Story by Monique John.
In 2013, Wilhelmina Myeonway Cooper did something few Liberian women manage to do – she launched her own business.
Passionate about fashion, Wilhelmina realized that she could work with local bag makers and artists to get them to customize bags for clients. She came up with the idea after observing bag sellers at Waterside Market in Liberia’s famous slum, West Point. And so Myeonway Designs was born.
Photo credit: Myeonway Designs
But there was one major problem: Wilhelmina couldn’t afford...
Girls and Women
Throughout history, women have changed the world with their strength, resistance, passion, and determination to create a better future. While the fight for equality continues, it’s important to remember the accomplishments of well-known idols and discover new ones who are shaping the world today.
Here are 10 women from different countries and time periods who championed the fight for equality:
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Wangari Maathai
Wangari Maathai greatly improved the economic and social status of Kenyan women in rural areas by combining...
In a world where women are not always given the same opportunities as men, a film that shows powerful women breaking down gender barriers deserves celebration.
Audiences are gearing up to see the highly-anticipated Marvel film Black Panther, and for all the right reasons. In addition to having a predominantly African-American cast, the film features an ensemble of vital female characters. Fierce warriors, a powerful queen, and a young genius don’t just work beside the hero — they are heroes...
More than 130 million girls weren’t given the chance to go to school today. That’s why people around the world are adding their voices to the #GirlsCount campaign to tell our elected officials that they need to make girls’ education a priority.
Girls’ Voices shares in our passion to educate girls around the world. Their organization believes that “when a girl stays in school, she has the power to transform lives, families, and communities.” Through digital media training, they’re empowering...
By girls’ education activist Selina Nkoile and ONE Policy Manager Gabriele Simeone
In the Maasai community, girls are booked for marriage at the age of 6, sometimes earlier. Once married off — generally, at age 12 — their fathers are compensated for their daughters with cows (or ng’ombe in Swahili), the most precious assets a Maasai family can have.
Before being married off though, child brides have to go through female genital mutilation and — if they survive — become wives...
This post was originally published on water.org.
Four years ago, Water.org documented Rose’s story. At the time she had just taken a small, affordable loan to give her family a toilet and water at home. She explained why this loan was so important to her by sharing her story…
Rose dropped out of school after fifth grade. It is no surprise why she quit school so young as, globally, the daily struggle to secure water burdens mainly women and children. All...
Refugee Camp, Kadujli Primary School. Kakuma, Kenya, Feb 2017. As the sun rises over the dusty roads, its light begins to reflect on the corrugated tin rooftops. In these early hours, houses are already bustling with activity as young children prepare for school. In this refugee camp, as in hundreds of others across the world, many girls are busy preparing breakfast while helping their siblings get ready for the day. After their chores are done, the girls who...
These two teens from Senegal are fighting for girls’ education!
“In the world today, if you don’t study, you will lose out. I want to study until I achieve something.” — Safi
Safi and Dieynabah, 18, are trailblazers. They have fought hard to stay in school and get a good education.
It hasn’t been easy. They were both under pressure to get married — but refused — and persuaded their parents to let them stay in school. That alone is a huge achievement,...
From Malala Yousafzai to the Chibok girls, stories of girls who sought to pursue an education – and experienced violence at the hands of extremists as a result – are all too common. And the stories of violence we hear about pale in comparison to those that don’t get as much media attention – stories of millions of girls worldwide who are harassed or face threats every day on their commute to school, or those whose teachers or classmates...
“One thing I’ve learned is that we can achieve so much more together than we ever can alone.” – Esperance Butoyi, female artisan from Rwanda
This holiday season, we’re excited to launch a new exclusive product: our bright sweetgrass bangles, which we made in partnership with our friends at Indego Africa.
Indego Africa works with more than 1,000 women in Ghana and Rwanda to produce beautiful products using traditional methods and local materials. Our bangles were crafted by women of the...