E-Books — Chaos Leadership

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Today is World Menopause Day. As a woman in menopause, this day is both political AND personal. Every woman who lives long enough will go through menopause. Yet it remains underrecognized, underfunded, understudied, and undertreated. In 30 years of humanitarian work, I’ve watched “women’s health” defined almost exclusively as maternal health. The moment our childbearing years end, we vanish from research, data, and budgets. Meanwhile, midlife women are running households, movements, organizations, and countries. Our health deserves investment across our entire lifespan. Swipe through for the policy momentum shifting the needle, the 4-pillar framework from UNGA, and why we need the “accordion effect” to break systemic barriers. 3 actions you can take today: 1️⃣Break the silence: Talk about it openly. Ask the women in your life about their reality, and share your own. 2️⃣Demand policy: Challenge your workplace and leaders on healthcare protections. 3️⃣Sign the Global Declaration: Join 1,500+ leaders across 82 countries urging the WHO to make menopause a global health priority (link in bio: powerinmenopause.org). Let’s ensure every woman receives the care, science, and respect she deserves. #worldmenopauseday #womenshealth #powerinmenopause #everywoman #genderequality

A small book with dangerously big plans 🔥⁣ ⁣ We’re done being told to calm down, wait our turn, and be grateful for crumbs. ⁣ ⁣ 𝐅𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 was written for the ones who are fed up. For the ones who see an unraveling world and refuse to look away. For the troublemakers, the truth-tellers, and everyone ready to turn their rage into unstoppable fuel. ⁣ ⁣ We aren’t asking for a seat at a broken table anymore. We’re building something better, one firestarter at a time. ⁣ ⁣ If you’ve been feeling exhausted, angry, or alone in this fight: this book is your reminder that you are not powerless, and you are definitely not alone. ⁣ ⁣ 👉🏻Feminist Firestarter is officially available on Amazon (link in BIO) ⁣ ⁣ ⁣⁣ #FeministFirestarter #ActivismForAnUnravelingWorld #WomensRights

I’m a runner only one day a year.⁣⁣ ⁣ ⁣On Sunday, I ran the 𝐆𝐚𝐳𝐚 𝟓𝐊. My legs objected. My back growled. Everything hurt. ⁣ ⁣ And it was raining - again!⁣⁣ ⁣ ⁣But I showed up anyway, because the women of Gaza have been running for three years: from bombs, from hunger, from tent to tent with their children in their arms. Three miles is the very least I can do.⁣⁣ ⁣ ⁣So I run. I raise money. And I keep talking. Same things, over and over. Palestine is a feminist issue. A feminism that saves its tears for some women and offers only silence for others has already chosen a side. Mine is with every woman, everywhere, including the ones people might label too hard, too controversial, too inconvenient. It’s all of us or it’s none of us.⁣⁣ ⁣ ⁣And if we need numbers to remind us, here they are:⁣⁣ ⁣ ✔️ Nearly 50,000 women and girls in Gaza killed or left with lifelong disabilities since October 2023. That’s 1 in every 21.⁣⁣ ⁣ ✔️ 277 women and girls killed since the ceasefire took effect a year ago.⁣⁣ ⁣ ✔️ Reported sexual violence up 61% in a single quarter this year. Forced and child marriage up 123%.⁣⁣ ⁣ ✔️ Girls as young as 12 married off, some reportedly to their attackers.⁣⁣ ⁣ ✔️ 13 of 14 women’s organizations surveyed say they can no longer meet the need.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ And these are only the cases that get reported. Stigma, fear, and collapsed services keep the true scale hidden. In thirty years and twenty-plus crisis zones, I have seen sexual violence follow every war. Gaza is the test of whether the world means what it says about women.⁣⁣ ⁣ So I keep running. And I keep repeating the same thing: ⁣⁣ Ceasefire. Humanitarian aid. Equality. Rights. Freedom. Safety. Dignity. Justice.⁣⁣ ⁣ Over and over. For as long as it takes.⁣⁣ ⁣ ⁣𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞, 𝐠𝐢𝐯𝐞. 𝐈𝐟 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤, 𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐚𝐤. 𝐒𝐢𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐩𝐨𝐬𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐣𝐮𝐬𝐭 𝐧𝐨𝐭 𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐞.⁣⁣ ⁣ ⁣⁣ ⁣ ⁣ #Gaza #Palestine #Feminism #WomensRights #ceasefire

Looking back at this clip from 2021 on Good Morning America, I am struck by how much of what we discussed wasn’t just a warning, it was a prediction of the exact reality we are living today.⁣ ⁣ Five years ago, standing on air right after the fall of Kabul, I warned that the crisis facing girls wasn’t temporary. People wanted to believe that the rollback of rights in Afghanistan, the spike in child marriage, and the millions of girls pushed out of school were short-term shocks from the pandemic and political instability.⁣ ⁣ They weren’t. What was treated as an emergency back then has now hardened into institutionalized gender apartheid in Afghanistan, where an entire generation of young women has spent five years barred from secondary schools and universities.⁣ ⁣ Globally, we said we were 100 years away from gender equality. Today, with coordinated backlashes targeting girls’ bodily autonomy, digital safety, and education across every continent, the clock isn’t just standing still—in many places, it’s ticking backward.⁣ ⁣ In 2021, I told GMA3: “𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐝𝐚𝐲.”⁣ ⁣ That wasn’t just a catchy TV line, it was a demand.⁣ ⁣ We continuously praise young girls for their resilience. We cheer when they organize underground schools, when they fight for their rights from their phones, and when they adapt to impossible circumstances. But resilience is not a policy strategy, and girls should not have to be heroes just to go to school or avoid being married off as children.⁣ ⁣ Every statistic we see today is a policy choice made by adults in rooms far away from the girls whose lives they shape.⁣ ⁣ If looking back at where we were five years ago teaches us anything, it’s that symbolic solidarity changes nothing. Until international bodies and global leaders match the relentless courage of young girls with real money, political enforcement, and systemic protection, a single day on the calendar is just empty noise.⁣ ⁣ Girls are doing their part. It’s time for the rest of the world to do ours

Today is 𝐈𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐃𝐚𝐲 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐆𝐢𝐫𝐥. This year’s theme is a call to end child marriage and invest in girls’ rights. It also means keeping girls in school and amplifying their leadership - putting them at the center of solutions.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ Here’s why that matters. One in five girls worldwide is married before 18, which means roughly 650 million women and girls alive today were married as children. One in eight is raped or sexually assaulted before she turns 18. 133 million girls are still out of school. Pregnancy and childbirth complications are the leading cause of death for girls aged 15 to 19. Around 4,000 adolescent girls and young women acquire HIV every week. And the risk now follows girls online. Last year, 97% of the AI-generated child sexual abuse images found online depicted girls.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ Every one of those figures is a policy choice, made by adults, in rooms far away from the girls whose lives it impacts. ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ And girls are already leading. In every crisis I’ve worked in, the people who adapted fastest were women and girls. Girls lead, in classrooms that closed, in camps, in movements they organize on their own phones.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ 𝗪𝐡𝐚𝐭 𝐰𝐞 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐝𝐨, 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨𝐝𝐚𝐲:⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ 𝟏. Fund girl-led groups directly, with flexible, multi-year money they control.⁣⁣⁣ 𝟐. Keep girls in school, especially in crises and conflict, where education is the first thing lost.⁣⁣⁣ 𝟑. Set 18 as the minimum age of marriage, with no exceptions, and enforce it.⁣⁣⁣ 𝟒. Guarantee sexual and reproductive health care and comprehensive sexuality education for every girl.⁣⁣⁣ 𝟓. Hold tech companies accountable for the abuse their platforms host.⁣⁣⁣ 𝟔. Bring girls into the rooms where decisions about them are made, and give them a vote.⁣⁣⁣ 𝟕. Raise boys who respect girls as equals.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ One day for the girl child costs nothing. 365 days with money behind it is what girls deserve.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ #dayofthegirl #endchildmarriage #girlsrights

The conversations don’t end when UNGA wraps up, that’s where the real work begins.⁣ ⁣ It’s one thing to feel energized standing in a room of fierce advocates, plotting strategy over quick coffees and hallway run-ins. But the true test of feminist solidarity is what happens when everyone flies home.⁣ ⁣ The global backlash against gender equality isn’t slowed down by international protocol. It is organized, well-funded, and relentless. If we are going to counter it, our collective action has to be just as coordinated and twice as persistent.⁣ ⁣ Every connection made in those informal spaces was a seed. Now, it’s on us to nourish them, turning those spontaneous conversations into joint campaigns, shared resources, and real political pressure.⁣ ⁣ To everyone I crossed paths with over these intense days: thank you for reminding me of what is possible when we show up for each other. Now, let’s turn that energy into impact.⁣ ⁣ How are you keeping the momentum alive in your own sector after these gatherings? ⁣ ⁣ I’d love to hear how you’re turning connections into action.⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ #unga #womensrights #genderequality #humanrights #globalsolidarity

Three years. Today I am thinking about my sisters in Palestine, in Lebanon, in Sudan, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, in Myanmar... ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ ...in every place where genocide is unfolding right now while the world watches.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ I am thinking about the gendered dimensions of genocide, the ways it targets women’s bodies, women’s families, and women’s capacity to carry life forward. Genocide aims at a people’s future, and women hold that future.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ I am thinking about everything that failed us. Governments that supplied the weapons. Institutions that stayed silent. Media that chose euphemism over truth.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ And I am thinking about everything that held us. And gave us hope. The students in the encampments. Journalists in Gaza who kept reporting. Doctors and nurses who stayed. People who listened, learned, and opened their hearts.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ For everything cruel in this world, there are forces rising for good. They are growing. They are organizing. And one day, they will outnumber the rest.⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ #everydayactivism #womensrights #solidarity #humanrights

For 17 years, Arwa Damon stood on the frontlines of war with a camera in hand, documenting the unimaginable. But there comes a moment when capturing the story isn’t enough to quiet your conscience.⁣ ⁣ When fear threatens to hold you back, remember Arwa’s fearless truth: “𝘐’𝘮 𝘮𝘰𝘳𝘦 𝘢𝘧𝘳𝘢𝘪𝘥 𝘰𝘧 𝘭𝘪𝘷𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘢 𝘳𝘦𝘨𝘳𝘦𝘵 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘯 𝘐 𝘢𝘮 𝘰𝘧 𝘵𝘢𝘬𝘪𝘯𝘨 𝘢 𝘳𝘪𝘴𝘬 𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘧𝘢𝘪𝘭𝘪𝘯𝘨.”⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ I am honored to feature Arwa’s journey in Chapter 31 of 𝐅𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝘳. ⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ Swipe through the carousel to read her excerpt, and let her courage ignite your own.⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ 🔥 Download the Kindle version on Amazon today, or order the paperback now! (Link in BIO)⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣ #feministfirestarter #everydayactivism #womensrights #feministleadership

We’ve been sold a corporate myth about what it means to be a leader. We are taught to look for the corner office, the massive budget, and the executive title. But true power rarely wears a name tag.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ When the system breaks down or crisis hits, the people with the loudest voices or the highest salaries often freeze. That is when you see what real leadership looks like.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ It’s born in the mess. ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐨𝐬 𝐋𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐬𝐡𝐢𝐩 isn’t about managing a spreadsheet; it’s an undeniable reflex to step into the ambiguity and do the heavy lifting. It is the colleague who quietly guides the team through a disaster without being asked. It’s the community organizer who stretches zero resources into a lifeline. It’s the person who speaks up in the room when everyone else is comfortably silent.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ They don’t wait for a promotion, a mandate, or permission to fix what is broken. They act because their moral conviction simply won’t allow them to look the other way.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ The most transformative changes in our workplaces and communities aren’t coming from the top down. They are being driven by everyday people who anchor us in the chaos.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ Look around your workplace, your movement, or your family. Who is the untitled leader holding it all together? ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ Tag them below to remind them of their power. 👇⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ #leadership #chaosleadership #everydayleaders #unsungheroes #womenwholead

Today is the first day of 𝐃𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐕𝐢𝐨𝐥𝐞𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐞𝐬𝐬 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐭𝐡.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ Domestic violence is the most common violence women face. It is also the best hidden.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ It happens behind closed doors, in homes that look safe from the street, in relationships everyone admired. It happens in every country, every income bracket, every community. If it has spared you, it has reached a woman you love: your sister, your friend, your colleague, your neighbor.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ 𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐧𝐮𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫𝐬:⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ → In the US, about 4 in 10 women have experienced sexual violence, physical violence, or stalking by an intimate partner and reported an impact from it. (CDC)⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ → Worldwide, nearly 1 in 3 women has experienced physical or sexual violence in her lifetime. (WHO)⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ → In 2024, 50,000 women and girls were killed by an intimate partner or family member. That is one every 10 minutes, or 137 every day. (UNODC and UN Women)⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ For men, 11% of homicides are committed by a partner or family member. For women, it is 60%. The most dangerous place for a woman is her own home.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ Domestic Violence Awareness Month began in the US in 1987, built by survivors and advocates who refused to stay quiet. It is an American observance. But the violence it names is global. So this month I mark it for every woman, everywhere.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ Awareness is the first step. Accountability is the goal: laws that protect, systems that respond, and governments bound to act. At Every Woman, we advocate for a binding global instrument to end violence against women, and we support a coalition of more than 4,000 activists and organizations in 165 countries doing this work on the ground every day.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ Every woman deserves a life free from violence. Every one. Everywhere.⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣⁣⁣ #dvam #domesticviolenceawarenessmonth #everywoman #endvaw

It is impossible to stay silent about this. NO ONE should stay silent about this.⁣ ⁣ “𝐂𝐨𝐫𝐧𝐞𝐥𝐥 𝟕.” ⁣ ⁣ Even the name tells us something. We give rapes seemingly benign nicknames that make the accused sound like a sports team. And the woman — the survivor — disappears. ⁣ ⁣ This case matters because it shows us the whole machinery, and the breakdowns in the system at every turn. It shows how power decides whose words count. A message went out to the fraternity group chat inviting men to join in. Not one said Enough. Stop. Their silence was permission. So when women say all men, we’ve earned the right. Men who stay silent become part of the problem. I’d like to believe good men exist — but why are they quiet?!⁣ ⁣ And it continues. The accused men got to account for themselves in writing. Her words are being used against her. Survivors learn this lesson early and keep relearning it: your story is suspect evidence; theirs is context. It shows how institutions protect themselves first. Universities run their own idea of justice, where outcomes stay confidential and accountability can mean a workshop. Meanwhile the state steps back. Everyone gets to say they followed the process. It shows how long justice takes and who carries the cost. Two years. A lawsuit. One woman’s endurance, doing the work that systems were built to do. And it shows that prestige protects no one. If a woman isn’t safe at one of the most elite universities in the world, the idea of safe spaces was always a fiction. We knew this already. ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ Girls and women face violence at school, on campus, at home, online, on the street, and everywhere in between. We are not safe — anywhere. This is why we need a binding global treaty to end violence against women. We need one standard: consent defined clearly, including when a woman is too incapacitated to give it. States must be answerable for prevention and prosecution, including when institutions would rather handle it privately. Accountability has to mean something. An essay can’t undo a rape. A treaty can make it harder to get away with one. ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ #everydaywoman #endvaw #consent #accountability

I am constantly told that changing laws takes time. ⁣ ⁣ But there is a massive difference between “taking time” and structural delay.⁣ ⁣ If we are going to close this gap in our lifetimes, we have to stop playing by the rules of systems built without us. ⁣ ⁣ We need to resource the activists doing the heavy lifting and demand more than just a seat at the table, we need the pen to rewrite the laws ourselves.⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ #womensrights #genderequality #feminism #activism #womensempowerment

Today is International Safe Abortion Day. It began in 1990 as a regional day of action by feminist groups in Latin America and the Caribbean and was declared an international day of action in 2011 by the Women’s Global Network for Reproductive Rights. It exists to advocate for the decriminalization of abortion and universal access to safe, legal, and stigma-free reproductive care. This year’s theme is “Solidarity in Action: Advance Reproductive Justice and Urgently Strengthen Health Systems for Comprehensive Abortion Care.” This goal is to decriminalize abortion globally, eliminate barriers like waiting periods or mandatory approvals, and treat abortion care as a core component of healthcare and an essential human right. Why reproductive justice? More than services, more than rights, reproductive justice means every woman decides whether, when, and how to have children - full bodily autonomy. And to do so with access to care and resources that are safe - in communities that are sustainable. Why does access to safe abortion matter? ▪️ Around 73 million induced abortions happen worldwide every year. ▪️ 6 in 10 unintended pregnancies end in abortion. ▪️ About 45% of abortions globally are unsafe, and 97% of those occur in developing countries. ▪️ Unsafe abortion accounts for up to 13% of maternal deaths each year. ▪️ Where abortion is safe, deaths are fewer than 1 per 100,000. Where unsafe abortion is common, the rate exceeds 200 per 100,000. In the US, the Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade in June 2022. Today, 13 states enforce total bans. But abortion numbers didn’t change. Just SAFE abortions. The evidence is consistent. Abortion happens everywhere, under every law. But laws decide whether it is safe. Or not. Let’s be honest. If men could get pregnant, would we even be having this conversation? #SafeAbortionDay #ReproductiveJustice #WomensRights

UN General Assembly. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Yes, it’s political speeches and official events. But the heart of UNGA lives in parallel, in the spaces where activists, women’s rights organisations, human rights defenders, and climate advocates gather to talk about the issues that shape our daily lives. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ There are panels, speeches, report launches, and formal sessions. And then there are the coffee breaks, the breakfasts, lunches, and dinners. The chance encounters. The opportunities to exchange ideas, collaborate, co-create. It is powerful. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ This year, those conversations covered remarkable ground: politics, economics, health, violence against women, conflict, and the future of leadership. Each one kept returning to the same fact: 𝗪𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐧 𝐬𝐢𝐭 𝐚𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐜𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐨𝐟 𝐞𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐲 𝐢𝐬𝐬𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐯𝐞. ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ ⁣⁣ Read the full article on @everywomanglobal website. ( link in BIO ) #unga #genderequality #womeninlesdership #womensrights

If you are waiting for the perfect moment, the perfect strategy, or the perfect words to start making a difference, stop waiting. The work of changing the world is deeply messy. ⁣ ⁣ As I shared during story time today (with my toughest four-legged critic), activism is about “doing the best thing we can in an imperfect situation. And doing so imperfectly.” ⁣ ⁣ I know it can be a nightmare for those of us who like things structured. The work will “never be tidy, organized, orderly,” but the secret is that “we do it anyway.” ⁣ ⁣ Whether you are a seasoned advocate or just starting to find your voice in an unraveling world, give yourself permission to be imperfect. What matters most is that you show up.⁣ ⁣ 🔥 Feminist Firestarter is out now!⁣ ⁣ Read it first by downloading it on Kindle today, and let us know your thoughts by leaving an Amazon review! (𝘌𝘷𝘦𝘯 𝘡𝘢𝘻𝘰𝘰 𝘩𝘪𝘨𝘩𝘭𝘺 𝘳𝘦𝘤𝘰𝘮𝘮𝘦𝘯𝘥𝘴 𝘪𝘵!)⁣ 👉🏻Link in BIO #feminism #womensrights #feministfirestarter

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐬𝐭 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐭 𝐨𝐟 𝐔𝐍𝐆𝐀 isn’t on the agenda.⁣ ⁣ It’s that week in New York. Motorcades and meetings. Barricades and briefings. Politics and panels. Side events and sidewalk traffic.⁣ ⁣ Everyone, everything, everywhere.⁣ ⁣ It’s sort of a hassle. There’s a lot to hate about it. But here’s one thing I love… and it’s the stuff that happens in the in between. ⁣ ⁣ It’s the people who convene. People with passion. With commitment. With integrity. People who want to meet, to speak, to engage. Who carry the same issues, the same concerns, the same challenges. Who want to be better and do better - and collectively build a better world for women.⁣ ⁣ Relationship building is a leadership skill. We talk about vision, strategy, decisiveness, the ability to hold a room. We sometimes leave out the one that carries all the others.⁣ ⁣ This is especially true in women’s rights. The work is hard. The backlash is organized, well funded, and patient. Rights we thought were settled are being unsettled in real time. Nobody survives that alone. We need support. We need allies. We need the people who show up when the topic is unpopular and stay when it gets sticky.⁣ ⁣ That’s what UNGA gives us. By accident. ⁣ ⁣ It happens over coffee. Over breakfast, lunch, dinner, and all the moments in between. Bumping into someone on the street who you’ve emailed for two years and never met. The conversation over coffee break that leads into the next panel. ⁣ ⁣ That’s where things happen: Partnerships forged. Ideas created. Collaborations ignited. Real change begins.⁣ ⁣ The UN is easy to criticize. It is an institution in an existential crisis - many changes and it’s not clear where things will land. But behind all that is extraordinary people. Thousands of them. Giving their lives to something bigger than themselves. ⁣ ⁣ That’s what makes this week worthwhile.⁣ ⁣ See you at the next coffee break!

We are often taught that real power lives at the “big tables”, in the halls of diplomacy, behind closed doors, and within the institutions that have historically governed us.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ But what happens when you finally reach those tables and realize the system itself is profoundly broken?⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ Yasmina Benslimane faced this exact realization. Growing up in Morocco, she witnessed the stark inequalities facing young girls in rural areas, girls pulled from school to work, girls married off to older men. She initially believed traditional politics was the way to save them.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ Instead of waiting for an invitation to a broken table, Yasmina built her own.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ She founded Politics4Her to amplify the voices of young women from the Global Majority. Her journey taught her that systemic change doesn’t always start with a treaty or a summit. It begins in our communities, in our conversations, and in the small, brave acts we take every day to resist and to care.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ There will be days when the weight of the world feels impossible to carry, when hope feels hard to hold onto. But as Yasmina so beautifully reminds us: “𝘐’𝘷𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘥 𝘵𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘸𝘦 𝘥𝘰𝘯’𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘩𝘦 𝘸𝘩𝘰𝘭𝘦 𝘸𝘰𝘳𝘭𝘥. 𝘞𝘦 𝘫𝘶𝘴𝘵 𝘩𝘢𝘷𝘦 𝘵𝘰 𝘴𝘩𝘰𝘸 𝘶𝘱 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘱𝘪𝘦𝘤𝘦 𝘰𝘧 𝘪𝘵”.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ I am so proud to share Yasmina’s story in Chapter 31 of 𝐅𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫. ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ Swipe to read her excerpt, and let it be the spark you need today.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ 🔥 Download the Kindle version on Amazon today, or pre-order the paperback before it drops this October. (Link in bio!)⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ #feministfirestarter #everydayactivism #genderequality #womensrights #feministleadership

No matter who we are or where we live, the way we are trained to narrow and restrict our lives is a constant reminder of these barriers. Nobody is immune to it.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ A few days ago I went live with my good friend Dina Scippa, CEO of Enough Labs, to talk about this reality., to talk about this reality. Dina works every day to diagnose where decisions stall and helps build braver leadership, so she knows firsthand how these constant restrictions impact our momentum.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ As Dina perfectly put it in our chat: 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐨𝐮𝐭𝐫𝐚𝐠𝐞 𝐰𝐞 𝐟𝐞𝐞𝐥 𝐢𝐬 𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐨𝐫𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐭. 𝗪𝐞 𝐧𝐞𝐞𝐝 𝐭𝐨 𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐯𝐨𝐥𝐮𝐦𝐞 𝐮𝐩. ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ But we also need to take that outrage and use it in our own small, everyday ways to move the conversation forward.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ That is what everyday activism looks like. We stop accepting the paper cuts, and we start getting louder.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ Watch this highlight from our live session, and let’s keep the fire going.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ You can start reading 𝐅𝐞𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐬𝐭 𝐅𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 right now by grabbing the Kindle version at the link in my bio! ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ I’d love to hear your thoughts.⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ ⁣⁣⁣ #feministfirestarter #genderequality #activism #braverleadership #womensrights

𝟏𝟕𝟏 𝐲𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐬.⁣ ⁣ That’s how long global gender equality will take at the current rate of progress, according to UN Women’s Gender Snapshot 2026, released yesterday.⁣ ⁣ 171. It’s a big number. Do we even understand what it means? Every woman alive right now will be gone. Our daughters will be gone. Their daughters too. Six generations of women, given hollow promises and told to wait their turn.⁣ ⁣ The rest of the report reads no better: ⁣ ▪️Zero indicators under SDG 5 are on track for 2030. Zero. ⁣ ▪️Men hold the top leadership job in six out of seven countries. ⁣ ▪️One in three institutions built to advance gender equality has been stripped of its power in the span of two years. ⁣ ▪️Funding for women’s rights organizations keeps falling.⁣ ⁣ These sound like data points in every report we write.⁣ ⁣ Do we know what that looks like - for real people?!⁣ ⁣ •⁠ ⁠A service that used to exist - now closed.⁣ •⁠ ⁠A shelter with no support, no supplies, no space. ⁣ •⁠ ⁠A woman with nowhere to report.⁣ ⁣ I could go on. But I refuse to let that number be the number. I refuse to shrug and say there’s nothing we can do. ⁣ ⁣ We can start where we stand: Interrupt the joke in the meeting. Say the salary number out loud. Put money into the small local organization nobody is funding this year. Believe her the first time. Mentor the woman two rungs behind you. Show up to the thing you were going to skip. Go to the protest even if it’s raining. Sign that petition. Boycott. Take up the room you were trained to shrink out of. ⁣ ⁣ The small stuff IS the stuff. Everyday activism compounds. That is the whole argument of my new book, Feminist Firestarter: Activism for an Unraveling World.⁣ ⁣ …Because no one will save us but us.⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ #feministfirestarter #genderequality #activism #womensrights #leadership

I am proud to begin my work as CEO of Every Woman.⁣ ⁣ Every woman and girl has the right to live free from violence. Every Woman exists to make that right real.⁣ ⁣ We are a global coalition of more than 4,000 women’s rights activists and organizations in 165 countries. Frontline activists, lawyers, scholars, doctors, and advocates, united by one conviction and working together at every level.⁣ ⁣ Our work sits where grassroots advocacy meets global diplomacy. We partner with governments, the United Nations, and civil society to:⁣ ⁣ ✔️𝐀𝐝𝐯𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞 𝐢𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐚𝐥 𝐥𝐚𝐰, so every country shares a clear, binding standard for protecting women and girls⁣ ✔️𝐇𝐨𝐥𝐝 𝐠𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫𝐧𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐚𝐜𝐜𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐭𝐚𝐛𝐥𝐞 to the commitments they have already made⁣ ✔️ 𝐒𝐭𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐠𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐦𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐦𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 working to end violence in their own communities⁣ ⁣ We bring the expertise of women on the ground into the rooms where decisions get made. When their knowledge sits alongside decision makers, laws get stronger, accountability increases, and promises get kept.⁣ ⁣ This moment makes that work urgent. Nearly 1 in 3 women worldwide experiences violence in her lifetime. Hard-won rights are being rolled back. Funding for women’s organizations is shrinking. New forms of violence spread online faster than laws can respond. Progress on this scale requires collective action, and Every Woman is built for exactly that.⁣ ⁣ For 30 years, I have worked on violence against women across more than 20 countries in crisis and conflict, from Afghanistan to Haiti to Papua New Guinea. In every setting, I saw violence surge when systems broke down. ⁣ That is the heart of Every Woman’s model, and it is why I am so glad to be here.⁣ ⁣ 𝐋𝐞𝐠𝐚𝐥 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐫𝐭. 𝐋𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐝 𝐞𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐥𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐢𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐤.⁣ ⁣ I am grateful to everyone who has built this coalition over more than a decade, and to our members around the world. I am here to listen, learn, and build with you.⁣ ⁣ Let’s get to work.⁣ ⁣ ⁣ ⁣ #everywoman #EndViolenceAgainstWomen# #WomensRights