Julienne Lusenge
Raising a voice for women amid the horrors of war
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Stories of Hope Newsletter
Each month, AJWS shares the latest developments from our grantee-partners and our staff working to create a better, more just world. You might call this blend of grantee profiles, opinion pieces, and organizational updates a window into the state of human rights around the world. We just call it Stories of Hope.
2 stories
Tawanda Mutasah
Stories related to Tawanda Mutasah, AJWS's president and CEO.
71 stories
Sexual Health and Rights
We support women, girls and LGBTQI+ people, as they organize to end discrimination, stop violence and live with dignity, safety and health.
45 stories
Land Water and Climate Justice
We aid communities and movements organizing to protect the land, water and natural resources that people depend on for their survival.
6 stories
Ending Child Marriage
Each year, 15 million girls worldwide are married before the age of 18—sometimes against their will. AJWS supports efforts to end child marriage by bringing girls and young women together to define their own futures.
36 stories
Civil and Political Rights
We aid communities and movements that speak out against injustice, hold governments accountable to respect the rights of all people, and work to recover from civil wars and other conflicts.
9 stories
Humanitarian Response
When disasters and emergencies strike in the countries where we work, AJWS provides immediate humanitarian relief to activists on the front lines.
3 stories
Activism Through the Artist's Lens: Photography Series
A visual storytelling collaboration from AJWS and Magnum Foundation
5 stories
Activists Up Close
Witness social change up close through these videos from around the globe. You'll watch a day in the life of an activist AJWS supports and learn how they change lives and build social movements for justice.
4 stories
Haitian Leaders on Haitian Change
Analysis, proposals, and personal stories brought to you directly from Haitian civil society leaders.
64 stories
Robert Bank
An archive of stories related to Robert Bank, who served AJWS from 2009-2026.
8 stories
Ruth Messinger
An archive of stories related to Ruth Messinger, who served AJWS from 1998-2016.
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Binta Diao
Giving girls control over their bodies and futures
Meet Jeanette
Twenty-three-year-old Jeanette and her two children live in the North Kivu province of the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC)—a country rife with ethnic conflict and known by U.N. officials as “the rape capital of the world.” Since 1993, the DRC has suffered waves of political and sexual violence, and women and children have paid the …
Meet Grace
Grace is the mother of seven children. She lives in Democratic Republic of Congo, a country rife with ethnic conflict that has been called “the rape capital of the world” by U.N. officials. In addition to the vulnerability of being a woman in a war-torn region, Grace and her family are Pygmy, an ethnic minority …
Activists stand up to Haiti’s anti-LGBT extremists
Homophobic hatred sizzled in Haiti’s streets last summer. Religious leaders marched throughout the country to protest same-sex relationships and stir up anti-LGBT sentiment. As these extremists launched a vicious campaign, Haiti’s small, but growing number of advocates for LGBT rights—like the aptly named AJWS grantee Kouraj (Courage)—spoke out.
Youth make strides for reproductive health in Guatemala
In Guatemala, very few young people have access to quality reproductive health care and sexual health education. Only 44 percent of women of reproductive age use any kind of contraceptives. The maternal mortality rate—the proportion of pregnancies that end in the mother’s death—is the second worst in Latin America and is especially high among indigenous …
Volunteer Network of Friends Forever Friends
Lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) people in the Dominican Republic have long faced discrimination and violence in their communities. But in recent years they have begun to speak out, advocate for their rights, and build a movement calling for change in Dominican society so that they can live as equal citizens whose rights are …
Tostan
Tostan—which means “breakthrough” in Wolof, the national language of Senegal—is among the highest-profile social change organizations working on the African continent. AJWS was one of its earliest supporters, first funding the organization just a year after its launch in Senegal in 1991. AJWS stood by Tostan and its founder, Molly Melching, as the organization grew …
Meet Zeenat
Zeenat is 17 years old and has already been married and divorced three times. All of these marriages took place against her will, and all three husbands abused her. Unfortunately, Zeenat’s experience is common in her impoverished community in Hyderabad, India. As is the case for many families living in poverty, Zeenat’s parents viewed marriage …
When Women Lead: Manju’s Story
RAJASTHAN, INDIA — At 23, Manju Kumari is already a sarpanch, the elected head of her rural village. And she’s one of a rising number of women in India filling these political positions, ever since the government reserved a proportion of village leadership seats for women. But in the face of longstanding gender inequality and …