In partnership
How women and girls are building a better world
The difference your donations make
From the cost of living crisis to climate change, it can often feel as if the world is making too little progress, and that the news is always negative.
But, as an ActionAid supporter, you'll know that there are often many untold stories underneath the surface.
They may not make headline news, but all across the world there are incredible stories of women and girls leading change in their communities.
I hope you enjoy reading some of these inspiring stories below.
As a generous and loyal supporter, your donations are helping to make these stories possible: you're helping to fund life-changing projects so that more women and girls can claim their rights and create the futures they want. Thank you.
In Bangladesh
Women's groups are changing lives
Meet Kharunti from Bangladesh – she is part of a women’s group that is helping to transform family incomes.
Kharunti is a widower and a mother of six children.
"My husband was a farmer, but the changes to the weather patterns had started to affect the crops and his earnings were never enough," she tells us.
"After he passed away, my only asset was the house we lived in, and we struggled to survive. I had no option but to take my children out of school to reduce the financial burden on the family and to try and put food on the table each day.
"ActionAid helped me in my most difficult time. I was initially invited to join the women’s Reflection Action Circle where I received strength from the other women in the group.
"We discussed needing alternative ways to earn an income and moving away from the reliance on farming. Being part of the group meant when poultry rearing training was provided, I was there to take it up.
"Along with 29 other women, I received training on how to rear poultry and how to keep them safe and healthy. This included vaccinations, feeding, housing and the nursing process. I decided to rear ducks as the return was higher than chickens.
"Being part of the women’s group, I learned that I could take a small loan of BDT 5,000 [£40.75] from our group’s fund to purchase 12 baby ducks and build a secure duck house. I’ve now sold 17 ducks and repaid this loan. Every three to four months, I sell up to nine ducks for BDT 500 [£4.07] each.
"I am very thankful to ActionAid because the training they provided has changed the course of my future and my family’s too.
I want to make sure my children are educated, especially my daughters, so that they can be enlightened and not suffer the same problems in life like me.
"Thanks to my income, all my children are enrolled in school again."
In Brazil
Farmers are becoming climate-resilient
Meet Dona from Brazil – she is part of a farmers’ group that is helping to improve crop irrigation
"I'm Dona. I'm 68 years old and I live with my son, his wife and my granddaughter in a rural community in the north of Minas Gerais, a region that borders Rio de Janeiro state.
"I’ve been a farmer since I was very young; I learned everything from my grandfather. My family's main source of income is the cultivation of fruits, such as oranges, mangoes, jaboticaba berries [Brazilian grape], pineapples and jackfruit.
"I sell some of the fruits to a cooperative which they use to produce pulp. I sell what we don’t need to eat at the local markets."
Like many farmers in this region of Brazil, Dona has witnessed a steep decline in their harvests.
Changing weather patterns that are reducing rainfall, a growing reliance on chemical fertilisers, and the advance of mining operations that is polluting water sources, are all contributing to this reduction. Incomes have been put at risk, but thanks to the hard work of farmers like Dona, coupled with the support of ActionAid’s partners in this region, this is changing.
"I am a member of the Centre for Alternative Agriculture (CAA) group and with ActionAid’s help, I have learned to preserve the land I work on," Dona tells us.
I had no idea what agroecology was until I attended the training. I have learned to produce food without poison - we don't use any of that here.
"To help us with the scarcity of water, our CAA group developed a greywater recycling scheme. The system is equipped with a solar pump and a drip irrigation network to water the fruit trees.
"Before the greywater recycling system, we had no way of watering the plants we grew. Now, it is bringing a great benefit to everyone. I want to dedicate my life to raising awareness on the importance of agroecological food production."
In Burundi
Women are boosting their harvests
Meet Fébronie, who is a widow and mother of one daughter.
"When my husband passed away, my life changed completely," she tells us. "He was the main income earner for our family and without him, it became very difficult for me to take care of my daughter and myself.
"We had a small piece of land that I grew crops on, but it wasn’t enough to feed us both and I never had any surplus to sell. Taking care of my daughter’s school needs was another difficult task; if it hadn’t been for well-wishers, I am sure I couldn’t have afforded to send her to school. I had no hope for the future.
"I then joined a women’s group supported by ActionAid. Being part of this group, I got the opportunity to develop my farming techniques.
I’ve learned how to make compost, grow crops that are tolerant to the shortage of rain and diseases, protect my soil from erosion by planting trees and improve the quality of the soil using my animal manure.
"I have increased my crop production by over 60% and I’m no longer worried about what we are going to eat today and tomorrow. The increased production has allowed me to buy another piece of land and expand my farming.
"I was given a goat by ActionAid. This goat has had offspring, which I have sold to buy a cow. The cow’s manure is particularly good for my land. Now, I no longer use chemical fertilizer.
"I am a role model farmer in my community where many farmers in my village are eager to learn from my experience. They admire the way I produce food and how my life keeps on improving.
"I didn’t think I could raise my daughter alone, but now I am successfully farming and creating a better future for us both."
In Ethiopia
Women are becoming financially independent
Meet Genet from Ethiopia – she is leading change for women in her community, ensuring women know their rights and can demand a voice.
"Hello, my name is Genet. I live with my husband and children in the southern region of Ethiopia.
"Since I was a child, I was told women did not have an opinion and it was shameful for them to stand in front of people and speak out.
"Women had no power and their husbands, community leaders and any other males were the decision makers. A woman’s role was limited to household chores, cleaning, fetching water and raising the children.
"I was economically dependant on my husband, and I felt humiliated asking him for everything that I needed for me and our children. I was hopeful that one day women would become equal decision makers in my community.
I had no words to express my delight when I heard that ActionAid was starting a programme about women’s rights. I was invited to attend different training workshops on gender equality and women’s participation.
"As my confidence grew, I joined the women’s watch group. This is an ActionAid supported group that works closely with the government and legal bodies and helps women to report and progress domestic abuse cases. As a group, we are able to enhance knowledge about women’s rights.
"In addition to being part of the women’s watch group, I am also the leader of the savings and credit cooperative supported by ActionAid.
"I’ve done a lot to encourage more women to save money and engage in business activities by using the loan facility. During our regular meetings, we’ve received training in business skills and agricultural techniques. Now many of the women in my community are becoming financially independent.
"Us women have experienced so much positive change in our lives after learning about our rights and earning our own incomes.
"I am now planting vegetables for home consumption and for selling. My husband is very supportive of me, we respect each other and work together for the well-being of our family. We are now considered as a model partnership in our village.
"I would like to thank ActionAid for their work which has brought hope to the women in my community."
In Ghana
Families are becoming more gender-equal
Meet Awinma from Ghana. She's a 34-year-old mother of four children, and challenging norms has meant she now has the time and space to run a successful business
"Household chores such as cleaning, cooking, fetching water and firewood, and caring for children and other family members, all fall at the feet of us women," she tells us.
"This is because it is engrained into our social norms that these chores are regarded as feminine roles. Any man who tries to help with these chores are usually mocked.
"I felt that us women had no power to change this norm and had no option than to embrace the tasks as part of our duties or we risked being called lazy or a bad wife.
"It was exciting when ActionAid organised workshops in our community regarding the distribution of household chores.
"To reach as many people as possible they organised three public debates live on the radio, these included phone-in segments for listeners to ask questions. Over 20,000 people listened to the debates including my family.
"In the past, my husband had tried to help with the household work but had been made fun of. But after participating in the community debate and a series of sensitisation programmes, he now carries the firewood on his bicycle, and he fetches water from the borehole too.
"Equally I am very happy because my two sons, who previously did not do anything at home to help, have now started sweeping the compound and washing the bowls and plates.
I am a very happy woman because I have been relieved of many duties that took most of my time.
"I now have time to open my shop for longer hours and generate my own income."
In Guatemala
Farming innovation is helping women to feel empowered
Meet Maria from Guatemala. She is part of a women’s farming group who are working together to transform the success of their crops.
"Hello from Guatemala! My name is Maria and I’m a married mother of four children.
"I’ve tried to grow crops to feed my family, but I’ve not been successful and buying the vegetables from the markets was expensive. I’ve been using seeds I’ve purchased along with chemical fertilisers.
"I was therefore happy to learn that ActionAid and their local partner, Vivamos Mejor, wanted to help us women learn how to successfully grow crops as a collective.
"We were provided with indigenous seeds, like the ones our grandparents used to plant, not the modified ones that I’d been buying. I learned that these local seeds produce more seeds for the following year, and they are better suited to our climate and soil.
"We [members of the collective] attended workshops where we learned about organic fertiliser and why it's so much better than the chemical ones we’d been using. Best of all it's free, as our sheep produce it and its all natural.
"We’ve created raised seedbeds with wood that we already had, and we’ve grown radish, carrot, broccoli, turnip and herbs such as coriander. We take turns to look after the crops each week, keeping it free of weeds and pests.
"Once we harvest the crops, we share them between all members of the collective. The best part is that we do not use any chemicals in our vegetables, everything is natural.
We no longer buy our vegetables from the markets, and if we have surplus crops, we sell them and share the profits.
"My newfound knowledge and growing vegetables to sell is empowering – thank you from all the women in our collective."
In Haiti
New business skills are helping women to raise dough
Meet Irène from Haiti – she has established a thriving business as a baker and is now helping others to learn her craft.
Irène is 64 years old and lives with her two sons, her husband and their extended family.
"When I lost my job, I was devastated. They sent me home while I was still capable of working because of my age," she says.
"This left my family in a terrible situation as my husband didn’t earn enough to support us all. I tried developing several businesses, but they failed.
"My life changed when I joined ActionAid’s business skills training. I attended every session as I was hungry to learn everything I could.
My mother was the best bread maker around. When we were children, I was the only one amongst my siblings interested in baking. This was the business I wanted to pursue.
"When I completed the business training, I also received a solar powered oven, so I no longer had to rely on wood which was in short supply. The solar pack allows me to bake 24 dozen loaves of bread a day.
"I bake other products too such as Konparèt [a traditional cake-like bread made from flour, banana, coconut, butter and sugar cane syrup], which my clients love.
"I make about 10,000 gourdes [£56.64] a month as profit. I am giving back to my community by offering a training programme to unemployed young people so they too can become expert bakers.
"I also open my bakery to women who don’t have access to an oven for baking, which means they too can create an income.
"Although I’m getting older, I regain energy every time I’m working my dough. It has been my passion since my young age when I used to help my mother bake bread.
"Thanks to my perseverance and with the support of ActionAid, I have an enterprise that is growing.
"Today I’m a proud businesswoman. The path to this success has been a difficult one, but I’ve made it!"
In India
Women are coming together to protect forest land - and their rights
Meet Bhagirathi from India – she joined hands with other women to protect their rights to forest land in India.
"Hello, my name is Bhagirathi. I am 22 years old, and I live with my husband, our two year old daughter and our extended family.
"Our village is surrounded by dense forest, and for many generations, we have utilised the forest resources. Every day, we enter the forest to cultivate a specific plot of land, collect wood for cooking, edible fruits such as mango and jackfruit, honey, broomstick grass, and fodder for our domestic animals.
"Our way of life changed when the government passed a law restricting our freedom of movement in the forest.
"As a result, many families moved to the foothills to work as farm labourers or seasonal workers in cities. We struggled to earn an income picking up casual labour where we could.
"This wasn’t the way we wanted to live, and with ActionAid’s support, we were determined to change this.
ActionAid helped us to create a women's forest rights group, which brought us together to collectively regain our traditional forest rights and reassert our original identity.
"Through the group, we learned about the Scheduled Tribes and Other Traditional Forest Dwellers (Recognition of Forest Rights) Act. We found out that the act entitles tribal communities, like ours, who have lived off the forest for generations to benefit from forest produce, just as we had been doing.
"ActionAid helped us apply for a forest rights title, as well as land on which we could farm. They helped us prepare the paperwork and organised a meeting with officials at the forest department.
"As a result of several follow-ups with the forest department, I and other village women have been granted a forest right title document and a piece of land to carry out farming without living in fear of being displaced from the forest.
"Joining the women's forest rights group has boosted my self-esteem and confidence. We are no longer stressed about finding work, I am able to earn an income from the land I was granted and contribute to my family’s needs."
In Kenya
Women are becoming community leaders
Meet Bines from Kenya – she is the chairperson of a successful chicken rearing group that is transforming family incomes.
"Greetings from Kenya, my name is Bines and I’m blessed with three children, and I am married.
"For a long time I have worked as a casual labourer to support my family, but life was hard. Sending my children to school seemed like a mirage.
"I could not make decisions freely. Interacting with other women was hard as there would be no time as I spent it all at home and I had to seek authority from my husband. I’d heard about the women’s group, but joining was not easy for me.
"I never thought my situation would ever be any different; I felt powerless until ActionAid started sensitisation workshops in our community.
"I attended the meetings gradually, but after discussions with my husband about the importance of the group to our family I was soon an active member. Through these workshops I started seeing things differently.
"I joined the women’s savings group and set up a shop selling vegetables where I earned around Ksh 400 [£2.69] a day. I continued saving and started to raise chickens. ActionAid helped us create the Improved Chicken Farmers group.
The management committee is made up of nine members (six women and three men) and I’m the elected chairperson. It is encouraging to see women take key positions in the management committee.
"With ActionAid’s support we have built strong links with the Agricultural Sector Development Program where we presented a proposal for funding. We won the funding which we used to purchase incubators for our chicken eggs, hatcheries and a brooding centre.
"We now hatch an average of 1,500 chicks per month and sell an average of 200 eggs a day which provides a regular income for the group.
"Through my active participation in ActionAid’s programmes, I have seen my life change in a big way - enabling me to make personal decisions at home, educating my children, and taking community leadership positions. I am happy!"
In Malawi
Tailoring skills are changing lives
Meet Takondwa from Malawi – she is using newly acquired skills to manage a successful business and support her family.
Takondwa is a 22-year-old single mother. She lives with her daughter, mother and four siblings.
"When I was growing up, my family moved around a lot in search of work," she tells us. "This meant that me and my siblings rarely went to school. I fell pregnant, but the father refused to take any responsibility for his new family, so I stayed at home with my parents.
"When our father passed away, my mother struggled to provide for us all on her own and we often went to bed hungry, and our clothes were worn out. I wanted to help but, having never completed my education, my opportunities were limited.
"I was overjoyed when I heard about an ActionAid-supported project of vocational skills training for women like me.
"I chose to focus on sewing and I received a sewing machine to help with my training. The course also included business management and customer management skills. I was energised to give my best on my assignments and not to lose this opportunity. My families’ hope for survival was in my hands.
Now I’m a qualified seamstress, I’m supporting my daughter and helping my mother to provide food for our family.
"I’m happy to be contributing to the school fees of my siblings so they can complete their education. I’m also reinvesting some of my profits by planting soya beans, groundnuts and maize for food and to generate additional income.
"Life has changed for me and my family. We have three meals per day, my siblings are in school, and we have new clothes.
"My mother is the happiest woman in the community because I have the skills to take on the role of the family bread winner."
In Mozambique
Women are claiming their reproductive rights
Meet Genita, who lives in Mozambique. Following health care advice and support, she is among many women in her community taking control of their bodies.
Genita is a married mother with four sons and three daughters.
"I feel like I’ve spent most of my married life pregnant. I was often pregnant again before the child I’d just given birth to turned one," she says.
"Having so many children made me physically weak - I spent a lot of time breastfeeding my babies and was unable to work on our farm.
I’d heard about the ActionAid-supported women’s group and decided to join a meeting. I found that it was a safe space for us women where we could discuss our challenges.
"It was during one of these meetings that we discussed the frequent deaths of mothers during childbirth and the lack of support during pregnancy and postpartum. We also discussed that we’d all had babies with no space in between to recover from the pregnancy and giving birth.
"ActionAid organised workshops for the women’s group where we learned that we have rights over our bodies and that we can choose how many babies we have. This was empowering and spurred me on to consult with the nurse about my family planning options.
"My husband and I are in agreement that we don’t need to have any more children. I am now using my energy to look after the children we have and to work on the farm so we can increase our income.
"Some women in the community ask me about this, and I explain that I am using contraceptive which is available in our health center and it’s free.
"Now I share the tasks of the farm with my husband and I’m no longer concerned about falling pregnant again."
In Nepal
Women are making sure their daughters go to school
Meet Mina from Nepal – she is running her own business and is determined her daughter completes her education.
"Greetings from Nepal! My name is Mina, I am 27 years old, and I live with my daughter and husband.
"I left my education to get married, as that’s what I thought was expected of me. I was sad to see my school friends make different choices - continuing with their education and securing good jobs.
"I became a mother within a year of getting married and have relied on my husband to provide for us.
"I’ve always been keen on sewing and knitting, but my confidence was low, and I was unsure how I could progress my interest into something more.
I decided to join the ActionAid supported Reflect circle in my community. This is a space for us women to meet and discuss our challenges and create solutions.
I began to take part in the different workshops on offer, such as learning about my rights, my daughter’s right to an education, reading, writing and numeracy. When a three month business skills training scheme was offered, I jumped at the opportunity.
"In addition to the business skills training, I was also provided with a sewing machine which helped me establish my own tailoring shop.
"After not completing my education, I never thought I would start my own business and earn my own income. More than this, I am extremely glad that I can send my daughter to school and buy her school materials.
"I want my daughter to finish her education and be successful in the future - that is why I don’t want to compromise in anything related to her studies.
"I am very much thankful for this partnership with ActionAid; I’ve finally started to believe in myself. Nothing is impossible."
In Nigeria
Communities are banning FGM, thanks to women's groups
Meet Christiana, who lives in Nigeria. She's among a group of brave women who are challenging cultural norms to protect the health and wellbeing of their daughters and granddaughters.
Together, they have fought to bring an end to female genital mutilation (FGM) in their community.
Christiana is 30 years old, and she grew up believing FGM was the norm and it was compulsory.
"In my community, women couldn’t be married if they hadn’t been circumcised, so this made some women consent to FGM," she says. "It was because of this that I faced FGM when I was 15 years old.
"When I started having children, I didn’t want to have a girl, because I feared seeing her go through FGM.
"I joined the ActionAid supported women’s group where we had opportunities to discuss and learn about different topics, such as personal development, health, livelihoods, and our rights.
"One of the topics that generated a lot of discussion amongst the women was the issue of FGM. Some women argued that it was a cultural norm while others argued that it was a traumatic experience for us women.
"As a group, we eventually agreed that FGM is a violation of our rights and our bodies.
Together, our women’s group advocated for an end to FGM with the village council, religious leaders and traditional council. We began speaking out against the practice during religious, social and community meetings.
This took three years, but I’m happy to tell you that FGM is now banned in my community.
"The abolishment of the practice was such a relief to me personally - and to the women in the community.
"The abolishment has given me some sort of mental healing and relief because for the first time I have no fear of having a daughter.
"I’m no longer afraid that my girls will go through this traumatic experience like I did. I’m so proud of the women’s group for working to end FGM."
In Sierra Leone
Communities are recovering from Covid-19
Meet Fatu from Sierra Leone – she is working with her women’s farming group to re-establish successful farming practices following Covid-19.
Fatu is a 42-year-old widow with four children.
She tells us: "My only source of income to support my family was from farming, but it was a struggle without the proper tools and knowledge.
"I am part of an ActionAid-supported women’s farming group. At the end of each harvest we pooled our seeds together to create a seed bank.
"However, during Covid-19 lockdowns we had no way of generating an income, so we ended up eating the seeds from the seed bank, leaving us with nothing for the following year.
"Thanks to our partnership with ActionAid, they introduced us to the Ministry of Agriculture, which has been set up to help women like us create a business from our farming. We successfully registered as a farming group with the government.
"We are now fully aware of the opportunities and resources being registered with the Ministry of Agriculture can bring us. By registering, we now have access to equipment such as tractors, training and modern varieties of seeds.
"As the chairperson of the women’s farming group and with the support from ActionAid, we are working closely with the various authorities to strengthen our group.
Access to farming equipment means that we can farm on a much larger scale, pooling our resources as a group. We not only meet the daily needs of our families but have increased our yields and our incomes.
"The more land we cultivate, the better our yields and the stronger we will become as women."
In Tanzania
Women are tackling gender inequality
Meet Pili from Tanzania. She's part of a group of women who are challenging gender discrimination.
"I’m Pili and I’m a 43-year-old married mother of four children," she says.
"For as long as I can remember, men have dominated everything - socially, politically, and economically. Us women have worked on the farms and taken care of the children for a long time, but we remained poor.
"All decisions in our families were taken by the men. We were not allowed to attend any community meetings or contribute to decisions that affected us.
"This situation started to improve and change after ActionAid invited the whole community to workshops to discuss these patriarchal norms.
Both men and women attended these meetings and we learned that by silencing women it was hindering the development of our families, communities and governments.
"There was resistance from the men to accept that women and men are equal, but slowly changes began.
"I joined the ActionAid-supported women’s group where us women learned more about our rights and how to stand up for them.
"We can contest the election of community leadership positions, we own our bodies, we can start our own income generating activities and we can protect the educational rights of our daughters.
"I’m now the secretary for the local women’s association. Today, I confidently stand up and speak in our community meetings. We have inspired so many women to realise their value and stand up for their rights.
"I thank ActionAid for working with us, helping us become aware of our rights.
"I feel very happy that I’ve found a role to play in my community to continue to educate everyone about women’s rights. At home, my husband and I share the farming, taking care of the children and making decisions."
In The Gambia
Climate-resilient farming techniques are changing lives
Meet Asba from The Gambia – she is tackling climate change and providing for her family.
"Greetings from The Gambia. My name is Asba and I’m a 30-year-old married mother of seven children.
"I work on our farm with my husband. We rely on our farming for our livelihood. We only cultivated a small area because we had no farming tools or animals.
"When the rainy season began, I waited until my neighbours had finished sowing their seeds. They would then lend me their farm implements and animals to sow my seeds.
"As a result, our sowing, ploughing, weeding and harvesting was always late and this impacted our yields.
"This has led to less income and inadequate food for my family for the year. We often limited ourselves to two meals a day – breakfast and lunch. During the dry season I worked de-husking other people’s groundnuts to be paid D100.00 [£1.31] per 100kg bag.
"I was invited to join an ActionAid-supported training course on Climate Resilience Sustainable Agriculture. After the training I received farming tools, a donkey and seeds to cultivate.
"This year I was among the first farmers to do their planting in the village. Once my planting was complete, I supported three other women in my community to plant their fields early.
"Thanks to the tools and quality seeds, I’ve been able to expand my area of production from 0.5 hectare to 1.5 hectare and increase my crop production. I have grown more than we can eat, so I’ve sold my surplus and purchased school uniforms and rice.
"I’m now planning to start a business in my village where I sell my surplus produce. I’m so proud of myself because my family can eat three good meals a day. This year is a year of joy and success for me and my family."
In Uganda
Women are standing against domestic violence
Meet Giramia from Uganda – she is now living a life free of violence.
"If you met me three years ago you would not have recognised me," 23-year-old Giramia tells us. "I lived a life of fear and violence at the hands of my husband. My suffering seemed like it would never end! All this is history.
"Although my parents wanted me to continue with my education, I chose to get married and start my own family. Unfortunately, over time, my husband became violent towards me and I could not tolerate it anymore.
"I would flee to my parents, but would go back to save my marriage. I feared of being a failure especially as my parents had discouraged me from getting married.
"I also feared leaving as it is culturally believed that a man is entitled to claim the bride price [dowry] if his wife leaves him.
"My father was concerned for my safety and his fears came true when he learnt that my husband had started to hit me. He encouraged me to return home and I separated from my husband.
"My husband and his father demanded the return of the bride price and frequently threatened to cause violence. I felt so scared and ashamed that I had brought this anguish to my parents’ home.
"With my father, I sought help from a women’s affairs action member [a department of the local council in Uganda which handle family disputes].
"They introduced my family to ActionAid who told us about our legal options which included mediation and reporting the matter to the police. The police officer confirmed that it’s illegal to demand a refund of the bride price even if the relationship with their partner has ended.
"ActionAid set up a mediation meeting with my husband and father-in-law, but they did not take part. The police officer wrote a warning letter that cautioned my husband and his father against demanding the bride price or the officer would enforce the law.
"ActionAid organised another mediation meeting where my husband agreed to provide for our child. From that time, my husband and his father no longer disturb me.
"I am now happy and live a life free from violence."
In Vietnam
Reproductive healthcare is being improved
Meet Nguyen from Vietnam. She has joined 300 women to improve reproductive healthcare
Nguyen is 32 and lives with her son, daughter and husband in the Dak Lak province.
"My husband works away from home while I take care of the household chores and looking after the children," she says.
"To help cover my family's daily expenses I have taken on multiple jobs such as selling fish, fried bananas or dried bamboo shoots at the market.
"Working day and night meant I rarely had time for myself nor a single thought about my own health, including my reproductive health.
"It’s a common issue here in my community: if we women get sick, we use unproven home remedies instead of consulting a doctor. The lack of family planning knowledge here is deeply rooted, which poses a risk to our long term health.
"ActionAid organised a reproductive healthcare event across the district to raise awareness of the importance of healthcare for women.
We learned that as women we have the right to access the healthcare system and we have a right to decide when and if we have children.
"After the event, we now have a better understanding of our own bodies, what they need and how to treat them.
"We learnt how to say no and how to explain our conditions to our husbands when necessary. It was an unforgettable experience for us all.
"Thanks to the event, me and my friends are now more open with each other in sharing our thoughts and concerns over reproductive health issues. I’m confident that I can share my knowledge with my daughter as she grows up.
"Us women now feel more confident and empowered to look after ourselves and develop a better reproductive healthcare system for women across the country."
Images: Mong Hai Ching Marma/ActionAid; Valdir Dias da Silva/ActionAid; Bertrand Bugaye/ActionAid; Peter Asaal/ActionAid; Nancy Vásquez/ActionAid; Elizabeth Richard/ActionAid; Elkana Nyaga/ActionAid; Dyson Chikoti/ActionAid; Heldes Vicente & Antonio Viagem/ActionAid; Angela Shrestha/ActionAid; Kemi Akinremi/ActionAid; Maclina Kasunga/ActionAid; Famara Conteh/ActionAid; Doan Thi Phuong/ActionAid.
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