Sudanese protester Alaa Salah became a symbol of her country's revolution after standing atop a car, dressed in white, and singing to her fellow demonstrators. Ugandan climate-justice activist Vanessa Nakate went from protesting alone at the gates of her country's parliament to demanding action from world leaders at the United Nations. Senegalese activist Oumou Kalsoum Diophas harnessed digital tools to start taboo-breaking conversations about intimate health, sexuality, contraception, and period poverty.
These young women are fighting for better lives for themselves, their communities, and the world -- and they are not alone. Thousands of girls and young women in Africa and around the world are fighting to change the power dynamics that perpetuate inequality. They are making speeches, creating nonprofits and community programmes, and participating in marches to catalyse transformative change. This is good news for everyone: countless studies have shown that when girls and women are empowered, entire communities benefit.
