Blog
Fighting Sex Trafficking from California to Costa Rica
Posted on June 06, 2014, by Liriel Higa, Half the Sky Movement
Three summers ago, on a church trip to Costa Rica, Jessica Bird witnessed firsthand the repercussions of sex trafficking when she volunteered at a safe house. There, she befriended a 17-year-old American citizen from Florida who was trafficked by her own father when she was 12, and forced into prostitution as a result. She managed to escape at 16, but with no education, prostitution was the only way she knew to make a living until she discovered the safe house. Read More »
How Uganda’s Anti-Gay Law Hurts Women
Posted on May 30, 2014, by Nafi Chinery
Women’s rights groups dealing with sexual minority issues, and organizations working with them, have been unable to operate freely and openly in Uganda in recent years — and now the situation has been made even worse by recent draconian Ugandan laws that criminalize homosexuality. Read More »
Ending FGM in the United States
Posted on May 29, 2014, by Jaha Dukureh
I am often asked, “Out of all the survivors of female genital mutilation (FGM) in America, why did you start a campaign against the practice?” Every day I live with the fact that something was taken away from me at a very young age. Not understanding what it would have meant or felt like if I had not gone through FGM is something that will forever haunt me. Read More »
What’s So Scary About Smart Girls?
Posted on May 19, 2014, by Half the Sky Movement
In his recent article "What's So Scary About Smart Girls?," Nicholas Kristof says that “the greatest threat to extremism isn’t drones firing missiles, but girls reading books.” We made this video to show that smart girls are not something to be feared. They must be supported and championed. Read More »
Bring Back Our Girls
Posted on May 12, 2014, by Half the Sky Movement
It has been nearly a month since 276 Nigerian girls were taken from their school by the militant group Boko Haram, but none of them have come home. We are beginning to see progress, but activists are working to pressure the Nigerian government to do more. Here's what you can do to help. Read More »
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Twitter Chat About Women and Agriculture
Posted on April 22, 2014, by Half the Sky Movement
We'll be hosting a Twitter chat Thursday at 1pm ET/10am PT with Heifer International (@Heifer), Kiva (@Kiva) and ONE Campaign (@ONECampaign) to discuss women and agriculture. Learn how empowering women through agriculture is one of the most effective tools for fighting poverty, improving nutrition, and strengthening families and communities, as well as the challenges and successes these organizations have faced. You can start asking questions now by using the hashtag #womenagchat. Read More »
Commission on the Status of Women Parallel NGO Events
Posted on March 26, 2014, by Rajina Shrestha, Women LEAD
The UN Women’s 58th Commission on the Status of Women started March 10, and thanks to the Global Fund for Women, I was able to attend the parallel NGO events held at the same time. I flew to New York (for the first time!) from my university in India and met up with Women LEAD's wonderful co-founder, Claire Charamnac, and sweet Dipeeka Bastola, another Women LEAD participant and my co-intern in 2011. Read More »
Show everyone who inspires YOU!
Posted on March 07, 2014, by Half the Sky Movement
International Women's Day is this Saturday, March 8. We want to personally thank all those women who inspire us, and we want you to do it too! So to celebrate, we’re launching the #SheInspires campaign on Instagram. Read More »
Spreading Warmth
Posted on February 18, 2014, by Erin O'Donohue, Embrace
The single most dangerous day of a child’s life is the day that they’re born. Every year, more than 1 million infants die on their first day in the world, and over 3 million within their first few weeks. What’s the leading cause of these deaths? Complications related to prematurity and low birth weight, including hypothermia. Read More »
Seeking Outreach and Engagement Coordinator
Posted on February 10, 2014, by Show of Force
Show of Force is seeking an outreach and engagement coordinator to work on a high profile transmedia project on global women's rights. Read More »
Students Rebuild Award Winner Krishna Mondal
Posted on December 17, 2013, by Half the Sky Movement
Krishna Mondal is a 31-year-old from Kalighat, India, and one of five young women who won the Students Rebuild Award. Krishna and the other women from Somaliland, Kenya, Cambodia and Sierra Leone each received $10,000 to continue helping women and girls in their communities. Krishna has won the award for her work with New Light to counteract the cycle of forced prostitution in Kolkata, India. Read More »
Agora Partnerships Makes the Call to ‘Accelerate Women Now’ For Latin America’s Entrepreneurs
Posted on November 06, 2013, by Marina Kaneko, Half the Sky Movement
Agora Partnerships works directly with women in Latin America, giving them access to entrepreneurship resources and providing scholarships to those who can’t otherwise afford to attend their accelerator programs. These women are promising social entrepreneurs, focused on improving their communities and environments through innovation. Read More »
Happy International Day of the Girl
Posted on October 11, 2013, by Half the Sky Movement Team
This year marks the second International Day of the Girl to recognize girls’ rights and increase awareness of the inequality faced by girls worldwide. For its second observance, this day will focus on “Innovating for Girls’ Education.” While there has been progress in improving access to education, many girls continue to be deprived of this basic right due to financial, security, institutional and cultural barriers. Read More »
Why Are Slum Girls Missing 36 days of School Annually?
Posted on October 07, 2013, by Jane Otai, Jhpiego
Lucy, a 12-year-old girl at one of the many informal schools in Nairobi’s Mathare slum, stays home when she has her monthly period because she is worried she won’t be able to contain the bleeding and will bring shame on herself. She is just one of thousands of girls from Nairobi’s sprawling slums — and Kenya's impoverished rural areas — who miss at least 36 days of school a year because they don’t have access to affordable sanitary protection. Read More »
Child Marriage in Nigeria: Why It Must End
Posted on September 27, 2013, by Oluwaseun Osowobi, Half the Sky Movement
When I was 10, I attended the wedding of a 13-year-old girl and a much older man in Zamfara State, Nigeria. I don’t remember her name, but her sad look will always be fresh in my mind. In most communities in Northern Nigeria, if a girl isn’t married at the age of 15, no one will want to marry her because she is considered too old and her parents are seen as irresponsible. Read More »
Women, Water and Security
Posted on September 19, 2013, by Oluwaseun Ayodeji Osowobi, Half the Sky Movement
Growing up in Nigeria, I had access to basic amenities such as running tap water, but for most rural women and girls in some parts of Nigeria and Africa, access to clean water was a gift. Women there still shoulder the burden of collecting water daily for both domestic and agricultural use; bathing is a luxury. Read More »
Students Rebuild Award Winner Ley Savorn
Posted on September 16, 2013, by Half the Sky Movement
Ley Savorn is a 28-year-old from Battambang province in Cambodia and one of five young women who recently won the Students Rebuild Award. Ley and the other women from Somaliland, India, Kenya and Sierra Leone each received $10,000 to continue helping women and girls in their communities. Read More »
Students Rebuild Winner Margaret Barnard
Posted on September 06, 2013, by Half the Sky Movement
Margaret Barnard is a 25-year-old account and administrative officer for the Women and Children Rights Organization in Sierra Leone. She is one of five young women who recently won the Students Rebuild Award and was nominated by the International Rescue Committee. Margaret and the four other women from Cambodia, India, Kenya and Somaliland received $10,000 to continue helping women and girls in their communities. Read More »
A New Light in Kalighat
Posted on September 04, 2013, by Erica Saleh, Half the Sky Movement
Teachers Breanna Reynolds and Kyle Vaughn's book "A New Light in Kalighat" gives a personal glimpse into the lives of the children of New Light. Read More »