Girl Rising

Kate Kiama and Nidhi Shukla have been in some of the most important and energising rooms this week - and making sure girls are right in the middle of it.

At 2026, a key theme kept coming up: girls aren’t waiting to lead. They’re already doing the work. And the rest of the world needs to trust them, fund them, and stop overcomplicating what support actually looks like.

There have been big conversations — about feminist movements, funding, backlash (it’s real), and what it takes to keep going. But also the smaller moments: reconnecting, laughter, poetry that made the whole room go quiet, and well-earned momos for Kate at the end of a long day.

We’re especially excited about the Adolescent Girls Manifesto, written by girls, on their terms. It’s clear, it’s direct, and it doesn’t ask for permission.

Let’s keep the momentum going.

Meet Diana Godinho — Girls Advisory Council Alumna, advocate, and changemaker from Brazil 🇧🇷

From distributing 10,000 sanitary pads to fight menstrual poverty to representing Brazilian youth at the UN's Commission on the Status of Women, Diana's journey is proof that one girl's conviction can move policy, shift rooms, and open doors for others.

Now she's bringing three young women from Brazil to advocate at CSW69, because that's what real empowerment looks like: paying it forward.
Read Diana's full story → https://bit.ly/3QqWbqB

This is only the beginning.

Last week in Bilaspur, Chhattisgarh, we celebrated one year of RISE with the students, teachers, families, and government officials who made it real. 2,331 young people. 35 teachers. 7 schools. And a community that decided education was worth showing up for.

Read the full story here: https://bit.ly/41Mwovx

Thank you to Foundation for showing up in Bilaspur and for believing in what digital literacy means for young people's futures.

When girls are educated, respected, heard, the impact goes far beyond their own lives. It shapes communities and it shapes the future of our planet.

We see it in the data and we see it in the lives of the girls we work with every day.

When she leads, the earth thrives. Celebrate by advocating for girls' rights.

At 15, Robina Azizi was forced to leave school. Today, she is the founder of Girls on the Path of Change, a movement reaching hundreds of girls across Afghanistan and beyond.

As a member of the Girl Rising Girls Advisory Council, Robina brings her experience, her voice, and her leadership to help shape our work, and remind us in very personal and powerful ways just what’s at stake.

We’re so grateful to have this extraordinary cohort of girls who lead alongside us.

Read Robina's story. https://bit.ly/427qzsv

Meet the new Girls Advisory Council.

From Nigeria to Malaysia. From Peru to Zimbabwe. From Malawi to Morocco — and everywhere in between.

These extraordinary young women now sit at the heart of everything we do — shaping our programmes, storytelling, advocacy, and governance. Two members will also serve on our Board of Directors.

Leadership isn't coming for these girls. It's already here.
Swipe to meet some of them, then meet the full Council at [https://bit.ly/485PNei]

Izwirashe · Juana · Abigail · Mercy · Aliz · Faith · Milagros · Binta · Allison · Byssan · Sania · Lillian

Today in Bilaspur we are celebrating with the students, teachers, families, and government officials who made RISE real.

72% of students believe they can reach their desired education level
Teachers' belief that girls can lead increased from 63% to 91%
Student digital literacy confidence increased from 85% to 98%
94% of students are confident in financial decision-making
And this is just the beginning. Learn more at www.girlrising.org

In Bilaspur, 93% of adolescent girls are now committed to continuing their education beyond secondary school.

When RISE began, that number was 84%.

That shift didn't happen by accident. It happened inside classrooms — through teachers trained by the Girl Rising team, stories that opened conversations, and young women who started believing their future was worth reaching for.

And it wasn't just girls. Students across the programme saw their aspiration to continue education rise from 80% to 85% by the end of the programme.

On Friday, Bilaspur celebrates the people who made those numbers real.

It's official! Girl Rising and She’s the First are united — FOR ONE vision: a world where every girl is educated, respected, and heard.

This is more than a merger.

It’s a step toward something stronger - bringing together our programmes, our communities, and our shared commitment to girls' rights, their education, their opportunities.
For One Vision. One Movement. One Future. Join us! www.girlrising.org

Something big is happening in Bilaspur.

On 17 April, Samarpit and Girl Rising are bringing together the girls, boys, teachers, and families who made RISE possible — alongside senior government officials — to celebrate a year of impact and ask: what comes next?

Real change, shaped by the people closest to it.