Happy International Women’s Day from Rise Up! Today is a global day of recognition that commemorates women’s achievements and also serves as an urgent call to action for gender equality. This year, the United Nations is calling on all of us to invest in women in order to accelerate global progress – but feminist organizations receive only 0.13% of official development assistance.
“Gender equality is the greatest human rights challenge, benefiting everyone.” – United Nations
Investing in women and supporting feminist changemakers across the world is critical if we want to create prosperous economies and a healthy planet. International Women’s Day is so important at Rise Up because partnering with women, girls, and allies to create transformational gender equity change and a better future for all is at the heart of our mission.
We want to honor the significance of today and demonstrate how investing in women benefits everyone by sharing the powerful work we do in partnership with Rise Up Leaders to advance gender equity in education, health, and economic opportunity.
Rise Up Leaders in countries around the world are actively working to solve complex and intersecting challenges, such as preventing gender-based violence, strengthening girls’ access to education, and improving sexual and reproductive health care for women, girls, and gender-nonconforming people.
Rise Up Leader Betty Adera is the Founder and President of the Betty Adera Foundation, a local Kenyan NGO focused on preventing gender-based violence and discrimination against women and girls. With Rise Up training and support, Betty is working to address a learning crisis in Kenya by pursuing a school re-entry program for teenage girls who drop out after becoming mothers. Betty shared that this year on International Women’s Day she will visit the maternity wings of local public hospitals to “give hope of continued education to teen mothers” that she meets.
“My experience with Rise Up has not only elevated my voice as a woman advocate for girls’ education but also enhanced visibility of our organization as the “go-to” for girls’ education. I have been called upon by both county and national government representatives within the education and gender spaces to share my experience and validate relevant and ongoing tool development. With these continued efforts, I believe that in no time, we will be enabled by Rise Up to reach girls in masses to foster their rights and access to education.” – Rise Up Leader Betty Adera, Kenya
Rise Up Leader Silvia Alejandra Holguín Cinco is passionate about amplifying the voices of women and young people. Although young people are the largest age demographic in Mexico, they are largely underrepresented in decision-making bodies. Young women, in particular, face great barriers to engage politically on issues that directly affect their lives and wellbeing. With training and support from Rise Up, Silvia and and her organization, Mukira, Justicia, Género y Buenas Practicas A.C., fostered a collaborative dialogue between young women and political candidates to achieve clear policy commitments and a budget to promote gender equality, non-violence, and political representation for more than one million women and young people in Mexico.
“What keeps me inspired and motivated are my daughters. I believe that my daughters represent all children around the world. That’s why my life purpose is to keep working to guarantee a dignified life, free of violence for people, especially women and children.” – Rise Up Leader Silvia Alejandra Holguín Cinco, México
Rise Up Leader Khloe Rios-Wyatt is the Founder and CEO of Alianza Translatinx, the first and only transgender-led organization in Orange County, California. Khloe was born in Mexico and migrated to the U.S. with her single mother and four older brothers at the age of 11. She explained that the experiences, discrimination and harassment she faced first-hand as a TransLatina inspired her to pursue her career in the nonprofit sector. With support from Rise Up, Khloe and her organization Alianza Translatinx are committed to enhancing the quality of life for all transgender, gender diverse, and intersex communities through policy advocacy by securing $23 million in ongoing and permanent state funding to ensure the sustainability of California’s Transgender Wellness and Equity Fund.
“[On International Women’s Day], it is important to acknowledge and celebrate the triumphs of women across the globe, including those of Trans women that have led us to more dignified job opportunities, equality and respect.” – Rise Up Leader Khloe Rios-Wyatt, U.S.
Rise Up Leader Marília Moreira is a Black woman, journalist, and the Director of Operations at the AzMina Institute in Brazil, a nonprofit that utilizes communication, technology, and education to advocate for women’s rights. With Rise Up training and funding, Marília is working to urgently improve the support network for women survivors of violence by connecting them to important services and resources in São Paulo and ensuring a coordinated government response to gender-based violence. Brazil ranks fifth globally in cases of femicide (the killing of a woman or girl on account of her gender), according to the World Health Organization.
“I strongly believe that the opportunity Rise Up provided to exchange experiences and perspectives with other leaders, incredible women, who are tackling gender-based violence and promoting women’s rights in Brazil, allowed me to fight and construct the leadership that I believe: A courageous, ethical and also effective and welcoming leadership, concerned with the impact of our actions in our communities and world.” – Rise Up Leader Marília Moreira, Brazil
Rise Up Leader Grace Yila Maikano, a Program Officer at the Family Health Advocates in Nigeria Initiative, is addressing the high 74% school dropout rate among girls in her country due to major safety concerns, such as kidnapping and abductions. Since 2020, 1,436 school children have been abducted in Nigeria, according to UNICEF. With Rise Up support, Grace successfully developed an e-learning policy for public secondary schools, providing remote learning to improve over 100,000 girls’ access to education across the country.
“As a teenager, I kept seeing how girls in my community are raised without much choice and are not even allowed to dream. Every decision was made for us. One thing we were taught to look forward to is being married. This instilled in you at an early age that it is strange if you, as a girl, dare to dream of anything outside that parameters. So when I dreamed of speaking on stages and at conferences to enlighten girls on what they can achieve and do, the impact they can make from their community and nation as a whole, it seemed absurd to many who cared to even listen. I wanted to be a voice and support for girls to dream again and have a safe space to learn.” – Rise Up Leader Grace Yila Maikano, Nigeria
We recognize and celebrate Rise Up Leaders Betty, Silvia, Khloe, Marília and Grace for their unwavering commitment and passion for gender equity today and everyday. You and women leaders around the world give us hope when we need it most and we will keep fighting alongside you.
Quotes have been edited for length and clarity.
