From where I stand: “My dream is to own my own garage”

Date: Monday, October 14, 2019

Christine Wambulwa, 40, is the only woman mechanic in Kakuma Town, Turkana County, Kenya. As the sole breadwinner of her family, she works to send her children to school, so they can have the education she couldn’t afford for herself.

From where I stand: “We must start by uniting the people because together we’re stronger”

Date: Friday, October 11, 2019

Natalia Slavinskaia, 42, is a community mobilizer from Komysh-Zorya, a small village in the conflict-affected Zaporizhzhia region, south-east Ukraine.

From where I stand: “Now I have bigger dreams”

Date: Tuesday, October 1, 2019

Sufia Khatun from Pirganj, Rongpur, found herself without any source of income after her husband passed away. Through a joint UN programme, she was able to learn tailoring and get access to finance to invest in her own business. Today she employs 20 women in her community.

From where I stand: “We can break barriers and provide a better future for ourselves and our families”

Date: Wednesday, September 4, 2019

Gabriela Avila migrated from Venezuela to Brazil two-and-a-half years ago in the hope of offering her 6-year-old daughter better living conditions. When they arrived in Boa Vista, the capital of the Brazilian border state of Roraima, they lived on the streets until Avila found a job as a kitchen assistant and could afford paying rent. Having overcome many challenges, she now works with other refugees and migrants from Venezuela.

From where I stand: “I think of my grandfather when I make Jikos”

Date: Wednesday, August 28, 2019

Refika Cornoleus, escaped the war in Sudan with her her six children, but had to leave behind her home, her husband and her grandparents. She lives in Kakuma Refugee Camp in Kenya, where she makes eco-friendly stoves, which are high in demand.

From where I stand: “A woman can and should be able to work”

Date: Wednesday, August 14, 2019

Deep within the rural community of Karak lies the town of Taibeh, where 39-year-old Mona Ahmed Alqkla, found a safe place for her family seven years ago after fleeing the conflict in Dara'a, Syria. She had never had the opportunity to work, until now. She recently joined the incentive-based volunteer programme as a tailor in the Oasis Centre in Taibeh, which was launched by the Ministry of Social Development in partnership with UN Women in March 2019.

From where I stand: “Young women's inclusion in peacebuilding will create sustainable peace”

Date: Thursday, August 8, 2019

At 32, Susan Sebit is an accomplished lawyer and advocate from South Sudan. She works to protect women and children from violence and to ensure the implementation of existing women, peace and security global frameworks.

From where I stand: “People said, how are you going to play football, you’re a girl!”

Date: Thursday, August 8, 2019

Fathime Tibu, 26, is the youngest female coach of MTG United, the football league for Moving the Goalposts (MTG), a sport for development organization based in Kilifi, Kenya. She recently spoke to UN Women about her own journey, aspirations, and how sport is a powerful tool to empower girls.

From where I stand: “We fight prejudices by raising our voices”

Date: Thursday, August 8, 2019

Alexandra Tomasevic, 25, is an aspiring journalist, a literature student in Belgrade, Serbia, and she has cerebral palsy. Tomasevic has advocated for children and youth with disabilities since she was a young girl, and is a participant of UN Women’s mentoring programme.

From where I stand: “Girls need to believe in themselves”

Date: Monday, July 22, 2019

Wilma Riziki Kazunguis learned to play football as a teenager. Today she is an entrepreneur and a football coach from Kilifi, Kenya.

From where I stand: “There are things for which life doesn’t prepare you”

Date: Tuesday, July 16, 2019

Rosarged López González, 31, was a natural sciences teacher in her homeland, Venezuela. With her husband and 8-year-old daughter, she decided to leave the country due to the social and economic situation, migrating to the city of Cartagena, Colombia, in March of 2018.

From where I stand: “Equality between men and women…is a moral imperative”

Date: Friday, July 12, 2019

Taher Sellami, a young entrepreneur and business student, is striving to use innovative technologies to drive social change in Tunisia and worldwide.

From where I stand: “My dream is to open the first baby photography studio in Palestine”

Date: Tuesday, July 9, 2019

Doaa Eshtayeh, from Nablus, Palestine, found her talent and passion in photography and has made it her profession. Doaa is the main provider for her family, thanks to the support she received through a UN Women project that helped her develop her skills and buy the equipment she needed.

From where I stand: “I lived in terror every day”

Date: Friday, June 14, 2019

Bage Jidda spent three years as a hostage of Boko Haram. Inspite of all her suffering, today she is the sole provider for her family, in Mora, the Far North Region of Cameroon. She embodies resilience, her optimism is infectious. Empowering women like Jidda is at the heart of building resilience among communities torn apart by the Boko Haram crisis.

From where I stand: “I am the living proof of what you can do if you don’t give up hope”

Date: Thursday, June 13, 2019

Narjis Mohaisen lost her eyesight at the age of 13, but didn’t give up her studies. After graduating from university, through UN Women’s Cash for Work project in Palestine supported by the Government of Japan, she has discovered ways to support students with disabilities pursue their dreams.

From where I stand: “It’s about lifelong skills on and off the rugby field”

Date: Monday, June 3, 2019

Neli Nabogi, 34, grew up in a family where girls were expected to listen and not speak. As a result, she lacked confidence as a young woman. That, and so much more, has changed since she was selected to become a rugby coach for the new Get Into Rugby PLUS programme. The programme is empowering coaches and adolescent players, who learn rugby and life skills.

From where I stand: “We are the solution in Brazil, not the problem”

Date: Thursday, May 23, 2019

Valdecir Nascimento has been part of the women’s rights movement in Brazil for 40 years. When asked what inspired her, she said, “being a black woman in Brazil”.

From where I stand: “I believe times have changed and my community needs adapt to this change”

Date: Tuesday, May 14, 2019

Ibrahim Hamawa, is the Lamido— traditional leader— of Zamay Kanton, a village in the Far North Region of Cameroon. The 63-year-old leader has already appointed the first-ever woman as a Lawal (Chief) and encouraging more women to take up decision-making roles within the traditional council. If women from other countries can make good leaders, why shouldn’t they in his community, he challenges.

From where I stand: “I work in construction, I am living my dream!”

Date: Thursday, May 9, 2019

Maira Assane Amade, 23, fulfilled her lifelong dream of working in construction after participating in the Rapariga Biz Joint Programme implemented by UN Women, UNFPA, UNESCO and UNICEF.

From where I stand: “We won the First International Women’s Blind Cricket Series”

Date: Monday, May 6, 2019

Bhagwati Bhattarai-Baral is the Team Captain of Nepal’s National Women’s Blind Cricket Team. The team recently won the First International Women’s Blind Cricket Series held in Pakistan in February 2019. Bhattarai-Baral and her teammates have overcome many challenges to prove that women with disabilities can be competitive professional athletes.