I’m Sabrina Uwada and I am a 17 years old girl living in Aichi, Japan. I am Brazilian, born and raised in Japan, where there is a big Brazilian community. I am passionate about women’s sports and business. I am a football player and in Brazil football is still considered a boy’s sport. Growing up I never saw a women's football game. The first time that I watched a professional women's football game was in Brazil and I burst into tears because it was a dream come true. 

Girls and women deserve more and we are strong. Together, we can make a difference. In my community feminism has a bad reputation. I hope that through SHEQUALITY we can share ideas and knowledge to eliminate that negative image and conquer equality.

My name is Nastasya Anokhina and I am a 15-year-old girl living in Moscow, Russia. Growing up, I was really inspired by my mother who was able to build a career in a tech company and raise me all by herself. So I was rather shocked facing so much gender discrimination in Russia at some point and became interested in feminism at quite an early age. The effects that discrimination has on all aspects of women’s lives terrify me. I often hear girls’ stories of men harassing them and men joking about how a woman’s place is in the kitchen. I seldom see women working in the STEM industry or the government. Facing these issues made me realize how important it is to spread awareness on the problem of gender inequality. Sexist stereotypes harm mental and physical health and affect all genders. I believe that together we can make a change and create a different world where there is no gender bias.

My name is Maylin Quinn and I am a 16 year old girl living in Shenzhen, China. I was adopted as a baby by a Norwegian and British couple and lived in Norway for 3 years. In 2008, my family moved to China. Growing up in Shenzhen, because it’s a very international community, I was exposed to a lot of cultures (and that includes learning how women are treated in differentcultures). As a child who was raised with a western style upbringing, I was taught that even though I am a woman, I am still fully capable of doing the same things a man can do. Still, leaning about some of the ways women of other cultures were treated shocked me. I fully believe that if a woman of any culture isn’t treated the same as a man, then equality has not been reached, and unfortunately that is still true today. Yes, the treatment of women has vastly improved in the last century, but women as still not treated as fully equal to a man. I realized that I didn’t want to stand by and let the cycle of inequality continue. I hope that through SHEQUALITY, my voice can be heard to tell people that the way women are treated in any culture is NOT okay.

My name is Fatima Taha and I am 17 years old. I was born and raised in Abu Dhabi, UAE even though I’m originally Sudanese. When I read about feminism, I rarely see Arab or Muslim women being represented and I believe that it is a diverse movement that includes all religions and cultures. I am proud to say that my mother’s strong beliefs about equality and the campaigns she held for raising awareness about feminism in 1994 in a small village in Sudan, deepened my passion for female rights. She is my inspiration because she utilized her education and fluent public speaking skills to encourage a lot of women to see a future for themselves at times where women who had jobs were looked down upon. When my parents immigrated to the UAE, she continued her movement and inspired more females to speak out loud. Although feminism in Arab countries might look different from western societies, the one belief we all have in common is that women empowerment is fundamental to establish a wise society. Hopefully, with my cultural and religious background I can help you see feminism from a different lens.

My name is Yulina Goto and I am a 17 year old girl living in Japan. I became interested in women’s rights after developing binge-eating disorder throughout middle and high school. After my “recovery,” I spent a long time pondering about it—how do eating disorders even develop? And more concerningly, why is it that out of the 70 million people suffering from an eating disorder in the U.S., 90% are women? I discovered that it is because women face significantly more pressure to conform to a narrow beauty standard than men. Expanding my research to other areas of gender inequality, I noticed a pattern—women are being oppressed in almost every facet of life, from the workplace to the home. It horrifies me to this day how much patriarchy dominates global society and the degree to which it imposes onto women physical, mental, and psychological harm. Through SHEQUALITY, I hope to shed some light onto the causes of gender inequality and encourage discussions so we can get a step closer to eliminating them together.

My name is Aikah Zungu. I am a 16-year-old girl living in Johannesburg, South Africa. South Africa is a beautiful country filled with diversity and rich culture. However, it is not a safe country to live in if you are a woman. South Africa has the highest rape statistics in the world. Living as a woman in my country is an extreme sport. From a young age, I was taught to stay vigilant, dress modestly and to never find yourself in a compromising position. The anxiety and fear that my upbringing forced upon is a bad habit I am un-learning each day. The only solace I had was the arts from writing to performing. I plan on bringing awareness to the unique issues the African woman faces. By joining SHEQUALITY, I now have a platform to communicate my thoughts and opinions to the world.