Girl Talk

Girl Talk is Girl Rising's digital publication dedicated to amplifying the stories, advocacy, and ideas of girls in our community. It's a space for these young leaders to share about the issues they care about and inspire change.

Editorial support from

Serena Abrahams
Serena is a student and aspiring writer from New York City, where she hopes to share her voice and uplift the voices of others.

Play: The First Language of Childhood

by Rabia Kamran, Girls Advisory Council, for International Day of Play, June 11, 2026 When I think of childhood, I do not first remember classrooms, exams, or report cards. I remember play. I remember long afternoons spent inventing games with friends and cousins, turning ordinary spaces into entire worlds. A living room became a castle, a street became a race track, and a simple ball could keep us entertained for hours. At the time, it felt like nothing more than fun. Lookin

Finding Myself Through Play

by Anoushka Poddar, Girls Advisory Council, for International Day of Play, June 11, 2026 I still remember the games I made up as a child, imagining different fantastical scenarios and acting them out with my friends. We were astronauts, lost in space after the cords connecting us to the shuttle suddenly snapped, and another day, we were actresses, strutting down Beverly Hills with yippity chihuahuas in our purses. One day, we were mermaid princesses on a quest to find the mag

Memories of Play That Stay With Us

By Athodonun Ewa, Girls Advisory Council, for International Day of Play, June 11, 2026. Growing up I used to count down to the holidays. I always looked forward to those days when I had absolutely no reason to bother about assignments, deadlines, or waking up by 5 a.m. to prep for school. The summer holidays were always my favourite because I got to spend more time playing with my siblings in our living room. We would do a mini Olympics in our living room—funny, right? But it

Feminine Moon, Fierce Truth

Gentle Visitations of the Feminine Moon By Zuri Gabrielle Neghest, Girls Advisory Council member, 2026 Did you know that women and girls have an average of 450 menstrual cycles in their lifetime? That is quite a few chocolate cravings and cozy blankets! Since time immemorial, women and girls have had to navigate the monthly rhythms of their bodies. Menstruation, commonly known as a period, is a monthly shedding of the uterine lining when an egg isn’t fertilised. Periods are u

The Rite to Bleed

Researched and written by Yamilah Bhyat Somewhere, in time immemorial, beneath an ancient sky, a young girl became a woman for the very first time. She experienced menstruation long before humanity had the language to explain what her blood meant, and we will never know what story was told around that first blood — whether it was met with fear, or reverence, or something in between. But since then, societies throughout history have endeavoured to shape our understanding o

For dignity, freedom, and confidence

To whisper the words and pretend to stay clean. To carry our pain with a smile on our face, As if something natural should be erased. But periods are normal, they’re part of our life, Not something disgusting, not shameful or strife. Yet girls miss their classes, feel fear and disgrace, Just because stigma still lingers in place. No more hiding pads in the sleeves of our shirts, No more laughing away all the cramps and the hurts. It’s time we speak loudly, let silence now end

No Seat? We Built Our Own

By Abigail Eyo In too many regions, the message is clear: “Girls with disabilities are meaningless; they don’t deserve a seat at the table." Wait… what? If that sentence made your stomach turn, good. Because for too long, that’s exactly how society has treated our sisters. But earlier this month in Yamoussoukro, Côte d'Ivoire, 200 of us from 25 countries gathered at the Adolescent Girls Summit (AGS) 2026 to prove the world dead wrong. As a Junior Board Member at Girl Rising

Empowered to Empower: My Journey with She’s the First

Reflecting on my time serving on the Girls Advisory Council of She’s the First (now merged with Girl Rising), I am overwhelmed with pride and gratitude for an experience that has expanded my advocacy for girls’ rights and strengthened my commitment to creating a more equitable world. This chapter builds upon a journey that began during high school, where I first recognized the power of collective action and grassroots initiatives to make meaningful change. My advocacy started

Denied School at 15, She Launched a Movement that Educates 1000 Girls

My name is Robina Azizi, and I am one of the millions of girls deprived of education. When the Taliban began taking control of Afghanistan's provinces, I attended school without concern, taking my mid-term exams, aiming to graduate from a good school and complete my studies. I had lofty ambitions, promising myself that one day I would study at a reputable university and help my country and girls deprived of proper education. But I never thought my dreams would end because I

Why I Advocate for Girl-Child Education in My Community

By Peggy Baela, Girl Rising Student Ambassador My name is Peggy Baela. I am 18 years old, and I completed my secondary school education in 2025 at Nsobe Secondary School. In 2023, while I was still a learner, I joined a global leadership program called Rise for the World. This initiative targets young people aged 15–17 who are leading community-based projects aimed at creating positive social change. Participants were required to identify real challenges in their communities

Building Systems That Serve People With Integrity

by Raissa, Member of the Girl Rising Girls Advisory Council Life often happens in bits, each one working quietly with the others to shape an identity, a creative, or a narrative steeped in uncertainty. Every bit is a fragment of a larger puzzle, carrying its own memory, belonging first to itself. Twenty years have slowly drifted down memory lane, from ignorance to experience. Every fight, fright, and flight felt like a rehearsal for the woman I am becoming. Little Raissa was

The Code That Was Made Possible By Feminists

by Mahita Vootukuru, Girls Advisory Council Member Growing up in 20th-century India, my grandmother never received a formal education due to societal preference for sons. Nevertheless, she ensured her daughters were educated and empowered to forge their own paths. My mother carried forward this legacy, balancing a full-time job with managing our household while passing down my grandmother’s values of resilience and empowerment to me. I wouldn’t have been able to pursue my pas

Meet Rebecca Yang! Founder of Read to Respond

A conversation between Student Ambassador Rebecca Yang and Girl Rising Community Manager Naomi Ramos Naomi - What drove you to create Read to Respond and when did you start? Rebecca - Read to Respond was born out of my love for reading and community service. Originally, I started it as a school club last year, where I hoped to show classmates the power of turning words into action. We have partnered with 6 local nonprofits around the area, hosted volunteer events, and most im

Young Climate Leaders Speak - and All of Us Are Listening: Conversations from COP30

by Zainab Bie, Girl Rising Student Ambassador At COP30 in Belém, Brazil, Climate Leader and Girl Rising Student Ambassador Zainab Bie met with young women from around the world whose lives and leadership are shaped by the climate crisis. Their perspectives are rooted in lived experience, advocacy, and deep commitment to justice. They know from personal and professional experience just what is at stake - and their demand that the voices of girls and young women must be central

When Money Doesn’t Mean Control

By Alishba Junejo, Girl Rising Student Ambassador, Pakistan In my home in Pakistan, I watched the women who worked as domestic help spend long hours cleaning, cooking, and caring for families. They were oftentimes the main earners in their households, but when payday arrived, almost none of the money stayed with them. Their husbands collected their salaries, deciding how to spend them: on their expenses, on relatives, or on virtually anything but the women who had earned them