https://www.girlsglobe.org Gender equality, human rights and social justice. Fri, 23 May 2025 11:36:07 +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/2025/05/23/neha-mankani-midwifery-and-the-climate-crisis/ https://www.girlsglobe.org/2025/05/23/neha-mankani-midwifery-and-the-climate-crisis/#respond Fri, 23 May 2025 11:35:50 +0000 https://www.girlsglobe.org/?p=66577 Neha Mankani is a community midwife and global health practitioner from Pakistan with a strong focus on reproductive health and rights in crisis situations, emergency response and climate-affected communities. 

Neha is the Humanitarian and Climate Engagement Advisor at the International Confederation of Midwives (ICM) and the founder of the Mama Baby Fund; a financial emergency fund for maternal and neonatal healthcare in Pakistan. She has extensive experience in SRHR and maternal and neonatal health clinical practice, programming, and midwifery advocacy both at the local and global levels.

In this episode, Neha shares stories from her work with the coastal communities outside of Karachi, Pakistan and why she stared Mama Baby Fund. As a midwife with the ICM, Julia and Neha talk about how to build resilience in communities affected by the climate crisis and the critical role that midwives have.]]> https://www.girlsglobe.org/2025/05/23/neha-mankani-midwifery-and-the-climate-crisis/feed/ 0 66577 https://www.girlsglobe.org/2024/11/11/what-does-a-trump-presidency-mean-for-global-reproductive-rights/ https://www.girlsglobe.org/2024/11/11/what-does-a-trump-presidency-mean-for-global-reproductive-rights/#respond Mon, 11 Nov 2024 14:37:11 +0000 https://www.girlsglobe.org/?p=66242 Donald Trump has now officially secured a second term as president of the United States. Many are still reeling from the news that a convicted felon and sexual abuser has been voted into the most powerful position in the country. And the US’ hold on global politics and media means that those of us outside of the country also feel the impact. 

As advocates for reproductive justice, we already know the damage that has and can be done by Trump. The Guttmacher Institute pulls no punches in stating that his election to president will “decimate” sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). 

The impact on US healthcare is being well-documented, but as a global fund dedicated to abortion, we want to look at the worldwide repercussions of a second Trump term.

We’re proud to be able to continue funding safe abortion work. 

Yesterday, we officially announced a new global funding call for organisations working to improve access to abortion. We are now offering grants to those in low- and middle-income countries – a total of 140 countries are eligible to apply.  

In the next few years, we are able to commit $18.5 million to abortion work. It is by no means enough to fix the funding crisis, but it goes a small way towards connecting and resourcing a powerful global movement of activists. 

As a global fund solely dedicated to safe abortion, we’re here to proudly support those fighting for a better world.]]> https://www.girlsglobe.org/2024/11/11/what-does-a-trump-presidency-mean-for-global-reproductive-rights/feed/ 0 66242 https://www.girlsglobe.org/2024/08/20/its-quite-emotional-to-remember-the-day-the-abortion-law-changed-in-thailand/ https://www.girlsglobe.org/2024/08/20/its-quite-emotional-to-remember-the-day-the-abortion-law-changed-in-thailand/#respond Tue, 20 Aug 2024 08:00:00 +0000 https://www.girlsglobe.org/?p=65991 I was getting so many direct messages from people telling me they’d had abortions, but they didn’t know who to talk to, or how to deal with it.]]> https://www.girlsglobe.org/2024/08/20/its-quite-emotional-to-remember-the-day-the-abortion-law-changed-in-thailand/feed/ 0 65991 https://www.girlsglobe.org/2024/05/22/solidarity-studio-habiba-mohamed-and-bwalya-chomba-on-obstetric-fistula-and-stories-of-hope/ https://www.girlsglobe.org/2024/05/22/solidarity-studio-habiba-mohamed-and-bwalya-chomba-on-obstetric-fistula-and-stories-of-hope/#respond Wed, 22 May 2024 09:45:32 +0000 https://www.girlsglobe.org/?p=65826&preview=true&preview_id=65826 Obstetric fistula is a devastating childbirth injury. It leaves a woman incontinent, humiliated, and—all too often—shunned by her community. Surgery is the only cure.

Habiba Mohamed is the Regional Director of Programs in Africa and Bwalya Magawa Chomba is the Program Director for Zambia at Fistula Foundation. 

In the Solidarity Studio, they share stories of obstetric fistula, stories that have shifted their work to help end fistula.

Habiba and Bwalya also share an important call to action for us all to get engaged to end obstetric fistula. 

Available as a podcast and as a video with captions. ]]> https://www.girlsglobe.org/2024/05/22/solidarity-studio-habiba-mohamed-and-bwalya-chomba-on-obstetric-fistula-and-stories-of-hope/feed/ 0 65826 https://www.girlsglobe.org/2023/08/24/theodora-biney-amissah-usa/ https://www.girlsglobe.org/2023/08/24/theodora-biney-amissah-usa/#respond Thu, 24 Aug 2023 17:32:52 +0000 https://www.girlsglobe.org/?p=64152&preview=true&preview_id=64152

Theodora Biney-Amissah is a first-generation Ghanaian-American, a community and women's public health and impact professional, a birthworker-entrepreneur and family caregiver.

Theodora is deeply committed to helping pregnant, birthing, and postpartum women and people and their families navigate reproductive and maternal health care, particularly postpartum healing and recovery with doula support, community care and education.

In this episode, Theodora discusses growing up in a large family of many cousins, and learning lessons in childhood about caring for people in community…

- being called a doula years before she actually became one…

- after college, her experiences working in public health and working with midwives…

- volunteering in women’s shelters…

- practicing self-care by taking time to pause…

- setting boundaries for herself in her different roles…

- her experiences of being a family caregiver at various times in her life…

- gaps in community and national maternal healthcare…

- learning many things from her grandmother, who was an entrepreneur, as is her mother…

- encouraging community members to discuss health concerns and issues…

- her role in getting people to think about what they want for themselves regarding their maternal health journeys, and what they don’t want…

- the importance for us to believe that we are all unique and have gifts to share in the world.
]]> https://www.girlsglobe.org/2023/08/24/theodora-biney-amissah-usa/feed/ 0 64152 https://www.girlsglobe.org/2023/07/05/safe-spaces-a-life-changing-place-for-adolescent-girls-and-young-women-in-rwanda/ https://www.girlsglobe.org/2023/07/05/safe-spaces-a-life-changing-place-for-adolescent-girls-and-young-women-in-rwanda/#respond Wed, 05 Jul 2023 12:49:42 +0000 https://www.girlsglobe.org/?p=63893
"Rwandan and African traditional cultures - like in other parts of the world - more generally tend to promote gender inequality on women's rights and power. This being my home, I grew up knowing that I did not want to live under a patriarchal system forever.
Growing up, I witnessed gender inequalities and gender-based violence (GBV) all around me. In leadership and education, discrimination in so-called “men’s careers”, and many more obstacles that both hindered girls' dreams and development in general, but also exposed us to high-risk lives of unprotected sexual intercourse, leading to unplanned pregnancies and the frightening possibility of contracting HIV.
Safe Spaces awoke power within me to contribute in the fight for girls and women's rights, and against any form of gender-based violence."
Read the whole post by Uwase Aisha on her work with holding Safe Spaces for adolescent girls and young women in Rwanda. ]]> https://www.girlsglobe.org/2023/07/05/safe-spaces-a-life-changing-place-for-adolescent-girls-and-young-women-in-rwanda/feed/ 0 63893 https://www.girlsglobe.org/2023/05/23/maureen-okango-healing-the-worlds-most-resilient-women/ https://www.girlsglobe.org/2023/05/23/maureen-okango-healing-the-worlds-most-resilient-women/#respond Tue, 23 May 2023 06:16:50 +0000 https://www.girlsglobe.org/?p=63731&preview=true&preview_id=63731
Dr. Maureen Okango is an obstetric fistula surgeon from Kenya. She is a is a young, vibrant consultant obstetrician & gynaecologist.
Maureen is passionate about maternal and newborn care. She is a new graduate of the fellowship of fistula surgery and an Emergency Obstetrics and Newborn Care trainer.
In this episode, Maureen talks about her work and she shares her stories of working with women who’ve suffered an obstetric fistula.
Obstetric fistula is a devastating childbirth injury due to prolonged labor - and causes physical, psychological, emotional and social trauma. The injury is preventable with access to maternal health services and emergency obstetric care - and it is treatable through surgery. 
Fistula leaves a woman incontinent, leaking urine or feces and often shunned from her family and community. The injury occurs during labor and the woman often loses her baby in the process.
Fistula Foundation estimates that at least one million women in Africa and Asia needlessly suffer from untreated fistula.
Today is the International Day to End Obstetric Fistula - honor the resillient women who have suffered for so long and the surgeons who work tirelessly to restore their dignity, hope and life. ]]> https://www.girlsglobe.org/2023/05/23/maureen-okango-healing-the-worlds-most-resilient-women/feed/ 0 63731 https://www.girlsglobe.org/2022/12/28/why-we-must-harness-the-collective-power-of-mothers/ https://www.girlsglobe.org/2022/12/28/why-we-must-harness-the-collective-power-of-mothers/#comments Wed, 28 Dec 2022 10:59:00 +0000 https://www.girlsglobe.org/?p=62649&preview=true&preview_id=62649 Five years ago, after giving birth to my daughter, I decided to commit the rest of my life to ensuring that every woman has access to world-class maternal care. I suffered from postpartum hemorrhage—excessive bleeding due to obstetric trauma. Postpartum hemorrhage can be a life-threatening complication and is the leading cause of maternal death globally. In impoverished areas, the rate of maternal mortality and morbidity remains staggeringly high. The good news? Most maternal deaths are entirely preventable, as are disabling childbirth injuries like fistula. Your action today can change lives. Read the post Harnessing the Collective Power of Mothers, published on Girls’ Globe. Then, brighten a woman’s world by making a year-end gift to Fistula Foundation, an organization that believes that no woman should suffer a life of misery and isolation simply for trying to bring a child into the world.]]> https://www.girlsglobe.org/2022/12/28/why-we-must-harness-the-collective-power-of-mothers/feed/ 4 62649 https://www.girlsglobe.org/2022/03/23/feminists-demand-governments-to-commit-to-urgent-deep-shifts-in-climate-action-at-csw/ https://www.girlsglobe.org/2022/03/23/feminists-demand-governments-to-commit-to-urgent-deep-shifts-in-climate-action-at-csw/#respond Wed, 23 Mar 2022 08:42:52 +0000 https://www.girlsglobe.org/?p=61884&preview=true&preview_id=61884 This year, the Commission on the Status of Women (CSW), the United Nations’ largest gathering on gender equality, takes up environment and climate change as its priority theme for the first time ever.  From March 14-22, representatives of UN member states will discuss climate change and its intersection with gender equality. Feminists and rights advocates […]]]> https://www.girlsglobe.org/2022/03/23/feminists-demand-governments-to-commit-to-urgent-deep-shifts-in-climate-action-at-csw/feed/ 0 61884 https://www.girlsglobe.org/2021/10/27/knowledge-is-power-ending-womens-suffering-from-obstetric-fistula/ https://www.girlsglobe.org/2021/10/27/knowledge-is-power-ending-womens-suffering-from-obstetric-fistula/#respond Wed, 27 Oct 2021 12:47:17 +0000 https://www.girlsglobe.org/?p=61081&preview=true&preview_id=61081 The Cause of Obstetric Fistula At 25 years old, Rose Taigo was ready for motherhood. She assumed she would give birth at home in her rural village in Tanzania, like most women in her community. However, when her labor began, it soon became clear: Something was horribly wrong.  She traveled to two healthcare facilities before […]]]> https://www.girlsglobe.org/2021/10/27/knowledge-is-power-ending-womens-suffering-from-obstetric-fistula/feed/ 0 61081