A Roundup of Films About Inspiring Girls Around the World

On International Day of the Girl Child, the world comes together to fight for the rights of young women and promote their growth and well-being as equal members of society. The film "Girl Connected" showcases five teenage girls who are making an impact to tackle discrimination in their communities around the world. Below, meet the five girls in the film, plus other women who are inspiring their communities and uplifting other girls to rise above their circumstances and misogynistic environments. 

Peru
Josi

Josi urges her peers to not be embarrassed about their sexuality as she speaks to a crowd while holding a condom. After seeing many young pregnancies in Peru, she has developed a passion for advocating against teenage pregnancy and for promoting sexual education. She helps counsel young couples in initiating conversations about contraceptives.

In the neighboring country of Colombia, Catalina Escobar helps prevent teen pregnancy and supports young mothers in their continuing education. After her 16-month-old son's unexpected death, she turned her grief into power by establishing the Juan Felipe Escobar Foundation in her son's name. With the organization, Escobar is dedicated to ending poverty and empowering young mothers in Cartagena's most impoverished slums. "When a girl is poor and she gets pregnant, she does one thing: She drops out of school," Escobar says. "When that happens, it is so devastating for our economy [and] for our development."

The Foundation recruits young mothers, then admits them for a three-year empowerment program in which the girls receive an education, basic services, and counseling while their children are cared for. The career tracks offered are based on high-demand industries where the girls can find jobs easily upon graduation.
"When a woman is independent and she earns her own income...she will make proper decisions," Escobar guarantees.

Many of the young women who become pregnant in Latin America flee their countries, whether it is because they seek better opportunities for their unborn children or because they are escaping sexual violence and abusive environments. Many of them travel as far north as they can and find themselves caught at the U.S./Mexico border, unaccompanied and pregnant. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, one-third of the unaccompanied minors caught by border patrol are girls and hundreds of them are pregnant. Read more about how these mothers navigate a new country alone, amid asylum petitions and deportation fears in this report.

Bangladesh
Latifa

Latifa was 12 years old when her family tried to marry her off. She was not having it. Instead, now she goes door-to-door to speak to girls about the importance of standing up against child marriage and empowers them to stand up for themselves and their education. She leads by example and counters tradition by showing them it can be done.

As if women in Bangladesh were not facing enough challenges, a particular group of women in the country is discriminated to the point where the government had to step in to ensure their well being. Hijras are transgender women who are regarded by society as a community of thieves. In this documentary, photographer Hanna Adock tells the story of a Hijra whose parents tried to "cure" her and kept her from playing with other kids. When she was "diagnosed" as Hijra, she was sent away to live with the river gypsy people in a transgender communal home where she lives secluded from family. Although the Bangladeshi government recognized Hijra people as "third gender" in an attempt to end discrimination and extend state services to them, the deep-rooted social discrimination is expected to lag far behind this official mandate.

Jordan
Ghazal

Artistic Ghazal pushes her peers to use creative expression to tell their stories and beautify their communities. She disagrees with criticism that her work, including her colorful murals and street photography, is too liberal or dangerous. 

In nearby Israel, the first Arabic rap crew, DAM, uses music to tell stories of oppression, pain and violence. Denouncing human rights violations in the Middle East for years, the Arab-Israeli group made their mark on the world by being the first Arab artists to discuss women's rights. The song "#Who_You_R," features Daysa, the first woman and newest member of their group. The feminist anthem was written in response to the 16-year-old Texan teen whose rape was recorded and then shared and mocked on social media in 2014. Read more about DAM and watch the video for the song that generated a Twitter campaign in the Middle East in this Border Blaster article.

India
Ayesha

Ayesha is passionate about karate. Although she has epilepsy and lives in the slums of Kolkata, she has a black belt in karate and offers empowering self-defense trainings for women.

Also in India, a group of young women uses traditional dance theater to build a narrative around equality. The colorful Yakshagna theater includes storylines in which women need to be rescued by men and is usually comprised of male performers. However, this group of young women performs both, male and female characters, and evokes the message that women are self-sufficient.

Kenya
Michelle

A powerful speaker, Michelle finds herself breaking down feminism to her community. "I have to explain that women empowerment doesn't rob men of their place in society." She started the Dream Sisterhood Foundation to offer workshops and mentorship that helps women build confidence and strong leadership skills. 

Kenya's region of Samburu is home to both, an English military training facility
and a village run entirely by women who have been raped by British soldiers. Since the victims are shamed and outcast in their communities, many flee to Senchen, where they are build homes, weave textiles, grow food, and often raise children resulting from the rape cases, all of which have been cleared by the Royal Military Police.

Also in Kenya, many girls fight to get into secondary school even though the cost of education and traditional gender roles stand in their way. At Daraja Academy, low-income girls with good grades and warrior attitudes receive a free education that focuses on empowerment and big dreams. Stream the entire trilogy of films focusing on the girls who will do anything to succeed HERE.