I dream of a world where compassion for others is embedded in the hearts and minds of everyone. I dream of a world where every child, and every girl, has the equal opportunity to reach their full potential regardless of their race, ethnicity, socioeconomic background, or disability.
My dream is to create safe spaces for adolescent girls to help ensure they have a voice, opportunities, life skills, and resources to advocate for their own empowerment.
At the age of 8, a beautiful sunny day of family fun turned into my worst nightmare when a friend of the family dragged me into the bushes and violated my rights. For 20 years I kept silent, living a life of fear and hate. When a differently-abled young girl from my community was raped by that same man, I decided to channel my fear into activism and become a voice for the voiceless.
I founded a non-profit called I Have a Right Foundation as a step toward creating the safe world I believe in. A world where the rights of all children, girls, and youth are protected, and they remain free from all forms of violence and abuse. I believe that a strong way to reduce violence among women and girls is to ensure that they are strong enough to lead change and take action.
To contribute to the world that I want to see, my team and I have placed special focus on the leadership and mentorship of girls within rural and vulnerable communities through our GirlHood Program. Seeing girls develop their self-confidence, leadership skills, and knowledge about their rights in a way that allows them to stand up for themselves and others is the most fulfilling thing I have ever experienced. Seeing girls speak with confidence and persuasion, leading panel discussions, debates, and campaigns gives us hope that they have the ability to create change with an enabling environment and appropriate support. In fact, girls often say that the programs are life-changing and make them feel powerful.
If this dream was to come true, our world would be filled with love, compassion, genuine peace, and freedom. War, crimes, and violence would c