Beyond the Write-Up: Grassroots Liberation for Our Girls

​The fight to end gender-based violence and protect reproductive rights is a constant drumbeat on our social feeds. We address these issues daily, yet a massive gap remains between our digital advocacy and the reality on the ground. The disconnect lies in how we are addressing them.

​Our advocacy must be more than massive; it must be intentional. The pressing question is not who holds which position of power, but a much simpler, more urgent one: How many girls can we fully liberate? We need girls who are at peace—girls whose dreams are no longer a source of threat, but a roadmap for their lives. Enough with the write-ups; it is time to pivot toward grassroots solutions.

​It is tragic to watch advocates for human rights turn their fire on one another while our women are waiting for us to help them thrive. If we divide, our girls fall into deeper pits than the ones they are in now. Fighting for them means protecting and supporting the true custodians of change at the forefront.

​Some of the greatest contributors to these injustices are the custodians of cultures that actively endanger our girls. Under the guise of tradition, girls are forced into early marriages and subjected to the brutality of Female Genital Mutilation (FGM). They are intentionally kept from school, anchored in illiteracy so they won't dream of a life beyond what is imposed on them.

​Civilization and equity came to better our lives. Equity means a world where no girl is deprived of education or forced into a marriage that benefits only her parents while leaving her traumatized. It means a world where she is not treated as property to be bought and sold—a system that leaves her with lifelong reproductive disorders, infertility, or worse, leads to her bleeding to death due to the lack of professional care during FGM. This is a tradition that must be abolished. Our girls do not need "cutting"; they need information, care, and a future.

​There are courageous, brave girls who choose to flee. While their choice is heroic, the journey is often horrific. Without guidance or support, many never make it to the other side; they are abducted or perish on their way to freedom. Those who do make it often survive through grueling labor and odd jobs. Life after fleeing is rarely easy, but the act of choosing themselves is what keeps them standing.

​Parents: why are you bent on destroying your children by holding onto what is invalid in this age? Your stubbornness and ignorance will cost your entire generation. You may call it loyalty to your past, but it is actually selfishness. You cannot watch your children suffer simply because that was your story years ago. Use your pain to streamline their lives, not to tie them to traditions that disrupt their peace.

​If we do not act speedily for girls in marginalized areas—places where a woman’s only "place" is the kitchen or childbearing—we will continue to lag behind. We will never win the fight for equality if we keep half of our population in the dark.

​What is peace if one has no choice in their own life? To the custodians of tradition: Not every practice is relevant enough to be passed on. Be as eager to make necessary changes as you are to preserve your history. Changing times require changing methods. Holding onto what hinders progress is not "culture"; it is revenge against the future for what you endured in the past.

​If we do not train all children equally, poverty will only grow deeper roots. The lives of our girls matter. They are no longer the inheritors of pain; they are the architects of a better tomorrow.

​To my fellow advocates: The fight is not among ourselves. It is against the injustices meted out against our girls. Let us not be defined by our quest for power, our religion, or our race. While we dwell on who should do what, the banter continues and the change stalls. Our girls continue to die, denied the justice we so eloquently write about.

​We must intentionally liberate them. We are their hope and the custodians of the change they pray for. Grassroots solutions are not just a "good idea"—they are what our girls deserve.