Dear United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, "Get Cross." "Break the silence." "When you witness violence against women and girls, do not sit back. Act." Those are your words, Mr. Ban Ki-moon. As the U.N. secretary general, you have been forward about promoting gender equality and denouncing violence against women. Yet this month, at the Paris …
As a Somali refugee to the U.S., I’m alarmed by the recent antagonism toward Syrian refugees. Following the tragic terrorist attacks in Paris, John Kasich, the governor of my state of Ohio, along with 30 other state governors, said he would not accept Syrian refugees into the state. Then, the U.S. House of Representatives passed a measure to …
Justice Malala’s book, We have now begun our descent: How to Stop South Africa losing its way, does a number of things well. It reclaims the space for a particular kind of conversation among successful but ordinary South Africans – those who are not radical or particularly steeped in the eloquent and sometimes exclusionary new language …
Dear Pope Francis, We're excited to welcome you to Uganda. Catholics make up nearly half of the Christian population here — and they're eager to meet you! Our's is a lovely country. Buzzfeed ranked us the 13th most beautiful country in the world! (But of course, we think it's No. 1.) Still, Uganda has got its fair share of …
Violence against women and girls—a human rights violation—is a global problem. According to UN Women, 1 in 3 women experience some form of physical and or sexual violence in their lifetime. In some countries, seven in ten women face this abuse. That’s an incredibly discouraging number. After the horrific rape of Jyoti Singh in Delhi, India, in December 2012, my friends and …