https://www.girlsglobe.org Gender equality, human rights and social justice. Thu, 12 Jun 2025 07:04:53 +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/2025/06/12/francisca-sequeira-surf-therapy-and-girls-mental-wellbeing/ https://www.girlsglobe.org/2025/06/12/francisca-sequeira-surf-therapy-and-girls-mental-wellbeing/#respond Thu, 12 Jun 2025 06:54:21 +0000 https://www.girlsglobe.org/?p=66605 Francisca Sequeira is the founder and president of SOMA (Sufers Proud of African Women), the first surf therapy organization in Africa dedicated exclusively to girls.

Francisca, from Portugal, embarked on a new journey in 2020 during the pandemic. She was experiencing anxiety and panic attacks after losing her job as a flight attendant, and discovered surf therapy—a combination of surfing, mental well-being, and empowerment.

What started as a solo trip of self-discovery turned into a larger movement to support women and girls in the islands of São Tomé and Principe.

The organization’s vision is to create the next generation of independent and self-sustainable women, surfing infinite waves of well-being, opportunities, and equity across Africa.]]> https://www.girlsglobe.org/2025/06/12/francisca-sequeira-surf-therapy-and-girls-mental-wellbeing/feed/ 0 66605 https://www.girlsglobe.org/2024/09/10/discovering-the-strength-of-the-human-spirit/ https://www.girlsglobe.org/2024/09/10/discovering-the-strength-of-the-human-spirit/#respond Tue, 10 Sep 2024 08:27:00 +0000 https://www.girlsglobe.org/?p=66073&preview=true&preview_id=66073 "Moments on my trip to East Africa offer a profound window into the lives of the women we support and the doctors who heal them.

In June 2024, I had the privilege of visiting our partners in Kenya and Tanzania along with other Fistula Foundation team members. My job as senior program manager involves reviewing grant reports from all the amazing partner organizations we fund. Observing and experiencing our partners’ work firsthand went beyond what any grant report has ever conveyed." 

writes Kee Rajagopal, Senior Program Manager, Fistula Foundation]]> https://www.girlsglobe.org/2024/09/10/discovering-the-strength-of-the-human-spirit/feed/ 0 66073 https://www.girlsglobe.org/2024/06/10/a-new-narrative-memoir-a-life-advocating-for-women-in-burma/ https://www.girlsglobe.org/2024/06/10/a-new-narrative-memoir-a-life-advocating-for-women-in-burma/#respond Mon, 10 Jun 2024 08:33:00 +0000 https://www.girlsglobe.org/?p=65935 This book, Intrepid Paths Burma, is my tribute to Burmese women and girls—their incredible strength, resilience, perseverance, and potential.

The book’s embedded narrative memoir allowed me to protect the identities of my protagonists, to incorporate short fiction stories that would readily capture readers’ attention, and to provide the backstory of my involvement with Burma and its people.

In writing these stories, based on lives of women and girls known to me, I carry their faces in my mind—these women who entrusted me with their secrets. I feel a responsibility to accurately convey the restrictions under which they live—legal, political, cultural, economic, prejudicial, fear, and lack of access to basic rights. It’s within these parameters that these women constantly demonstrate their strength.

This guest post is written by Melody Mociulski. ]]> https://www.girlsglobe.org/2024/06/10/a-new-narrative-memoir-a-life-advocating-for-women-in-burma/feed/ 0 65935 https://www.girlsglobe.org/2024/04/26/river-savante-usa-and-nepal/ https://www.girlsglobe.org/2024/04/26/river-savante-usa-and-nepal/#respond Fri, 26 Apr 2024 11:46:07 +0000 https://www.girlsglobe.org/?p=65760&preview=true&preview_id=65760 River Savante is 16 years old and has already set a world record as the youngest American female to summit Imja Tse in the Nepal Everest region, which is 20,500 ft.

River is training to be the youngest American female to summit Mount Everest, scheduled for next May/June 2025.

In this episode, River discusses:

- going with her mother leading trips to Kathmandu after the 2015 earthquake in Nepal to help with humanitarian aid, and building earthquake-proof homes, and sponsoring schools.
- adding an Everest Base Camp trip to their expedition company as it evolved into a trekking company.
- being asked by her mother to return to Everest in 2022 to represent their company.
- learning from her mother about the importance of adapting to any situation, and watching her accomplish “incredible things” in foreign countries.
- knowing that the life lessons and skills that she has learned will help her when she goes off to college.
- living in Ulaanbaatar now, the capital of Mongolia and loving the vibe and feeling of this city.
- summiting Imja Tse, a mountain in the Himalayas of eastern Nepal, with a Sherpa guide teaching her the skills to use on Everest.
- living in Malaysia and meeting a three-times Everest summitter representing Malaysia, and accepting his invitation to train with his Malaysian Everest summiting team.
- her upcoming season in Nepal in October.
- her focus on school online with her high school in North Carolina, USA, that has been very supportive of her pursuing her dreams.
- reminding us that we are even more capable than we think we are, and that we can lead by example and follow our dreams, and support and encourage each other.
- the importance of offering compassion,  understanding, and listening to each other.
- and wanting women to know that it's so important to speak their truth and to stand up for themselves and their dreams.]]> https://www.girlsglobe.org/2024/04/26/river-savante-usa-and-nepal/feed/ 0 65760 https://www.girlsglobe.org/2023/12/06/call-for-submissions-photo-competition-on-the-theme-men-and-love/ https://www.girlsglobe.org/2023/12/06/call-for-submissions-photo-competition-on-the-theme-men-and-love/#respond Wed, 06 Dec 2023 10:13:01 +0000 https://www.girlsglobe.org/?p=64810&preview=true&preview_id=64810

The Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom (WILPF) announces its Second International Photography Collaboration as part of the Mobilising Men for Feminist Peace Programme (MMFP)

In these times of increasing conflict and polarisation, WILPF calls for submissions on the theme of men and love. We leave it to you to share your vision about who, where, how and what men can and do love. 

What you need to know!

⏳ Deadline for submissions: Monday 1 January 2024

🏆 Shortlist and winners: The shortlist and winners will be announced by 15th of February 2024

📷 Contest Award Categories: Documentary, Photojournalism and Open Format Photography 

💸 Award Prize: one winner and two runner-ups. From these, the winner will receive $1,000 and the runner-ups will receive $600.

Read the full post to learn more about the photography collaboration. ]]> https://www.girlsglobe.org/2023/12/06/call-for-submissions-photo-competition-on-the-theme-men-and-love/feed/ 0 64810 https://www.girlsglobe.org/2023/09/29/finding-hope-in-a-kenyan-hut-my-once-in-a-lifetime-trip-to-a-fistula-patients-home/ https://www.girlsglobe.org/2023/09/29/finding-hope-in-a-kenyan-hut-my-once-in-a-lifetime-trip-to-a-fistula-patients-home/#respond Fri, 29 Sep 2023 14:27:02 +0000 https://www.girlsglobe.org/?p=64531&preview=true&preview_id=64531

In the high heat of a March afternoon in Kenya, Mwanahamisi welcomes a motley crew of jet-lagged Americans into her modest mud hut. My coworkers and I have just traversed the wet, bumpy footpath to her village. Our shoes are caked with rich red mud. Life is teeming around us. 

Just outside the hut, chickens squawk and goats stamp their tiny hooves. My eyes dart across the dark, narrow living space as I catch glimpses of creepy crawlies roaming the walls and bustling underfoot. In this place, nature rules within and without. (That’s me on the right in the photo above, walking with a colleague on a path near Mwanahamisi’s hut.)

This is the farthest I’ve ever been from home, and I’m struck by a new wave of culture shock. Steadying myself, I reassert my focus on Mwanahamisi, because it’s time for her to tell her story of facing obstetric fistula. Her voice begins as a rumble—low and soft, like far-off thunder. 

“My name is Mwanahamisi,” she says. “This is my house, and this is my husband. Welcome.”

Read the whole post from Tarah Walker, Senior Communications Manager for Fistula Foundation. ]]> https://www.girlsglobe.org/2023/09/29/finding-hope-in-a-kenyan-hut-my-once-in-a-lifetime-trip-to-a-fistula-patients-home/feed/ 0 64531 https://www.girlsglobe.org/2021/12/29/to-make-an-impact-use-your-strengths/ https://www.girlsglobe.org/2021/12/29/to-make-an-impact-use-your-strengths/#comments Wed, 29 Dec 2021 13:00:00 +0000 https://www.girlsglobe.org/?p=61566&preview=true&preview_id=61566 Several years ago, while I was living in the Philippines, my life was changed by two selfless strangers. I got lost in the mountains, and I didn’t speak a word of the local dialect. I thought it was the end for me. But then, two women—locals—appeared. I didn’t know them, and they didn’t know me. […]]]> https://www.girlsglobe.org/2021/12/29/to-make-an-impact-use-your-strengths/feed/ 1 61566 https://www.girlsglobe.org/2021/01/25/what-does-wellness-look-like-in-2021/ https://www.girlsglobe.org/2021/01/25/what-does-wellness-look-like-in-2021/#comments Mon, 25 Jan 2021 11:24:43 +0000 https://www.girlsglobe.org/?p=59364&preview=true&preview_id=59364 Literally, all aspects of wellness had a shake up last year. How we stay fit, what we eat, the way we work, the way we travel and the reverberations of those changes is sure to be felt in 2021 too. The global pandemic has redefined the way we look at physical and mental wellness. Here […]]]> https://www.girlsglobe.org/2021/01/25/what-does-wellness-look-like-in-2021/feed/ 2 59364 https://www.girlsglobe.org/2019/04/24/norwegian-air-reveals-sexist-employee-dress-code/ https://www.girlsglobe.org/2019/04/24/norwegian-air-reveals-sexist-employee-dress-code/#respond Wed, 24 Apr 2019 09:49:06 +0000 https://www.girlsglobe.org/?p=47901 The flight industry has demonstrated, once again, that it’s still a long way from gender equality. A 22-page document on the dress code for Norwegian Air employees was sent out to staff in early April. It has since been widely circulated and criticised in the media due to its old-fashioned and sexist content. Female employees […]]]> https://www.girlsglobe.org/2019/04/24/norwegian-air-reveals-sexist-employee-dress-code/feed/ 0 47901 https://www.girlsglobe.org/2018/01/17/trip-lifetime-theatre-change/ https://www.girlsglobe.org/2018/01/17/trip-lifetime-theatre-change/#respond Wed, 17 Jan 2018 12:00:00 +0000 https://www.girlsglobe.org/?p=41533 On our third day in the country, we packed up the van and traveled out to our third destination: Mbembembe Primary School. Little did I know that this small primary school would become a place I would write about and remember forever.]]> https://www.girlsglobe.org/2018/01/17/trip-lifetime-theatre-change/feed/ 0 41533