# data[].attributes.body
LGBTQ Rights

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Canadian actor Elliot Page has thanked fans for their overwhelming support in his first social-media post since he came out as transgender in early December.

Page, who was formerly known as Ellen Page, wrote on Sunday (Dec 20): "From the bottom of my heart, thank you. Your love and support has been the greatest gift.

"Stay safe. Be there for each other...See you in 2021. Xoxo Elliot."

Page, who rose to fame in the coming-of-age movie Juno (2007), also shared a recent selfie of himself in a hoodie and glasses.

Several celebrities expressed support for Page in his post, including actress Jennifer Garner, who also acted in Juno, as well as actresses Kate Mara, Julianne Moore and Sharon Stone.

Page, 33, came out as gay in 2014 and married dancer Emma Portner in 2018. He has appeared in other movies such as Inception (2010) and X-Men: Days Of Future Past (2014) and recently starred in the Netflix superhero series The Umbrella Academy (2019 to present).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Actor Elliot Page thanks fans for support after he comes out as transgender

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Canadian actor Elliot Page has thanked fans for their overwhelming support in his first social-media post since he came out as transgender in early December. Page, who was formerly known as Ellen Page, wrote on Sunday (Dec 20): "From the bottom of my heart, thank you.

# data[].attributes.body
First female president in Africa empowering women in areas of conflict.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
The Nobel Peace Prize 2011

Born: 29 October 1938, Monrovia, Liberia

Residence at the time of the award: , Liberia

Role: President of Liberia

Prize motivation: "for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work."

Prize share: 1/3

Life

Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was born in Monrovia, Liberia. She married in 1955 and, in 1961, travelled with her husband to the US, where she studied economics at Harvard University and other institutions. After her return to Liberia, she worked for the government, including as the Minister of Finance, prior to the military coup of 1980. After having worked within the banking industry and at the United Nations, she was defeated in the Liberian presidential election of 1997. She was later elected as president in 2005 and then re-elected in 2011. Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has four children.

Work

Women often suffer most when wars and conflicts erupt. At the same time, their opportunity to influence events during conflicts is often severely limited. Women's rights and full participation in democratic processes are important to ensure lasting peace. In Liberia, bloody civil wars ravaged the country between 1989 and 2003. In 2005, two years after the guns fell silent, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf was elected as the nation's president. As the first female head of state ever to be democratically elected in Africa, she has worked to promote peace, reconciliation and social and economic development.

To cite this section
MLA style: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf - Facts. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Media AB 2021. Sat. 27 Mar 2021. <https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2011/johnson_sirleaf/facts/>

Back to top

Twelve laureates were awarded a Nobel Prize in 2020, for achievements that have conferred the greatest benefit to humankind.

Their work and discoveries range from the formation of black holes and genetic scissors to efforts to combat hunger and develop new auction formats.

See them all presented here.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf The Nobel Peace Prize 2011 Born: 29 October 1938, Monrovia, Liberia Residence at the time of the award: , Liberia Role: President of Liberia Prize motivation: "for their non-violent struggle for the safety of women and for women's rights to full participation in peace-building work."

# data[].attributes.body
Tips for empowering women.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Melinda Gates, co-chair of the Gates Foundation.
Forbes

It starts with recognizing the work of caregiving and ends in the boardroom, the billionaire philanthropist tells the 2020 Forbes Power Women Summit.

Melinda Gates doesn't shy away from a fight. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has a $49.8 billion endowment, is attacking some of the most intractable problems in developing countries. From healthcare access to education to gender equality, the foundation is focused on lifting people out of poverty.

"It takes a consortium of private sector, public sector, philanthropy, and civil society to hold everybody accountable," Gates said at the 2020 Forbes Power Women Summit. "When you get that ecosystem working and working properly, you can tackle some of the hardest challenges in the world." For example, she noted that mass vaccination and mosquito-netting distribution efforts have cut the childhood death rate from malaria in half over the past 30 years.

But the Covid-19 pandemic, she said, is bringing challenges closer to home. "The pandemic has laid bare what our economy is built on-and economies all over the world are built on-the backs of women's unpaid labor," Gates told moderator Moira Forbes, president and publisher of ForbesWomen, as the bulk of caregiving for children and relatives has disproportionately affected women.

Here are Gates' ideas for improving equality during this time of crisis.

Strive For Equality In The Home

"You have to learn to have your voice in your home. If you don't see equality in your own home, it's very hard to live out in the world," said Gates. "If you feel like you're doing more than your fair share of the unpaid labor, you better figure that out with your partner in your home or with your kids to take on some of the labor." But this also extends outside the home. It means seeking out friends "who see you for your true self and help you with your voice," she said.

Rethink Caregiving and Childcare

Between lockdowns and virtual schooling, the pandemic has put increased pressure on parents trying to work, whether it be from home or in person. But the pressure is more acutely felt by women. A September report from the Department of Labor estimated that 865,000 women dropped out of the American workforce, four times the rate of men. "If we're going to build back as quickly as we possibly can, from Covid-19, we have to look at this fundamental issue of caregiving, because it is one of the things that holds women back from doing the productive work they sometimes want to do in society," said Gates.

Implement Paid Family Medical Leave

The private sector needs to ensure "good paid family medical leave policies," so that parents shouldn't be forced between caring for a newborn child or not having any income, said Gates. And she doesn't just mean women. Gates pointed to Sweden, which provides both parents with paid leave: "If a dad takes time off at the beginning, he participates in rearing the child all the way through their life far more."

"It helps when you have more women in leadership positions, because they know what this burden looks like," Gates said. It will also cause a ripple effect. "When you have more female leaders in Congress, in the Senate, in state houses, very good policies get passed." She also dismissed the idea of "leaky pipelines," as a reason that women don't rise to positions of power, and said it's up to management to set an example. She said CEOs need to tell senior leaders "we are going to move the needle on this [and] have transparency about how many women and people of color you have at all levels," said Gates. The key is analyzing, measuring and holding people accountable to implement these changes.

Gates has teamed up with MacKenzie Scott, the former wife of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, on a $40 million gender equity challenge called "Equality Can't Wait," which aims to incubate the most promising ideas for helping to expand women's power and influence in the United States by 2030.

Gates and her husband have also committed more than $420 million to ensure the distribution of Covid-19 vaccines to low- and middle-income countries. "I define power as using your voice and your resources to change the world for others, and particularly in a time of crisis," Gates said.
Update: This story has been updated to reflect that the Equality Can't Wait Challenge funding increased to $40 million.
... Read More

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Melinda Gates' Prescription For Supporting Strong Women

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Melinda Gates doesn't shy away from a fight. The Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, which has a $49.8 billion endowment, is attacking some of the most intractable problems in developing countries. From healthcare access to education to gender equality, the foundation is focused on lifting people out of poverty.

# data[].attributes.body
Most of the nurses and healthcare workers in the EU are women. Their workload is very demanding, often taking an emotional toll. Yet their profession is one of the most undervalued, and under-paid jobs in the EU.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In Europe, we are all adjusting to new ways of living because of the effects of the coronavirus. We are learning what it means to self-quarantine, work from home, home-school children, lose a job or even a loved one. Each person's situation is different, but for sure, the coronavirus will reveal the different realities of women and men.
At the frontline of this coronavirus pandemic are the healthcare workers who are working around the clock and putting themselves at risk to care for patients. Most of the nurses and healthcare workers in the EU are women. Their workload is very demanding, often taking an emotional toll. Yet their profession is one of the most undervalued, and under-paid jobs in the EU.

Men's mortality rate is higher

Preliminary figures show that women and men are being infected by the coronavirus in about equal numbers, but the mortality rate is higher for men than for women [1]. The World Health Organization recommends to keep up healthy food and exercise habits to boost the immune system and avoid unhealthy ones such as smoking and consuming excessive alcohol. More men smoke than women and are therefore more likely to be at risk of developing a serious disease if infected with the virus.

Extra challenges for public transport users

Our Gender Equality Index findings show that women rely much more on public transportation than men. This puts women at greater risk of coming into contact with the virus, when they have to either get to work, visit a doctor or do the grocery shopping. This is especially the case with single parents, who are less likely to have a car due to financial reasons. 18 % of them say that public transport is the only method of transport available to them. In countries where restrictions on movement have tightened, public transport has been reduced or even shut down. This makes life more difficult for people who rely on these services and still need to get to work, visit a doctor or do the grocery shopping

Concern for severe job losses in women-dominated professions

The closure or near-closure of many businesses could have a severe effect on many women-dominated professions. Flight attendants, tour operators, sales assistants, hotel cleaners and hairdressers are often already in precarious jobs and will probably not be paid nor entitled to paid sick leave. These people are likely to have difficulty paying for basic necessities such as groceries, rent and bills in the coming days and months. EIGE's research shows that a quarter of women employees across the EU are in a precarious job. For migrants, the situation is even worse. Nearly one in three non-EU born women (35 %) and one in four men (24 %) work in precarious jobs.

Unpaid care work will increase

Even without a crisis, caring responsibilities usually fall heavily on women. Now with the closure of schools and workplaces, their unpaid workload is likely to further increase. If older relatives get sick, they will also need looking after. The situation for single parents can be even more difficult, especially when options for informal childcare are unavailable.

Physical distancing is not an option for everyone

In the EU, nearly a quarter of households depend on informal care from relatives or friends. As physical distancing and confinement measures become the norm, it will become harder for family, friends and neighbours to provide or receive such care.

There are also many people in our society, for whom physical distancing is not an option. We have 61 million women and 47 million men with disabilities in the EU. Many of them depend on help from others to eat, dress or shower, which makes physical distancing almost impossible. Across the EU, most of the professional carers working with people with disabilities or older people are women (83 %).

Domestic abuse increases in times of crisis

These times of social isolation increase the risk of domestic abuse. Women in violent relationships are stuck at home and exposed to their abuser for longer periods of time. This makes it very difficult for them to call helplines as the perpetrator is always around. It can also be harder for women to leave their abuser once the crisis is over, due to the financial insecurity that might follow.

Neighbours or relatives can have an important role in contacting the police if they suspect that violence is occurring, especially when the victim is not able to call for help.

Where are women decision-makers?

While nurses are working non-stop behind the scenes in hospitals to look after patients, we mostly see men out in the public domain, making the news headlines. They are the ones who hold most of the positions of power in our society. In this crisis, it is usually men who are making all the important decisions, which affect the everyday lives of citizens. This imbalance of decision-making power means that women are left out from shaping the decisions that affect their own lives.

Policy measures must consider the different needs of women and men

The response from policymakers must consider the different experiences faced by women and men during a pandemic to ensure that everyone gets the help they most need. There is a big need for sex-disaggregated data to fully understand how women and men are affected by the virus. Not only for infection rates, but also the economic impacts, the distribution of care work and the extent of domestic violence. It is also time for leaders to recognise and give more value to the important work done by those who are in the frontlines of a health crisis, such as healthcare workers, home carers and domestic workers.

COMING SOON: EIGE is preparing a webpage with more information about the coronavirus pandemic from a gender perspective.

Further reading

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In Europe, we are all adjusting to new ways of living because of the effects of the coronavirus. We are learning what it means to self-quarantine, work from home, home-school children, lose a job or even a loved one. Each person's situation is different, but for sure, the coronavirus will reveal the different realities of women and men.

# data[].attributes.body
We talk to India's first transgender band, 6 Pack Band, with Amin Lakhani Leader, South Asia, Team Unilever, Mindshare.

# data[].attributes.body
Watch this animation to find out how women's movements make change happen.

# data[].attributes.body
Fighting for girls rights in South America

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
In 2009, Veronica Buch was selected to join Rise Up's first cohort in Guatemala. In the last decade, Veronica has mobilized girls, women, and their allies to create a more just and equitable country for girls and women - including successfully advocating to ban child marriage in Guatemala.

Now Veronica's daughter Melody follows in her mother's footsteps - organizing girls to raise their voices, fight for their dreams, and lead change in their communities and beyond.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Rise Up Guatemala - Veronica's Story - Rise Up

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
In 2009, Veronica Buch was selected to join Rise Up's first cohort in Guatemala. In the last decade, Veronica has mobilized girls, women, and their allies to create a more just and equitable country for girls and women - including successfully advocating to ban child marriage in Guatemala.

# data[].attributes.body
From the Gates Foundation

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Photo courtesy of Project Syndicate

When Africa's women farmers thrive, everyone benefits: the women themselves, the children in whom they invest, the communities that they feed, and the economies to which they contribute. With the right investments and policies, Africa's woman-run farms could produce a bumper crop of development.
This piece was originally published on Project Syndicate on October 2, 2019
WASHINGTON, DC - Over 60% of all employed women in Sub-Saharan Africa work in agriculture. Yet the region's women farmers often reap a meager harvest, not because of inclement weather or poor soil quality, but because of their gender - or, more specifically, because of a dense web of laws, policies, programs, and customs that put them at a significant disadvantage.

Closing the gender gap in agriculture will require action on three fronts. The first is land rights. In most of Sub-Saharan Africa, women rarely own land. Instead, women farmers usually access land through a male relative, most commonly a husband, brother, or father. This arrangement leaves them highly vulnerable; a death, divorce, or simply a man's change of mind can leave a woman farmer landless overnight.

The resulting insecurity affects the way women farm. At constant risk of displacement, long-term productivity-enhancing investments don't make financial sense. Why build terraces to reduce erosion and improve soil health if someone else can claim the land and its improvements as soon as the work is finished? Why plant an orchard if it can simply be taken away once the final tree is in the ground?

Over the last two decades, many countries have taken important steps to promote and protect women's land rights. For example, Ethiopia introduced joint land registration - with the names and photographs of both husband and wife included on certificates - thereby formalizing women's rights to the land they farm. Such reform has been shown to lead to increased investment in land, especially by women. The investment rises even higher among women who are also educated about their land rights, highlighting the importance of legal literacy programs.

But land is only the first step. Women also lack equal access to inputs, including fertilizer, better seeds, mechanical equipment, and agricultural extension services that would connect them with information about improved agricultural practices. This inequality is compounded by unequal access to the credit farmers need to purchase inputs. In Kenya, Malawi, Sierra Leone, Zambia, and Zimbabwe, studies have shown that women are less likely to benefit from financial services.

Improving access to financial services and agricultural inputs thus constitutes the second front for empowering women farmers. Development agencies and NGOs have begun working to design woman-focused financial services and programs to improve access to agricultural inputs. African women are also helping one another, with a growing number of women's organizations, such as microfinance groups, working to improve access to financial services, new technologies, and information. In Kenya, members of such self-help groups are likelier than other women to know about climate-smart agricultural practices, for example.

The final front is perhaps the trickiest: decision-making power. In far too many contexts, women farmers lack the authority to manage the crops they produce or the income they generate. This has far-reaching implications for development.

In Sub-Saharan Africa, agriculture is 2-4 times more effective in reducing poverty than growth in other sectors. Moreover, as the Goalkeepers report released last month by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation showed, women are likelier than men to invest resources under their control in meeting their children's needs (food and education).

Given this, enabling women farmers to control their resources is important to achieving not only United Nations Sustainable Development Goal 5 - gender equality and empowerment of women and girls - but also many others, including eliminating poverty (SDG1) and ending hunger (SDG2).

Though some progress has been made on all three fronts to empower women farmers, it is nowhere near enough. To encourage and guide further action, my colleagues at the International Food Policy Research Institute and I designed the Women's Empowerment in Agriculture Index, which measures decision-making power, access to resources (including credit), control over income, time burdens, and membership in groups.

By providing insight into the extent and sources of women's agricultural disempowerment in various contexts, the WEAI - and a later adaptation, pro-WEAI, which facilitates project impact assessments - is helping governments, donors, and NGOs to design effective interventions. So far, the WEAI (including adaptations) has been used by 99 different organizations in 54 countries. For example, WEAI insights guided the design of Bangladesh's ANGeL project, which aims to identify actions and investments in agriculture that will improve nutrition and empower women.

When Africa's women farmers thrive, everyone benefits: the women themselves, the children in whom they invest, the communities that they feed, and the economies to which they contribute. With the right investments and policies, Africa's woman-run farms could produce a bumper crop of development.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
When Africa's women farmers thrive, everyone benefits: the women themselves, the children in whom they invest, the communities that they feed, and the economies to which they contribute. With the right investments and policies, Africa's woman-run farms could produce a bumper crop of development.

# data[].attributes.body
He for She Speech

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Emma Watson HeForShe Speech at the United Nations | UN Women 2014

# data[].attributes.body
Desmond Napoles (stage name: Desmond is Amazing) is a 12-year old drag kid, awarded LGBTQ advocate, outspoken gay youth, editorial and runway model, public speaker

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Desmond is Amazing | Desmond Napoles | LGBTQ Advocate

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Teen Drag Superstar Desmond Is Amazing Releases Debut Single "We Are Amazing" April 30th, 2021 "Be Amazing: A History of Pride" by Desmond is Amazing and Illustrated by Dylan Glynn now available for purchase #DESMONDISAMAZING Teenager Desmond Napoles is a multi-awarded LGBTQ advocate, outspoken gay youth, genderfluid editorial and runway model, motivational public speaker, performer, designer, actor, singer, host and published author.

# data[].attributes.body
American activists making a difference.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Whether it's leading a national conversation about gun control or fighting for girls' education and gender equality around the world, an increasing number of young women are stepping forward as change agents.

To keep the momentum going, this year's theme for International Women's Day is centered around #PressforProgress and urges women of all generations to to use their voices to make a difference.

Below are just a few of the young female leaders leading national and international conversations about some of the world's most critical issues:

Just days after a gunman opened fire at her school and killed 17 of her peers, Florida high school senior Emma Gonzalez used her voice to call national attention to gun law reform. She, along with several of her classmates, have held gun control rallies in their Florida community and called on government officials to act now to prevent future mass shootings from taking place.

In an essay written for Harper's Bazaar, the 18-year-old spoke about her determination to continue to use her voice until change has occurred.

"If I'm able to communicate one thing to adults, it would be this: It should not be easier to purchase a gun than it is to obtain a driver's license, and military-grade weapons should not be accessible in civilian settings," she wrote. "You don't drive a NASCAR on the street, no matter how fun it might be, just like you don't need an AR-15 to protect yourself when walking home at night. No one does."

In 2006, 8-year-old Copeny wrote a letter to President Barack Obama in which she referred to herself as "Little Miss Flint." In the letter she asked if she could meet with him or the First Lady during an upcoming trip to Washington, D.C. She was heading to the nation's capital to hear Michigan Gov. Rick Snyder testify before Congress about the water crisis in her hometown of Flint, Michigan.

"My mom said chances are you will be to [sic] busy with more important things but there is a lot of people coming on these buses and even just a meeting from you or your wife would really lift peoples spirits," The Washington Post reports her writing in her letter. "Thank you for all that do for our country."

While her trip to Washington did not end with the meeting she had hoped for, "Little Miss Flint" later received a call from the White House that President Obama had read her letter and was emailing a response. In the letter, Obama explained that he was moved by Copeny's words and that he hoped to meet her on his upcoming trip to Flint.

Since that meeting, Copeny has continued her fight for clean water in Flint and has also become a youth ambassador for the Women's March.

In 2012, Yousafzai was shot by the Taliban after publicly speaking out about her fight to protect girls' education. After surviving the attack she went on to share her story around the world and launched the Malala Fund in 2013 with her father to raise awareness.

"I started speaking out when I was 11 years old and I had no idea if my voice can have an impact or not," Yousafzai said during a session titled " An Insight, An Idea With Malala Yousafzai" at this year's Davos summit. "But soon I realized that people were listening to me and my voice was reaching to people around the world. So change is possible and do not limit yourself, do not stop yourself, just because you are young."

In addition to being an activist, 20-year-old Yousafzai is a published author, a United Nations (UN) Messenger of Peace and in 2014 she became the youngest Nobel Laureate ever after receiving the Nobel Peace Prize.

Shahidi is an 18-year-old actress and activist who uses her platform to advocate for important issues like diversity in Hollywood, girls' education and voter turnout. Most recently, she sat down with Oprah Winfrey to discuss how she's turning her activism into action by launching a new initiative called Eighteen x '18, which will encourage more young people to vote in the upcoming elections.

In the past, she's worked with Michelle Obama's Let Girls Learn initiative and with the United Nations to launch a mentorship program called "Yara's Club," through the Young Women's Leadership Network.

Her work with empowering young women also helped her to score the ultimate college recommendation from Mrs. Obama herself. After completing her gap year, she plans to attend Harvard University as a sociology and African-American studies double major.

In 2016, at just 22 years old, Mazrui was appointed Minister of State for Youth Affairs in the United Arab Emirates. According to the Los Angeles Times, she is believed to be the youngest government minister in the world and her role is to create pathways for young people to have more engagement with government and within society.

She holds a bachelor's degree from New York University Abu Dhabi and a master's in public policy from the University of Oxford, which she attended as her country's first Rhodes Scholar.

In 2015, 5-year-old Cruz broke through security to give Pope Francis a letter in which she asked that her parents, who are undocumented immigrants, not be deported from the United States. In the letter, she asked that Pope Francis speak with the President and Congress about the issue and said that she would soon be sending a letter to President Obama.

Since then, Cruz has continued to advocate for immigration rights. Last year she spoke at the Women's March in Washington, D.C., and she called on the crowd to work together to bring about change.

"Let us fight with love, faith and courage so that our families will not be destroyed," she said.

At 13 years old, Dias is the founder of #1000blackgirlbooks, a campaign that she started in 2015 with the goal to collect and donate 1,000 books to her peers that featured black girls as the main characters.

To date, she has collected more than 10,000 books and spoke alongside Michelle Obama and Oprah Winfrey at the United State of Women Summit in 2016. This past January, she released her own book, " Marley Dias Gets it Done: And So Can You!" which features opening remarks and praise from Hillary Clinton, Ellen DeGeneres and filmmaker Ava DuVernay.

"I'm working to create a space where it feels easy to include and imagine black girls and make black girls like me the main characters of our lives," Dias said at Forbes' Women Summit in New York City last year.

Her work has also earned her a spot as the youngest person on Forbes 2018 "30 Under 30" list.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
7 female activists under 23 who are changing the world

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Whether it's leading a national conversation about gun control or fighting for girls' education and gender equality around the world, an increasing number of young women are stepping forward as change agents. To keep the momentum going, this year's theme for International Women's Day is centered around #PressforProgress and urges women of all generations to to use their voices to make a difference.

# data[].attributes.body
4 Girls making a Difference

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Dozens of girls and young women in countries around the globe are proving you don't need superpowers to fight for justice, equality and peace.

After traveling to 13 countries to visit 15 girl-led nonprofits, photojournalist Paola Gianturco has collected their stories in a new book, " Wonder Girls: Changing Our World." The project features the stories of 90 young female activists transforming the world around them using their intelligence, determination, creativity, and dreams.

Between 2013 and 2016, Gianturco spent one week with each nonprofit while her 11-year-old co-author and granddaughter, Alex Sangster, interviewed them via FaceTime. Gianturco said she was "dazzled" by what she saw.

"Throughout my research, I felt as if I were watching Trojan horses. Most people don't expect young girls to speak truth to power or to be strategic and effective. Their age works to their advantage; their creative approaches, stamina, and resilience catch people off guard and win them," Gianturco wrote in the book. "Some people perceive them as 'the future.' But right now, they are enhancing education, health, equality and the environment - and stopping child marriage, domestic violence, trafficking, and war."

Moreover, she said 100 percent of the author royalties from "Wonder Girls" go to the Global Fund for Women, which supports girl-led groups around the world.

Here's a glimpse at some of the stories the girls shared with the book's authors.

Indonesia

Two sisters from Bali are campaigning to get their island home to eliminate plastic bags.

Growing up in an area where plastic waste lines roadsides and engulfs beaches, Melati and Isabel Wijsen were aware of the negative impact of plastic. At the age of 12 and 10, respectively, the sisters were inspired to take action after learning about world leaders and activists in school, including Nelson Mandela and Martin Luther King Jr.

"I said to Isabel, 'Don't we want to be like them? Don't we want to do something to make the world better?'" Melati Wijsen said. "We sat here on this bench and made a list of problems in Bali ... For us, garbage was the biggest thing."

Plastic waste in the Southeast Asian nation, which lies at the heart of the Coral Triangle, accounts for 10 percent of marine plastic pollution, according to findings in a 2015 study led by Jenna Jambeck, an environmental engineer at the University of Georgia.

Bali's residents and visitors alone dump 5,000 tons of solid garbage every day, of which up to 30 percent is plastic, according to the ROLE (Rivers, Oceans, Lands Ecology) Foundation, a nonprofit based in Nusa Dua, Bali.

Melati and Isabel Wijsen decided to focus their efforts on eliminating the use of plastic bags in Bali. In 2013, the sisters started a nonprofit organization called Bye Bye Plastic Bags.

"Everybody uses plastic bags. People toss them from cars, put them in bins, and where do they go? Into rice fields, rivers, the ocean," Melati Wijsen said.

The sisters collected thousands of signatures in their bid to get the local government to support the initiative. But nearly two years passed and they were still unable to meet with Bali's governor, Mangku Pastika.

"We thought, 'This is it.' So we sent a letter saying that we were going on a hunger strike," Isabel Wijsen said, noting that they performed the strike only from sunrise to sunset, avoided doing too much activity and drank coconut water throughout the day.

Twenty-four hours later, the girls received a phone call from the governor's office to set up a meeting in which he signed a memorandum of understanding to help Bali become free of plastic bags by January 2018.

"Today, we work with the government to make sure that they are keeping their promise," Isabel Wijsen said.

Now, Melati and Isabel Wijsen have recruited a volunteer team of about 30 students from schools across Bali. They organize clean-ups of villages and beaches, ask shops to stop using plastic bags and encourage locals to use reusable ones. Alternatives include bags made from cotton or recycled newspaper, or even banana leaves.

The youth-driven initiative has taken the sisters around the world, to London to deliver a TED talk in 2015 and to New York to address the United Nations for World Oceans Day 2017 in June. The girls said they have even expanded the Bye Bye Plastic Bags team to Indonesia's capital city, Jakarta, and other countries around the globe, including Australia, Singapore, the Philippines, Myanmar, China, Mexico and the United States.

"We have a lot of kids spreading the word now," Melati Wijsen said. "It's really cool."

Growing up in rural Malawi, Joyce Mkandawire and Faith Phiri know all too well the hurdles girls and young women face in pursuing an education. The southeastern African nation has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world, with approximately one in every two girls are married by the age of 18, according to a 2016 report by the United Nations children's fund (UNICEF).

A survey by Human Rights Watch, published in 2014, links the high prevalence of early marriages in Malawi to poverty, teenage pregnancy and lack of adequate education.

Societal pressures, customs, and sexual violence force girls to abandon their education, get married and have children. In some rural areas, the traditional practice "kupimbira" is used, in which poor families marry off their young daughters to settle debts or for financial gain, according to the Human Rights Watch survey.

Phiri said it's even common for teachers in primary schools to abuse girl students. One in every five girls in Malawi are sexually abused by the time they turn 18, according to a 2015 study by UNICEF.

"Growing up in Kasungu, lots of girls were dropping out of school. There were pressures on me to drop out, and rape attempts at home and at school. But I survived," Phiri said. "From that moment, I thought a lot about girls going through the same challenges, girls who had been abused and discouraged."

Mkandawire excelled in school and was accepted to a university, where she studied community development. She did housework in her aunt's house in return for the privilege of attending school. But Mkandawire got pregnant when she was 18 and could no longer do the work, forcing her to postpone the education she cared about so passionately.

"To me education was everything," Mkandawire said. "I knew there was nothing I could do if I was not educated."

Mkandawire and Phiri met while working at a local non-governmental organization that was interviewing young girls for a UNICEF research project. Together, they heard stories about interrupted educations from teen pregnancies and child marriage that mirrored their own experiences. So they decided to do something about it.

In 2008, Mkandawire and Phiri launched a girl-led organization called the Girls Empowerment Network (GENET) that they hoped would empower girls to fight for their right to education and against practices that make education an almost-impossible dream.

GENET members engage in discussions with village chiefs, traditional authorities, girls, parents, and grandparents. They work with civil society groups to organize marches, walks, radio programs and awareness campaigns. They even rescue girls from early marriages, making them GENET ambassadors and role models, like Alinafe, who had a baby and got married when she was 15.

Alinafe, whose last name was withheld for privacy reasons, lives in the rural village of Chitera in southern Malawi's Chiradzulu district. She dropped out of school to live with her husband and care for their child. But the couple struggled to put food on the table.

"We had no food a lot of times because my husband was not working," Alinafe said.

Alinafe was encouraged to join GENET's group in Chitera, which convinced her to move out of her marriage and return home so she could go back to school. She now lives with her mother, who takes care of her baby, Monica, when she's in class.

Alinafe has never seen Malawi's capital city but she hopes to be an accountant there one day.

"I have big dreams for Monica. I want her to have all the resources she needs to go to school," she said. "Every day, I work hard so she will not face what I faced."

GENET won support from Malawian politician Patricia Kaliati, who fought hard as Minister of Gender, Children and Community Development to table a new marriage bill in parliament. The Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations bill passed unanimously in February 2015 and was signed into law that summer, raising the legal age of marriage in Malawi from 15 to 18 and imposing a 10-year prison sentence on men who marry girls younger than 18.

Earlier this year, Malawi's parliament took another historic step and unanimously adopted an amendment aligning the constitution with the 2015 Marriage, Divorce and Family Relations Act. The move closed a loophole in the constitution that allowed girls as young as 15 to still marry with "parental consent," according to Human Rights Watch.

But overcoming deeply rooted cultural beliefs and traditions, especially in remote, rural areas, remains a challenge. GENET continues to educate the public and the judiciary about the bill, hoping to get it translated into the indigenous language, Chichewa.

United States

As an actress in her early 20s, Diane Luby Lane began performing classic poems throughout the city. She later connected with James Kass while in San Francisco, who is widely credited with helping launch the youth spoken-word movement.

"I saw young people doing spoken-word for the first time. Blew my mind," Lane said.

She realized the power spoken-word, also known as slam poetry, could have on teen literacy and social consciousness in a country where 14 percent of adults are considered illiterate, according to the 2003 National Assessment of Adult Literacy released by the National Center for Education Statistics.

Moreover, California's fourth-graders ranked third from the bottom in a 2015 national reading test conducted by the National Center for Education Statistics.

So in 2006, Lane started a Los Angeles-based nonprofit organization called Get Lit aimed at using spoken-word poetry to increase literacy and stem dropout rates among teens growing up in impoverished neighborhoods. But getting local schools on board with her lesson plan was a challenge at first.

"The Walt Whitman Continuation School is right by my house. After many schools hung up on me, I called them. A woman said, 'Oh it would be such an honor to work with you; our kids feel like they know you already.' She thought I was the actress Diane Lane. I hung up and cried," Lane said. "But I showed up and taught that class. It was a major success."

What began as a one-woman show performed by Lane soon spiraled into lesson plans she taught in a handful of classrooms. Lane has since crafted a curriculum that meets Common Core standards and is currently taught by English and drama teachers in over 100 public high schools in California, reaching tens of thousands of youth each year.

Get Lit participants learn classic poetry, choose a poem that resonates with them and then pen their own three-minute spoken-word responses, which they perform in tandem. According to the organization's website, 97 percent of teachers see a significant increase in attendance, engagement, and grades among their students after participation in Get Lit's "core program."

Students can audition to join the "Get Lit Players," an award-winning classic poetry troupe for teens ages 13 to 19, who perform annually for thousands of their peers. Nearly 100 percent of all Get Lit Players go on to college and almost 75 percent receive scholarships.

One of those poets is Rhiannon McGavin, who first got involved with Get Lit as a freshman in high school. In 2014, McGavin along with two other girl members of Get Lit recited their powerful slam poem "Somewhere in America" on "The Queen Latifah Show." The teens addressed topics like race, discrimination, gun violence and sexual assault.

"Gladys Knight and Gloria Steinem were on the same show. That really hammered home the work that we are doing, not just with poetry but within our own communities and neighborhoods," McGavin said. "It demonstrated to us the collective power of activism and feminism."

McGavin was later named the 2016-2017 Youth Poet Laureate of Los Angeles. She published a poetry book, "Branches," in June.

"To be so young and to have so many opportunities, and to know that these opportunities are coming both because you work hard and because people love you and want to see you succeed is wondrous," McGavin said.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
'Wonder Girls': How girl-led activists are changing the world

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Dozens of girls and young women in countries around the globe are proving you don't need superpowers to fight for justice, equality and peace. After traveling to 13 countries to visit 15 girl-led nonprofits, photojournalist Paola Gianturco has collected their stories in a new book, " Wonder Girls: Changing Our World."

# data[].attributes.body
"She thought she could, so she did."

# data[].attributes.headline
Comic Book: Look Closer: Girls And Young Women Taking Action Against Poverty

# data[].attributes.subject
Comic Book: Look Closer: Girls And Young Women Taking Action Against Poverty

# data[].attributes.body
An original comic book that features stories about girls taking action against poverty in their communities. These stories are based on real-life actions that were part of the National Day of Action.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
By Andreas Kirchhof and Vania Turner in Lusenda refugee camp, DRC | 01 March 2018 | Français

"When we play, I forget that I am in a refugee camp. I think that I am in a different country. I love it so much!"

Emerance is a 16-year-old Burundian refugee who captains an all-girl football team. Her team-mates call her Neymar, after the Brazilian soccer star.

Today is a special day. Her team, the Morning Stars, will play a friendly match against another girls' team in Lusenda refugee camp.

Emerance is sure they will win. "I believe in our team. We are the best team in this camp."

Before the Morning Stars can play, Emerance has to deal with another exhausting day in the camp. She rises early, gets her little brother ready for school and prepares breakfast. She then walks to school in the next village.

She says she enjoys learning English and French, despite overcrowding at the school which has received support from UNHCR to take in refugees. Back at home, she cooks again for her siblings then fetches water from the pump to her parents' home and helps with other tasks.

"They are such good players. They need to be supported."

As match time approaches in late afternoon, the girls head for the football field, an uneven patch of bare earth. Emerance's team wears red, the other side is in green. However, Emerance and most of the players play barefoot.

UNHCR supports refugees in Lusenda and elsewhere by providing basic sports equipment, ensuring that there are playing fields in the camps and by organizing matches. Too little funds are available to support these activities, important as they are for young people.

UNHCR has formed a partnership with the French radio station Radio France Internationale to provide additional equipment for the players in Lusenda and to tell the world about the refugees and their love of football.

The teams play hard in persistent rain, which makes the pitch slippery and play difficult. Emerance and her team have more possession of the ball but, in the end, the score is nil-nil.

"They are such good players," says trainer Eric Itangishaka, a refugee himself and a volunteer. "They need to be supported."

"When I play, it makes me think about the future."

"We play well together," says striker Spéciose, 15. "Everyone knows their role. And we are friends, too. We help each other in school."

Playing football helps Emerance to live with difficult memories. She was 14 when she left Burundi. "It was night. I heard all these gunshots outside our house. I was afraid that a stray bullet would hit me and I would die. We started to run, the whole family, only our father was not at home. I was afraid for him, but he joined us later."

She does still not know what has happened to her older sister, who had her own home and family and of whom they have had no news. She may have fled, too.

"It is not easy, it is not good to be a refugee," she says. "But now it has happened and we live with it. When I play, it makes me think about the future."

What are the most important things for her future? Emerance thinks for a second or two. "First to go to school, second to live in a decent house, third to get [medical] treatment when I need it, fourth to eat well, fifth to become a great football player and play in the United States one day."

And a pair of football boots would also be a help.
Additional reporting: Walter Kigali, camera

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.authors[].name
United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Football gives Burundian girls strength to deal with trauma

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
By Andreas Kirchhof and Vania Turner in Lusenda refugee camp, DRC | 01 March 2018 | Français Emerance is a 16-year-old Burundian refugee who captains an all-girl football team. Her team-mates call her Neymar, after the Brazilian soccer star. Today is a special day.

# data[].attributes.body
Overview of why Gender Equality is Important

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Empowering women and promoting gender equality is crucial to accelerating sustainable development. Ending all forms of discrimination against women and girls is not only a basic human right, but it also has a multiplier effect across all other development areas.

Since 2000, UNDP together with our UN partners and the rest of the global community has made gender equality central to our work, and we have seen some remarkable successes. More girls are now in school compared to 15 years ago, and most regions have reached gender parity in primary education. Women now make up to 41 percent of paid workers outside of agriculture, compared to 35 percent in 1990.

The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) aim to build on these achievements to ensure that there is an end to discrimination against women and girls everywhere. There are still gross inequalities in access to paid employment in some regions, and significant gaps between men and women in the labour market. Sexual violence and exploitation, the unequal division of unpaid care and domestic work, and discrimination in public decision making, all remain huge barriers.

Ensuring universal access to sexual and reproductive health, and affording women equal rights to economic resources such as land and property, are vital targets to realizing this goal. There are now more women in public office than ever before, but encouraging more women leaders across all regions will help strengthen policies and legislation for greater gender equality.

Gender equality is one of 17 Global Goals that make up the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. An integrated approach is crucial for progress across the multiple goals.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Empowering women and promoting gender equality is crucial to accelerating sustainable development. Ending all forms of discrimination against women and girls is not only a basic human right, but it also has a multiplier effect across all other development areas.

# data[].attributes.body
This club for girls supports girls to stay in school despite their challenges.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
At a club for teenage girls in Sierre Leone, 18-year-old Mbalu leads by example

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Subscribe to UNICEF here: http://bit.ly/1ltTE3m Teenage pregnancy is one of the most pervasive social problems in Sierra Leone today - more than one third of all pregnancies involve teenage girls.

# data[].attributes.body
Watch this video for attitudes towards women and sports, learning and marriage.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
From the football field to the classrooms of Nepal | UNICEF

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
"Before, we didn't know how to study. We were not motivated. I am transformed because of sports. And my studies have also improved," Kalita says. In Solakhpur, Nepal, football is improving the life of 16-year-old Kalita and those of other adolescent girls through a sports programme meant to get more children into school and boost their academic success.

# data[].attributes.body
Following in footsteps of Malala, this teen is fighting for girls rights in Africa.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
The American teenager is campaigning tirelessly to end child marriage and help girls to stay in school in African countries.

With braces on her teeth and sneakers on her feet, Zuriel Oduwole from Los Angeles may look like a typical American teen.

But over the past six years, the willowy 15-year-old has been granted audiences with no fewer than 24 presidents and prime ministers on her crusade to promote education for girls in Africa.

Zuriel is following in the footsteps of Nobel Peace Prize laureate Malala Yousafzai, the Pakistani schoolgirl who survived being shot in the head to become the world's most famous girls' education campaigner.

Born in the United States to parents of Nigerian and Mauritian origin, Zuriel talks to African leaders "about making policies so that girls are able to go to school until at least the age of 18 so they don't get married when they are 12 or 13," she told AFP in an interview.

Around 39% of girls in sub-Saharan Africa are married before the age of 18, and 12% before their 15th birthday, UNICEF says.

Zuriel was in Paris last week to help advocate for wealthy countries to boost their aid to developing countries to 0.7% of GDP. France's aid budget is currently 0.38% of GDP.

Addressing tens of thousands of youths at a solidarity concert in Paris on Sunday, the young American tried to sensitise them to the effects of poverty on the plight of girls across Africa.

"Now I want you all to imagine your girl cousin... being married when she is 12 or 13 years old to a man who is 10 or even 20 years older than she is," she said.

"But guess what? Most of these problems are because of poverty."

Paradoxically, Zuriel, who is the eldest of four children, has never attended school herself. Her parents began home-schooling their precocious child when she was three.

At nine, she got her first break of sorts as a campaigner when she sought - and obtained - an interview with former Ghanaian president Jerry Rawlings for a documentary about the country's 1979 revolution.

In Ghana, she was struck by the sight of children trying to earn a buck to help out their families.

"I saw a lot of children, especially girls, out on the streets selling things and I see that a lot whenever I visit other African countries like Nigeria, Ethiopia and Tanzania."

At age 10, she became the youngest person to be interviewed by Forbes magazine and last month it named her one of Africa's 100 most influential women.

And next year she will begin attending university at the tender age of 16, with her sights set on Harvard or UCLA, where she wants to study economics and psychology.

Despite having a CV that screams wunderkind, Zuriel insists she leads the normal life of a teenager.

"I play sports, I play football and basketball, I have friends I hang out with. I just happen to do all of these projects on the side."

While in person she seems shy, the girl who takes to the stage in an African-style waxprint skirt and top is confident and articulate, while using language befitting of a teenager.

In many African countries, boys tend to be first in line when resources are scarce, she says, adding: "And that's not cool."

Zuriel's ambition knows no bounds. Citing Liberian leader Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, Africa's first female president, as an inspiration, Zuriel said she wants to become president of the United States, though she realises she has to wait 20 years to meet the age requirement.

In the meantime, as she shouts in one of the five films she has made: "I am unstoppable!"

As well as winning awards, she also hands them out, having set up a foundation in 2014 that recognises African first ladies for their work to promote girls' education.

This year the honour went to Senegal's first lady, Marieme Faye Sall.

Senegal is among few African countries where boys and girls attend primary school in equal numbers - but UNICEF notes that as the level of education increases girls' enrolment rates decrease.

We are a global children's charity committed to ending the global education crisis and unleashing the potential of the next generation.

Help us make an impact

Fundraise

Donate

Join the #WriteTheWrong campaign

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
At just 15, Zuriel has talked about girls' education to 24 presidents and prime ministers

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The American teenager is campaigning tirelessly to end child marriage and help girls to stay in school in African countries. With braces on her teeth and sneakers on her feet, Zuriel Oduwole from Los Angeles may look like a typical American teen.