How Refugee Women and Girls Lead
by Faridah Naimana, Intern, Aspen Institute Forum on Women and Girls Kakuma Refugee Camp based in Kenya serves refugees who have been forcibly displaced from their home countries due to war or persecution and is administered by the United Nations High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). Life in the semi-arid desert environment of Kakuma is rather …
Wings to Fly: Conversations on the Fight for Women and Girls’ Education
by Zamzam Abdikadir, Intern, Aspen Institute Forum on Women and Girls “Women and Girls’ Honor is earned when society gives them the wings to fly, by educating them”, Unknown I sat down early one morning with Kifah and her mother to find out her perspective on the impact of seven months of school closures on her …
The Impact of Sports on Women and Girls’ Leadership
by Joseph Divin Rugenyuza, Intern, Aspen Institute Forum on Women and Girls In our society, it is believed that sports are for men, and not women. Most people only consider that women should be focused on taking care of their families, and not sports. Although some girls and women are in sports here in the Kakuma …
Five Ways to Give Yourself Grace in 2020 and Beyond
by Roselande Louis, Program Associate, Aspen Institute Forum on Women and Girls “Caring for myself is not self-indulgence. It is self-preservation and that is an act of political warfare”, Audre Lorde Extending and giving ourselves grace in 2020 is a necessary act of survival and solidarity. In the midst of a pandemic, racial justice reckoning, …
Remembering Ruth Bader Ginsburg
RBG, We Salute You by Peggy Clark and Anne Mosle, Co-Chairs of the Aspen Institute Forum on Women and Girls The legacy of the inimitable RBG is powerful and far-reaching beyond measure. A tiny giant amongst us, RBG’s life’s work reached every individual in our society, and moved us closer to the kind of equality we …
25 Years Beyond Beijing: Measuring Progress for the World’s Women and Girls
by Donna Haghighat, CEO, The Women’s Fund of Western Massachusetts Twenty-five years ago, women from around the world gathered at the United Nations’ Fourth World Conference on Women held in Beijing, China. What emerged from that conference was a Platform for Action that captured not just a framework of factors against which to measure progress, but aspirational …
“Silent Discriminator” – The Women Global Data is Leaving Behind
by Tsion Yohannes Waka, Chair, the Center for Gender Equity for the University of Global Health Equity and SOAR Fellow, Aspen Institute Forum on Women and Girls, and Agnes Binagwaho, Vice Chancellor, University of Global Health Equity This blog was originally published on Devex on June 19, 2020. We, as women, might be surprised at this time to see figures …
Ain’t I A Woman, Too?
by Lauren Casteel, President and CEO, The Women’s Foundation of Colorado This blog by was originally published by the Women’s Foundation of Colorado on June 10, 2020. Dear Beloved Community, The late Dr. Vincent Harding, a Denver treasure and dear friend, often invoked the words of Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., when speaking to the “beloved community.” Today, as I …
Racial Justice Leadership from the SOAR Fellows Community
by Marni Morse, Program Associate, Aspen Institute Forum on Women and Girls At the Aspen Institute Forum on Women and Girls, we recognize that gender equity is inextricably linked to racial equity. There is no gender justice without racial justice. Black women and girls must not be an afterthought in our outrage over police violence and white …