Changemaker Stories
One thing that social movements, activism, and democracy have taught us is the importance behind civil participation, and even further—how each one of us can generate change and innovation. Here are 3 young women around the globe who are actively promoting gender equality, opportunities, and inniativities.
Thaiana Zandona
Isabelle Christina is passionate about technology and how it can change people’s lives, especially Black women in Brazil. She noticed how little to no representation Black women have, so in her junior year of high school, she created the Black Girls Project. It supports young Black girls in Brazil as they themselves say “We aim to prepare them completely, so they can change their current realities and be women of integrity, indispensable for society!”
Throughout her life, Apoorvi Bharatram noticed her sister’s struggles with depression and the quality of access to the health system. In 2019, she founded the Happiness Project, which encourages students to share their mental health struggles and ask for help, and trains teachers about the subject. She is now developing an app to increase the project’s reach across India.
One of the world’s biggest taboos is still menstruation. Millions of girls and women around the globe have neither the necessary basic hygiene products, nor open discussions about menstruation and sex education. This is increasingly worse in rural or poor areas of developing countries. Sanjana Dixit understood the problem and decided to act. In 2018, she founded HutuChakra, working to achieve menstrual equity and dignity. RutuChakra has distributed over 154,000+ menstrual products and conducted workshops and Period Talk sessions in both urban and rural areas. These girl’s inspirational stories show the power behind a simple idea. Anything can initiate something new and change lives. It is a great reminder to us all that we can act, transform, lead, and innovate our way toward a future that includes everyone. We just have to start it.
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