The Fem Word Vol. 48
CURATING STORIES OF BOLD WOMEN IN CREATIVE SPACES.
weekly dose of female excellence ahead xx
FEM NEWS
If you’ve ever wanted to stay in a hotel that’s all about awesome women, you can next year. Hotel Zena opens in Washington, D.C. next spring - with the sole theme of women’s empowerment. The lobby will feature a Ruth Bader Ginsberg mural and the hotel will boast 191 rooms. Learn More
Justine Adhiambo Obura is a no-nonsense woman. She is the head of the women’s collective No Sex For Fish in her hometown Nduru Beach, Kenya. The mission is this: fight the practice of jaboya, trading sex for fish, and allow women to make their own money fishing. The collective has six boats and Obura works hard to prevent jaboya in her community. Learn More
FEM MUSIC
As we bid farewell to the decade, Forbes urges us to remember the strides women have made in the last ten years...through music. This is the soundtrack of empowerment, see if it propels you to even greater things in 2020. Check it out. Full List
FEM SPORTS
Blevie Meyia Lucchesi had a hard time figuring out who she was as a kid - with a French father and an African mother, she wasn’t sure where she fit in. When she found basketball at 13, her life changed. Now, she works back in her birth country of Gabon to support other young athletes. With her nonprofit Belle Vie (beautiful life in French) she hopes to get promising players the chance they need to excel. Learn More
FEM EVENTS
She Is Arab, a forum launched last month in Dubai, is the first ever public speaking platform for Arab women. This empowering space is thanks to the combined efforts of Noha Hefny and Samar Alshorafa, who are tired of the baseless stereotyping that Arab women face on a daily basis. The forum runs on the undeniable power of storytelling, and giving a voice to Arab women to do so. Learn More
WOMEN OF 2019
Women rose up in 2019, that is undeniable. WAMU 88.5 has covered inspirational women all over the globe this year, and the list is beautifully diverse and inspiring. Check out their roundup of women they’ve interviewed this year, and receive a little empowerment today. Full List
THE FEM WORD’S #25UNDER25
Rayin Satidtanasarn (Lilly) is a climate change activist who was inspired by Greta Thunberg. At age nine she began to push for stores to stop using plastic bags. Now, at 12, she goes directly to officials & lobbies to include climate change curriculum in Thai schools.
Allie Soper - At age 14, Allie knew she had to increase awareness of drug and alcohol use after her brother died from mixing Xanax with alcohol. With her family, she created the Clay Soper Memorial Fund.
Zyahna Bryant had a desire to spark change after Trayvon Martin’s death from police brutality. At age 12 she organized her first protest, a #JusticeForTrayvon rally.
Priya Vulchi and Winona Guo have set out to find how prejudice and racism has affected the lives of young people across the country. They wrote a book detailing these experiences and pushing for racial-literacy lessons in the classroom.
Delany Tarr - One of the students in the Parkland shooting, has made it her mission to advocate for gun control, co-founding the
March for Our Lives. Beyond being an advocate for gun reform, she is also in the fight for sisterhood and majoring in women’s studies.
Greta Thunberg is ready to take matters into her own hands. After finding that adults weren’t taking proper action to fight climate change she sailed, instead of flew to America to highlight the importance of reducing emissions.
Mari Copeny, upset with Flint Michigan’s water situation, wrote a letter to former President Barack Obama at eight years old. This put her and the issue into the national spotlight. Today, she continues her work pushing for clean water.
Shamma bint Suhail Faris Mazrui is the youngest government minister in the world. She was appointed to become the United Arab Emirates national minister for youth affairs. In her role, she shares the perspective and ideas of young people with the gov.
Toni Harris is the first female football player to earn a college scholarship. She has survived cancer, grown up in foster care, and is the first in her family to attend college, but that has not stopped her goal of one-day playing in the NFL.
Maya Penn is a 19-year-old philanthropist and entrepreneur who is promoting eco-friendly clothing. She started her own sustainable clothing company and consults with other companies on how to make their product more environmentally friendly.
Zuriel Oduwole is an African filmmaker, set out to advocate for girls education. The self-taught filmmaker, who is now 17, has created seven documentaries shedding light on girls education in Africa.
Laura Steinberg’s brand, Queen V, aims to make affordable, accessible feminine health products. She is partnering with major retailers like Free People and Walmart.
Sindhuja Rajaraman - at the age of 14, became the youngest CEO in India. She works with 2D animations for Seppan Entertainment.
Yara Shahidi first entered the spotlight as a young actress but came into her own right as an activist after creating Yara’s club, an online space for teenagers to talk about social issues.
Marley Dias founded a campaign called the #1000blackgirlbooks at age 11. She collected and donated 1,000 books that featured black girls as main characters.
Stephanie Quintero is the co-founder and CEO of Chicos and Kids, Inc. Chicos and Kids provide peer-to-peer educational experiences to kids around the world, which can be sports, language, or basic knowledge.
Santana Nagesh is proud of her “brown girl” identity and she aims to share this pride with others. She created a social media platform, Browngirlgang, to encourage other girls to celebrate their identity.
Cassidy Williams is a 23-year-old software engineer and starred in the documentary Big Dream. She is working to break down the barriers for women in STEM with her software and coding.
Kavya Kopparapu is the founder of Girls Computing League and has developed a system that scans brain cancer and helps with unique treatments for individuals.
Mikaila Ulmer founded Me & the Bees Lemonade. A portion of the profits go to saving honeybees from extinction. Her product can be found in large retailers including Whole Foods Market. Me & the Bees Lemonade #TFW25Under25
Amika George - in her campaign #FreePeriods, 18-year-old Amika George aims to fund the distribution of femine health products to women who can’t afford them.
Sahithi Pingali - when she realized that the water in Bangalore, India, was polluted, she created a kit and app to test for water cleanliness called WaterInsights. Pingali also inspired the name of a Milky Way planet.
Chessy Prout - sexual assault survivor Chessy Prout decided to use her story to help other survivors. She created an online platform and wrote a book called I Have the Right To where she shares her story and fights against victim blaming.
Brittany Wenger - at the age of 18 she placed first in the Google Science Fair in 2012. She created a program that could detect breast cancer with 99% accuracy and a minimally invasive approach.
Payal Jangid - As the leader of the Child Parliament in her village, Payal Jangid has fought for girls education and against child marriage. She has recently won a Changemaker Award from the Bill & Melinda Gates-Foundation.