#GirlsResistWA: Documenting and Amplifying Stories of Girls’ Resistance in West Africa
From Burkina Faso to Sierra Leone, we bring you powerful stories of girls’ resistance in West Africa, in this new series: #GirlsResistWA.
Curated by Eyala founder Françoise Moudouthe, and produced with support from a team of African feminists, the series of 13 stories showcases an honest, girl-centered picture of the lives of adolescent girls in the region, what resistance means to them, and how they resist patriarchal violence.
With themes of resistance against abuse, violence, gender norms, religious indoctrination, forced identities, patriarchal violence and much more, the stories offer an opportunity to explore resistance in its multiple forms and engage in deep reflection on what this means about power in girls’ lives.
By amplifying these voices, we hope to harness the power of personal storytelling to influence change in the way West African adolescent girls think about themselves and their role in society. We also look forward to much-needed shifts in the way the world - communities, civil society, governments and donors - engages with adolescent girls in the region.
The Root
Our Girls Resist - West Africa series is born from the Global Girls Funds Life Histories Project, which was created by a group of feminist social justice funders, advocates and activists committed to deepening their support to and for adolescent girls through grant-making, advocacy, research and other influencing activities.
In late 2019, a collective of feminist activists from 8 regions across the world - the Middle East, West Africa, East and Southern Africa, Latin America, the Caribbean, the United States, South Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Central Asia and the Caucasus - came together to record stories of girls pushing back and imagining better worlds for themselves.
Altogether, they documented the life stories of about 120 girls, gender non-conforming people, young women, and older women who began their resistance as girls, in over 60 countries and in numerous languages. On Eyala, we are honoured to present the voices and stories from across West Africa.
Trigger warning: the conversations contain mentions of violence and abuse which may be triggering for readers. Kindly take a moment to decide if you want to keep reading. If you do proceed, we encourage you to centre your wellbeing and stop reading at any point, as you need.
EXPLORE ALL THE STORIES IN THE SERIES HERE
