https://www.girlsglobe.org Gender equality, human rights and social justice. Tue, 15 Apr 2025 08:00:49 +0000 en-US hourly 1 https://wordpress.org/?v=6.8.1 https://i0.wp.com/www.girlsglobe.org/wp-content/uploads/2017/06/girlsglobe_icon_green2-1.png?fit=32%2C32&ssl=1 https://www.girlsglobe.org 32 32 128553070 https://www.girlsglobe.org/2025/04/15/how-youth-voices-are-stirring-change-in-sexual-and-reproductive-health-and-rights/ https://www.girlsglobe.org/2025/04/15/how-youth-voices-are-stirring-change-in-sexual-and-reproductive-health-and-rights/#comments Tue, 15 Apr 2025 07:54:22 +0000 https://www.girlsglobe.org/?p=66506 "Hi, I’m Azra—host, producer, and someone who genuinely believes that when young people speak up, the world shifts. I’m also a youth advocate with IPD (Member Association of IPPF EN) from Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina, and the current Chair of the YSAFE Steering Committee. In this article I want to share the experience of producing a youth-led podcast on sex positivity, gender equality and SRHR. The podcast’s title is Sex Positivitea with YSAFE.

Sex Positivitea started as a small idea and quickly became one of the most powerful projects I’ve ever had the privilege to lead. I remember nervously recording our first episode, unsure if anyone would listen. Fast forward to now—season four—and I’m still amazed by the conversations we’re having and the connections we’re making.

This podcast is a love letter to every young person who’s ever felt left out of the conversation about their own body, identity, or rights."]]> https://www.girlsglobe.org/2025/04/15/how-youth-voices-are-stirring-change-in-sexual-and-reproductive-health-and-rights/feed/ 1 66506 https://www.girlsglobe.org/2024/10/28/abortion-in-turkiye-legal-but-not-available/ https://www.girlsglobe.org/2024/10/28/abortion-in-turkiye-legal-but-not-available/#respond Mon, 28 Oct 2024 08:23:00 +0000 https://www.girlsglobe.org/?p=66225 The abortion situation in Türkiye is unique. We have a fairly liberal law on paper, but in reality, access to abortion is severely restricted. 

Abortion is legal on request up to 10 weeks. When you compare this to other countries in the region, Türkiye can look more egalitarian. But in practice, because of the government’s pro-natalist policies, access to abortion is not possible in state hospitals. We have a huge gap between law and practice.

This post is written by Ezel Buse Sönmezocak and İrem Gerkuş at Women for Women’s Human Rights (WWHR), a Safe Abortion Action Fund grantee partner in Türkiye. ]]> https://www.girlsglobe.org/2024/10/28/abortion-in-turkiye-legal-but-not-available/feed/ 0 66225 https://www.girlsglobe.org/2024/06/21/dr-joannie-marlene-bewa-md-phd-republic-of-benin-and-usa/ https://www.girlsglobe.org/2024/06/21/dr-joannie-marlene-bewa-md-phd-republic-of-benin-and-usa/#respond Fri, 21 Jun 2024 08:47:56 +0000 https://www.girlsglobe.org/?p=66004&preview=true&preview_id=66004 Dr. Joannie Marlene Bewa, MD, PhD, is a physician, public health researcher, global advocate for girls and women's sexual and reproductive health, and the founder and CEO of DOTOH Health. She has over fifteen years of combined experience in global health, health policy, digital health, clinical care, research, international development and non-profits management. 

In this episode of The Power of Stories Podcast, Dr. Joannie Marlene Bewa discusses:

- how her own encounter with the health care system as a girl sparked her passion for health and how that evolved to her focus on sexual and reproductive health...

- volunteering in a community organization that was focusing on health, respecting cultural and social norms while also challenging them…

- beyond basic health care, the importance of health information, education, community engagement, awareness and the spectrum of preventative care…

- the importance of addressing health inequities…

- the encouragement and support of her parents, and the valuable lessons she learned from them about hard work and about why it is important to help others…

- setting up a nonprofit at age 21, the Young Beninese Leaders Association, successfully establishing partnerships with other nonprofits, and then receiving support from  First Lady Michelle Obama’s Young African Women Leaders Grant Program to scale up programs…

- the importance of making the right decision at the right time, and of being open to opportunities and not missing them…

- continuing her studies to become a medical doctor and then working for a Masters degree and a PhD…

- ensuring that all girls have access to quality education by removing the financial, cultural, social, and logistical barriers they face…

- the essential role of mentors and role models, and safe spaces where girls can express themselves freely without being judged…

- the need to see more women in politics and in leadership roles globally, and as medical doctors, engineers, astronaut, and journalists…

- and this encouragement for us all, “Believe in yourself, believe in your power, believe in your voice. Start somewhere because tomorrow starts today.”]]> https://www.girlsglobe.org/2024/06/21/dr-joannie-marlene-bewa-md-phd-republic-of-benin-and-usa/feed/ 0 66004 https://www.girlsglobe.org/2024/05/14/a-pleasure-based-approach-to-activism-and-coping-with-suffering/ https://www.girlsglobe.org/2024/05/14/a-pleasure-based-approach-to-activism-and-coping-with-suffering/#respond Tue, 14 May 2024 10:01:31 +0000 https://www.girlsglobe.org/?p=65783&preview=true&preview_id=65783 Everywhere we look, we see reminders of the many tragedies happening in our world. Wars, human rights violations, environmental catastrophes, discrimination, and so much more. In the midst of all of this collective trauma, it can be easy to feel hopeless and helpless. Especially as activists. 

I don’t know about you, but I don’t immediately think about the word “pleasure” when I think about activism. I have experienced a lot of compassion fatigue and burnout in my activism-related work and research over the years. An experience that is all too common in this line of work. It makes sense that pleasure has never felt like a priority, or that it even belonged in my work at all.

Today I see it more clearly: working myself to the point of burnout and hopelessness does nothing to support the causes and people I care about.]]> https://www.girlsglobe.org/2024/05/14/a-pleasure-based-approach-to-activism-and-coping-with-suffering/feed/ 0 65783 https://www.girlsglobe.org/2022/11/24/why-do-women-still-die-giving-birth-in-nepal/ https://www.girlsglobe.org/2022/11/24/why-do-women-still-die-giving-birth-in-nepal/#respond Thu, 24 Nov 2022 10:16:30 +0000 https://www.girlsglobe.org/?p=62484 Maternal mortality is one of the leading causes of death for women of reproductive age in Nepal, most of which occur due to direct obstetric complications at the time of birth and during the postnatal period. The overwhelming majority of maternal deaths occur in rural, poverty ridden areas where healthcare services are often inadequate or inaccessible. Even in places with access to health services, there is a severe shortage of trained medical staff. Learn more about why women are still dying in Nepal and what can be done to prevent these deaths. ]]> https://www.girlsglobe.org/2022/11/24/why-do-women-still-die-giving-birth-in-nepal/feed/ 0 62484 https://www.girlsglobe.org/2022/08/15/we-need-to-talk-about-periods-in-a-more-inclusive-way/ https://www.girlsglobe.org/2022/08/15/we-need-to-talk-about-periods-in-a-more-inclusive-way/#comments Mon, 15 Aug 2022 10:50:00 +0000 https://www.girlsglobe.org/?p=62421 The concepts of gender and sexuality are evolving at a decent pace to make the world more gender-fluid. Yet, the topic of ‘menstruation’ is still fraught with cissexism - or the discrimination against transgender and gender-nonconforming individuals. The language we use is important. ]]> https://www.girlsglobe.org/2022/08/15/we-need-to-talk-about-periods-in-a-more-inclusive-way/feed/ 8 62421 https://www.girlsglobe.org/2022/02/03/the-forgotten-women-and-girls-criminalisation-of-abortion-in-kenya/ https://www.girlsglobe.org/2022/02/03/the-forgotten-women-and-girls-criminalisation-of-abortion-in-kenya/#respond Thu, 03 Feb 2022 09:22:00 +0000 https://www.girlsglobe.org/?p=61610&preview=true&preview_id=61610 Imagine being jailed for up to 14 years for trying to end your pregnancy because a morally driven political system deems this to be a crime. The Kenyan penal code that criminalises abortion and same sex relations does so under sensationally subjective sections that read “offenses against morality”. Whose morality? The epicenter of the implementation […]]]> https://www.girlsglobe.org/2022/02/03/the-forgotten-women-and-girls-criminalisation-of-abortion-in-kenya/feed/ 0 61610 https://www.girlsglobe.org/2021/12/27/how-intergenerational-dialogues-about-mental-health-and-srhr-fosters-leadership-in-japan/ https://www.girlsglobe.org/2021/12/27/how-intergenerational-dialogues-about-mental-health-and-srhr-fosters-leadership-in-japan/#respond Mon, 27 Dec 2021 09:48:00 +0000 https://www.girlsglobe.org/?p=61516&preview=true&preview_id=61516 #MyBodyMyMind is a toolkit on advocacy for mental health and sexual reproductive health and rights (SRHR), published by the World YWCA. I initiated three virtual study groups and intergenerational dialogues to read the #MyBodyMyMind with about 20 YWCA leaders from around Japan. The aim was to gain basic knowledge about mental health and SRHR, as […]]]> https://www.girlsglobe.org/2021/12/27/how-intergenerational-dialogues-about-mental-health-and-srhr-fosters-leadership-in-japan/feed/ 0 61516 https://www.girlsglobe.org/2021/12/22/maureens-story-what-young-women-can-achieve-despite-the-hardest-of-conditions/ https://www.girlsglobe.org/2021/12/22/maureens-story-what-young-women-can-achieve-despite-the-hardest-of-conditions/#comments Wed, 22 Dec 2021 08:40:06 +0000 https://www.girlsglobe.org/?p=61508&preview=true&preview_id=61508 Ten-year-old Maureen was working as a nanny miles away from her village for less than USD 7 a month. By 12 years of age, she had lost her father, her step-father and even her mother. On several occasions, she was sexually harassed and beaten till blue. On some days, she fed herself from trash cans on the streets. But she endured it all; all she asked was to be allowed to attend school. Maureen’s story is deeply moving, but what stands out is her relentless fight for her rights. ]]> https://www.girlsglobe.org/2021/12/22/maureens-story-what-young-women-can-achieve-despite-the-hardest-of-conditions/feed/ 1 61508 https://www.girlsglobe.org/2021/11/10/young-womens-lack-of-access-to-information-on-safe-abortion-in-zambia/ https://www.girlsglobe.org/2021/11/10/young-womens-lack-of-access-to-information-on-safe-abortion-in-zambia/#respond Wed, 10 Nov 2021 09:06:00 +0000 https://www.girlsglobe.org/?p=61095&preview=true&preview_id=61095 Copper Rose Zambia works to make a difference in the lives of women and girls by educating them about their sexual and reproductive health rights. This includes our Safe Reproductive Health Awareness Project, which has been running in the Petauke and Nyimba districts since January 2020. Young women especially are at risk of unsafe abortions. In […]]]> https://www.girlsglobe.org/2021/11/10/young-womens-lack-of-access-to-information-on-safe-abortion-in-zambia/feed/ 0 61095