Samreen grew up Lucknow, India, in a household where her mother wasn’t allowed to do anything without her father’s permission. But when her father passed away, Samreen began to question the patriarchal norms that ruled her family. When she connected with AJWS partner Sadbhavna Trust, her world opened entirely. Sadbhavna Trust runs leadership workshops and …
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It’s a relentlessly sunny day in Isiolo County, Kenya, and a few hundred villagers are gathered under an acacia tree, its leafless branches so dense they still provide shade. Set against the dusty, beige landscape, the women’s beads are an oasis of vibrant color. They’ve come from across Lengurma — a sprawling network of communities …
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In Kenya, LGBTQI+ people are constantly under threat — from police who extort and abuse them, to laws that criminalize sex acts, and families and neighbors who cast them out, brutalize and devalue them.
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The road to justice in Senegal is rarely a straight path. Especially for women.
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Myriad challenges plague Kenya’s Indigenous communities. The effects of climate change have hit them hard.
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Just after sunset on a Friday night in Pikine, Senegal — one of the poorest neighborhoods in the capital, Dakar — the energy at a local community center is electric. Spotlights make the courtyard glow as a headphone-clad DJ plays music from two massive speakers. Kids and teenagers — hundreds of them — sprint through …
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Ly Pisey grew up in Phnom Penh, Cambodia, where LGBTQI+ people are alienated and pushed to the fringes of society. But Pisey — along with the activist organization she co-founded, Rainbow Community Kampuchea (RoCK) — is working to change what’s possible for her community nationwide. Today, with cultural acceptance of LGBTQI+ on the rise, Pisey …
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Misael was born into a family of Indigenous farmers in Oaxaca, Mexico — his connection to the land goes back generations. Today, he works for Flor y Canto, an AJWS grantee organization that mobilizes local communities to fight for their rights to land, water and other natural resources. In 2005, the Mexican government restricted farmers’ …
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Mercy Musila Musikali grew up in Nairobi, Kenya, like so many girls in her community: shy, lacking confidence and feeling limited by the social expectations of what women can be or do. But then she discovered boxing, and an entire world opened up to her. Today, Mercy is a coach and mentor for adolescent girls …
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In the corner office of a municipal building in Dakar, Senegal, Adama Mbengue sits behind a huge, wooden desk. She interlocks her fingers and stretches her mouth into a wide grin. It took a long time to get here — generations, even — but Adama has arrived: in January 2022, she was elected as the …
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