By Leslie Black Cordes, Global Alliance for Clean Cookstoves Last week, I hosted a cooking class, invited several friends and their daughters to attend, and enjoyed an afternoon of friendship and baking in the comfort and safety of my home.   I relished the rare opportunity to spend some quiet time relaxing and cooking with friends, but later that evening as I washed the dishes from the day’s activities, I couldn’t help but reflect on how far removed my day had...
By Melany Grout, Landesa The Girls Project, a partnership between the government of West Bengal and Landesa, aims to keep girls in school and reduce their vulnerability to child marriage. More than 40,000 girls are currently participating in the project, learning about their rights to own and inherit land and receiving training in intensive organic gardening skills during regular meetings led by the girls themselves with support from government rural health workers. Girls who participate in the program are more likely to stay in...
By Lorriann Robinson, ONE UK Policy & Advocacy Manager Every year, more than 13 million girls marry before their 18th birthday. These girls overwhelmingly come from the world’s poorest countries, and are often the poorest girls within their communities. Early marriage is a complex problem, the root causes of which are many and varied. But poverty, and often extreme poverty, is an important piece of the jigsaw. It is both a cause and a consequence of early marriage. Arranging for their daughters to be...
April is National Poetry Month! To celebrate, here’s a set of graphics that showcase some of our favorite verses of poetry by strong women poets from around the world.  Please add to our list by posting your favorite poem or poet in our comments section below. We would especially love more poems in other languages! 1. Dr. Maya Angelou (US)   A woman of many talents, Dr. Maya Angelou is well known for her work as playwright and poet. She has been a...
Anne Wafula (second from right) harvests millet on her farm in Kenya with the help of neighboring women farmers. Photo: Hailey Tucker Did you know that women make up half of Africa’s agricultural workforce overall, and more than half in several countries? And did you know that these African women, depending on where they’re from, produce up to two-thirds less per unit of land than men? It’s not because they’re less able than men. It’s not because they’re less resourceful. And it’s...