Stories

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Take a deeper look at our stories from around the world.

41 stories

Video

Watch our videos to learn how AJWS is supporting people around the world who are fighting to improve the lives of millions.

22 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.

8 stories

Ruth Messinger

A tribute to a truly extraordinary leader, AJWS’s former President and its first Global Ambassador.

63 stories

Robert Bank

Get to know Robert Bank! Robert joined AJWS in 2009 as our Executive Vice President. As of July 1, 2016, Robert became the President and CEO of AJWS.

14 stories

Photos

A look at the work we do to end poverty and promote human rights in the developing world.

23 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.

14 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.

21 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.

4 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.

27 stories

30 at 30

In celebration of AJWS’s 30th anniversary, we profiled 30 global leaders who have partnered with AJWS to build a better world.

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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 …

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Momentum on Halting Mining

In El Salvador last year, a group of local farmers proved that water is more valuable than gold. The situation was dire: An upswing in gold mining had poisoned the water supply and caused dramatic increases in cancer and kidney disease. Twelve grassroots groups organized thousands of local people to pressure the government to intervene. …

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Momentum on Legal Justice

In 1981, during the Guatemalan armed conflict, 21-year-old political activist Emma Molina Theissen was arrested, brutally raped and tortured for nine days by the military.

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Momentum on LGBTI Rights

In 2010, as rumors of a same-sex wedding swirled in the conservative coastal city of Mombasa, Kenya, angry Muslim and Christian religious leaders mobilized locals to “flush out the gays.”

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Momentum on Capitol Hill

The past two years have brought a litany of assaults on global human rights—many from within our own government. Among the most egregious: The Trump administration tried to slash funding for international aid and has cut off all funding to international organizations that support reproductive choice. To mitigate the administration’s threats, AJWS has participated in …

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Momentum on Gender Equality

One afternoon when Sonali Khatun was only 14, she returned home from school in her small village of Sahanagar, India, to find rows of chairs set up in her family’s mud house.

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Momentum on Democracy

A powerful movement is sweeping Nicaragua. Hundreds of thousands of people have flooded the streets in recent months to resist the authoritarian rule of president Daniel Ortega. Over the last 11 years, Ortega’s brutal regime has censored the press, done away with term limits for elected officials and repressed opposition parties. In April, when he reformed social security to increase the cost to workers while reducing payouts, the nation decided it had had enough.

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Marching to protect women’s lives in Nicaragua

We believe that everyone has the right to live free from violence and constant threat. Yet around the world, an estimated 1 in 3 women will experience assault, rape or other abuse in her lifetime. Nicaragua is no exception, where each year dozens of women are murdered while their attackers roam free. AJWS grantees in …

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Meant for Something More

Sonali’s parents forced her to marry at age 14, and her husband turned out to be abusive.  Sonali found the strength to start her life over with the help of MBBCDS, an Indian organization in West Bengal funded by AJWS. She is now pursuing her goals, continuing her studies and working to prevent child marriage …

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