On International Women’s Day, these stories highlight inspiring women and girls around the world who are fighting for justice and championing human rights. From a cultural vlogger turned war reporter to mothers demanding justice a decade after their children’s disappearance, and a Sudanese refugee determined to rebuild her life, these narratives shine a light on the courage and resilience of women striving to be heard while empowering others to do the same.
“Women have been languishing in prisons for decades… That is why I do this work, because I have been on the other side of that story.”
Danielle Metz is an activist at the forefront of the fight to defund America’s repressive criminal justice system. Metz is a member of the National Council for Incarcerated and Formerly Incarcerated Women and Girls, representing hundreds of women and their families, and campaigning to divert money away from building new federal prisons and into vital community initiatives instead. Her advocacy is deeply personal—after spending 23 years in prison, her sentence was commuted by President Obama – and she earned a degree in addictive behaviours and counselling to become a lead community health worker. Her journey fuels her ongoing work to challenge the system and create meaningful change.
“Nothing compares to the joy of putting my hands in the land, smelling the raw earth, and eating a raw tomato that I have grown. For our family, this is priceless.”
Elisabetta Donadello moved her family out of Milan in search of a life closer to nature. But the tomatoes and other produce they grew were cultivated on contaminated land, irrigated with water containing toxic “forever chemicals”. Donadello’s family farm relies on an aquifer polluted with PFAS, harmful substances that pose serious health risks. Determined to take action, Donadello joined Mamme No PFAS (Mothers Against PFAS), a grassroots movement of Italian mothers who have become instrumental in pressuring authorities to address this growing environmental crisis.
“Hey everyone, this is Bisan from Gaza. I am still alive.”
Bisan Owda has become one of the most recognisable figures on social media since Israel’s bombardment of Gaza began. Once a cultural vlogger, sharing posts related to beauty, food and travel, she has now turned war reporter, winning an Emmy and a Peabody Award for communicating news from Palestine to a global audience. Eli Langfere’s tribute conveys Bisan’s simple yet powerful message: do not look away. Since this article was published, Bisan Owda has returned home after 15 months. Documenting the journey of Palestinians returning to Rafah following the ceasefire—despite the devastation and rubble—her first act was to hang a Palestinian flag from her balcony.
“Let the world know that we are here, demanding justice and the return of our children alive.”
Ten years have passed since 43 students from Ayotzinapa, Mexico—Los 43—were detained and disappeared in one of the country’s most notorious human rights cases. On the painful anniversary, Cristina Bautista, a mother from the indigenous Alpuyecancingo community in Guerrero, south-west Mexico, reflects on a decade without her son, holding tightly to the memories they shared. For ten years, she and the other parents have searched tirelessly for their children and the truth behind their disappearance. United by grief, they have challenged those in power, refusing to let their voices be silenced. Some of the parents have since died, but the rest continue their fight for truth and justice.
“For Naja, it was not her first time [testifying] – but it was still hard. There was a lot of emotion.”
Naja Lyberth, a prominent activist and psychologist from Greenland and a victim of a widespread forced contraception campaign, was the first to share her experience publicly on Facebook. Lyberth’s courage paved the way for Greenlandic women to come forward and campaign for justice. Photographer Juliette Pavy sheds light on this terrible chapter of recent history through a powerful photo series featuring Lyberth, who courageously spoke out against the Danish authorities. Between the 1960s and 1970s, their Spiralkampagnen [coil campaign] forcibly implanted copper coils in 4,500 Inuit women without their consent. Since then, Lyberth has taken her fight to the international stage, advocating for women’s reproductive rights and justice for those affected.
“[us] staying home has less to do with condescending machismo clichés imputed [on the ‘Global South’]” but rather “indigenous women’s historical role as the backbone of the labour force – it is empowering.”
Near Erta Ale volcano in northern Ethiopia, Riwan, aged 11 and her 10-year-old sister Amina spend their evenings playing with rocks and stones in the desert. Bright-eyed and clever, Riwan anticipates stereotypical portrayals of African women in the western imagination, confidently asserting herself. She is one of the interviewees in Soukaina Rabii’s feature from Ethiopia, exploring the toll of the climate crisis on the world’s last nomadic Afar tribe.
“I want to tell my story and those of other women, so that the world cannot forget my people.”
Firoza Wahedi took an oath to protect women’s rights in Afghanistan. As the president of the NGO WESSDO, Firoza championed women’s participation in sports and led health projects in Afghanistan. But when the Taliban took over, she was forced to flee and is now rebuilding her life in Italy, far from her family and her home in Herat. Despite escaping, Firoza has never forgotten the struggles of Afghan women and remains committed to fighting for them from abroad, continuing her advocacy for women’s rights and justice in Afghanistan, no matter the distance.
“Many favela residents have no more money to spend. If you have to choose between eating and buying hand sanitiser, what will you do? You’re going to buy food, right?”
Anna volunteers for a programme working in favelas in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. She works in one of the many non-governmental organisations and initiatives in Complexo do Alemão, a favela in the north of the city. Like most of the volunteers, Anna grew up in a favela herself, one of the 16 million so-called favelados living in one of the more than 11,000 favelas in Brazil, representing around 8% of the country’s population. She knows the community and understands first hand the hardships and inequalities that have only been exacerbated by Covid-19, the people who shape these urban spaces, and the severe inequalities these communities have to face in their day-to-day lives. And, like many of the residents, she has never moved away from her home favela and now raises her two children here. Speaking with Anna, Maria Weickardt Soares asks, who decides who has the right to health and the right to life in the favelas of Brazil?
“I want to show that I’m still here and to give people who may be in the same situation as me hope. They are not alone.”
Jamilla, from Darfur in Sudan, has been waiting for resettlement for more than 12 years since leaving home. She lives with Multiple Sclerosis and when she first arrived in the Middle East, she had limited movement from the waist down. Since then, she has been treated by local NGOs and worked hard on her physical fitness, and now she has regained some movement in her body, allowing her to care for her mother. Because of this experience, she wants to go to university to study to become a doctor in whichever country she is resettled in. Jamilla is one of seven women refugees featured in this gallery by photographer Rayna Carruthers, after fleeing war and waiting for resettlement. They are among 2.4 million refugees worldwide living in limbo while waiting to restart their lives.
Main image by Lacuna artist Alice Zhang.
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