannual publication of artwork, poetry, and essays by girls in the She’s the First partner coalition.
A Force Untamed
By Sushila Giri, 18, Nepal, a student with our partner Shequal Foundation
In every girl, there's a leader inside,
She walks with strength, with grace as her guide.
In her heart, ambition ignites,
Guiding others through the darkest nights.
With wisdom's voice, she leads the way,
In her presence, doubts start to sway.
She doesn't falter, her flame burns bright,
Empowering others, she spreads her light.
In every girl, a force untamed,
In her leadership, the world is reclaimed.
Let's celebrate her strength and might,
She's the beacon shining in the night.
I am powerful, she proudly proclaims,
Leading with courage, she makes her name.
In every girl, this power resides,
With her leadership, the world abides.
Sushila’s poem was also published in the September 2024 edition of The Girl Gazette, a biannual publication of artwork, poetry, and essays by girls in the She’s the First partner coalition.
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.
Hot Off the Presses: The Girl Gazette!
Going Beyond the Book: Behind-the-Scenes of “Safiya Speaks Up”
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.
Reproduce This! Art Contest By Girls, For Girls: CALL FOR ARTWORK INSPIRED BY THE THEME: MY BODY, MY CHOICE
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.
The Joy of Learning
Author: Aliza Puri, She’s the First Youth Ambassador
My grandmother learnt the first letter at 65
I remember her strive
To write her name
Thinking about how signing her name instead of thumb prints
Would be a changed game
For her.
I remember her eye beaming with pride
As she tried
To remember the letter and what they look like
And what they sound like
And I couldn't be happier for her.
My mom was married off in 9th grade.
The exchange of her education with household responsibility was not a fair trade.
Reading and writing Nepali is no big deal
But English is the real deal.
My mother can't understand my English poems
But she will still watch the whole video
And it has become a norm
For her to ask me for a translation
"K vaneko yo video ma Aliza?"
What are you saying in this video, Aliza?
But she is learning and even though she doesn't like to believe
At the age of 50 she is growing.
She is learning to read English
The words probably sound rubbish to her
She recently learnt to post her comments in social media
And she needs no body's help
Sometimes she may comment
"Beuteful" instead of "beautiful"
Under my picture
But I know what she meant
And I am proud of her
For me,
I love learning Maths and Sciences,
I love to read poems and stories in Nepali and english
I am amazed by learning how our body works in perfect coordination
How the systems in the earth work
And how this universe work
Thanks to the education that I have received
I learnt about the stars and sky
And the ants and fly
and moons and sun
and our heart and our brain
and men and women
and the rock and mountain
and the river and sea
and also about you and me.
But I also learnt that maybe you aren't as blessed as me.
And that makes me feel a little bit guilty
I feel greedy
For not being able to share everything that I have learnt so far
I feel angry
That sometimes those who can
Choose not to.
I hope someday,
All of us would learn about this amazing world, and our amazing body,
And amazing people in this world.
I hope one day,
All of us would learn and grow
Not just academically
But also as person
We will learn to be kinder and braver
And world would really be this amazing place
That I believe it is.
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.
Aliza Puri, 20, is a She's the First Youth Ambassador (and co-creator of the Power of Poetry campaign!). Currently studying medicine in Nepal, Aliza has been involved with She's the First since she was a student at our graduated partner Kopila Valley School! Aliza sees poetry as a creative outlet for her activism. Read her poem, "Dear World," a letter to the world from every girl who has been abused, who finds it hard to come forward and ask for justice because she is too scared and embarrassed—until she decides to fight for herself.