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We need to speak up to shape our future
Xari Africa has reached thousands of girls, breaking down long-standing barriers and providing them with essential knowledge and resources.
Photo: Xari Africa
Silence is learned young, and it follows girls into adulthood.
I have always said that if girls cannot speak about their periods, they won’t speak up against child marriage, abuse, or other harmful norms. Women who were once girls afraid to talk about their bodies become women afraid to challenge policies that threaten their rights.
When I started Xari Africa in Nigeria at 18, my focus was straightforward: to help girls understand menstruation so they wouldn’t miss school because of something natural. But soon I realized it was much deeper than that. Periods weren’t just about biology—they were about power. I saw firsthand how girls lacked safe spaces to talk about their own bodies, let alone their rights. If they were ashamed to ask about menstruation, how would they speak out against abuse, forced marriage, or other harmful practices?
That realization changed everything. Xari Africa became more than a platform for menstrual health education; it became a movement to equip girls with the confidence and power to take charge of their futures. Today, Xari Africa has reached thousands of girls, breaking down long-standing barriers and empowering them with essential knowledge and resources.
Through "Just Period It," a groundbreaking guide to understanding menstruation, over 6,000 girls have been able to calculate their cycles for the first time. “The Grassroots Outreaches” initiative has provided more than 10,000 girls in rural communities with much-needed sanitary care packages, ensuring they have the essentials to manage their periods with dignity. Meanwhile, “Safe Spaces” has created a supportive environment for 4,000 girls, giving them the freedom to learn about their bodies, ask important questions, and access crucial resources without fear or shame. Expanding its impact beyond borders, the “LearnToShare Fellowship” is now active in Ghana, Sierra Leone, and Liberia, equipping young activists to become agents of change and creating a ripple effect that increases access to reproductive health education across communities.
Through these transformative initiatives, Xari Africa continues to uplift and empower young girls, ensuring they no longer face these challenges alone.
Each number represents a girl whose life has changed. But behind the statistics are real stories—stories that remind us why this work is urgent.
Xari Africa was founded in 2018 with a simple yet powerful vision: to improve access to quality sexual health education for adolescent girls.
Photo: Xari Africa
One that has stayed with me is Amina's story (real name withheld for privacy). During a school outreach, she asked for a private conversation. What started as a simple question about menstrual health turned into a heartbreaking revelation that she and her sisters were being abused by their own father. They had never told anyone before. That day, we took action, working to get them to safety, providing shelter, and ensuring they could return to school all while helping to rebuild their sense of security and hope for the future.
The issues that women face are interconnected. This is why we need safe spaces and the advancement of women's rights—not just for reproductive health education but for protection, empowerment, and lasting change. This year’s International Women’s Day theme—“For ALL Women and Girls: Rights. Equality. Empowerment.”—resonates deeply with our work. It is a call to dismantle the barriers that keep girls from making decisions about their own bodies and futures. Because the truth is, empowerment is more than just access; it is also about agency.
But even as we make progress, we are witnessing increasing pushback on women’s rights, particularly on sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR). Around the world, policies restricting bodily autonomy are on the rise, reinforcing harmful cycles of control over women’s choices. This is not just a health issue—it is an economic, political, and social issue. When women lack control over their bodies, they are denied control over their futures. A girl silenced today becomes a woman who cannot fight for herself tomorrow. And that is why we must act now.
Being a gender activist has not been easy. The biggest challenge has been resistance from cultural norms that silence women’s voices to systems that dismiss their needs. I have seen schools that refuse to prioritize menstrual education, communities that believe talking about SRHR is "corrupting" girls, and even pushback from policymakers who do not see this as a priority.
If silence is accepted, nothing will change.
The lesson I have learned is that consistency creates change. When girls see other women as worthy models and examples, they have the information and confidence to speak up, they advocate for themselves and each other. And when they do, societies thrive
Change requires more than hashtags and one-day celebrations—if we are serious about gender equality, we must commit to action. Individuals must create safe spaces for open conversations and challenge harmful norms within their communities; if a girl cannot talk about periods at home, she won’t talk about abuse either, making it essential to normalize these discussions. Organizations need to move beyond token initiatives and invest in grassroots efforts that work directly with girls, funding programmes that prioritize long-term impact over short-term virality. Even policymakers must center women’s voices in decision-making, protect sexual and reproductive health and rights, ensure access to education, and strengthen laws against gender-based violence—because women’s rights are not negotiable.
A girl who learns to advocate for herself today will become a powerful woman who challenges policies tomorrow. Equality is not a favor. It's the very foundation for thriving societies.
The fight for gender equality is a fight for the future. And we will not stop.
