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

North America

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Fighting Misogyny: Two Student Activists Share How Girls Can Take a Stand

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Following the U.S. election results, She’s the First spoke with girls in our Chapters program who live in states and areas where women’s bodies are politicized. A university student from Arizona said that men on her campus held signs that said, “Women are property.” A girl from a high school in Texas told us that boys were walking around the hallway saying, “Your body, my choice.” The use of these phrases online has also spiked dramatically. 

We wanted to see what two alums of our Girl Activist Fellowship thought about the rise of sexist discourse and what girls can do to fight back. Allison Choong, 21, of Penang, Malaysia, and Sania Hammad, 19, from Kansas, U.S, are two of the five co-authors of Safiya Speaks Up!, a children’s book about safety from sexual violence—which they created during their She’s the First fellowship. The book and mentor’s guide have been available for 15 months, and in that time, more than 7,000 girls were introduced to Safiya and learned how to identify safe adults in their lives.

In this conversation, Allison and Sania talk about how they’re tackling significant issues like sex education, reproductive health, and gender-based violence at a time when women’s rights are challenged. 

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Girl Activist Fellows Talk Sex Ed Misinformation

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Girl Activist Fellows Talk Sex Ed Misinformation

We spoke with two of our Girl Activist Fellows about sex education, the spread of misinformation in their communities, and what changes they want to see. Sydney, 17, who lives in a conservative rural town in Massachusetts, U.S., pointed out that abstinence-only programs cause harm. Faith Boke, 21, from Kuria, Kenya, shared how her community faces shame and misinformation about menstruation and reproductive health. They talked about the need for thorough and inclusive sex education to clear up myths and reduce the stigma around reproductive health. 

“Girls are not only the future, we are the present"

Sania Hammad, 19, is a student at Barnard College of Columbia University where she serves as the president of the sophomore class. Along with serving as the president, she is the founder of Sate Crate, a nonprofit with the goal to stave off hunger in southern Missouri and southeast Kansas. She works with various grassroots organizations, is the co-author of a children’s book, has made nationally recognized documentaries, and has hosted many fundraising events in the past. She is an alumna of the first cohort of She’s the First Girl Activist Fellowship.

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The Mental Health Toll of Climate Change: Women and Eco-Anxiety

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The Mental Health Toll of Climate Change: Women and Eco-Anxiety

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.

I Used to

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.

Channeling Equality Through Our Paychecks

Channeling Equality Through Our Paychecks

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.

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Going Beyond the Book: Behind-the-Scenes of “Safiya Speaks Up”

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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.