A Vision Shared: Comfort, 22, Nigeria

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What are the greatest challenges to women's and young people's health and rights?

The greatest challenge to women's and girls' health and rights is gender discrimination. Women and girls are deprived of taking part in decision-making just because they are women and girls--in the communities they belong to and in other settings. A related challenge is that their opinions are not recognized, even when they are trying to contribute positively to the growth of their community or society.
 
Also, their rights as girls and women are violated. Women undergo a lot of harmful traditional practices, such as "widowhood rite" in situations where a woman's husband dies, just to mention one example. Girls are being circumcised, which causes them to bleed for days and can lead to death; they are denied access to education, which is a basic right they should be enjoying as girls; they don't inherit their parents' property just because they are girls; they are given away for marriage at an early age, just to generate income for the family, while their brothers will be sent to school as a result of getting their bride price; and they do all the domestic work at home while the boys are allow to play football and other games.
 
What actions are you taking to make the world safer and healthier for women and young people?

I am part of GPI's (the Girls' Power Initiative) sensitization programs in different communities and I'm also educating young girls on the above listed harmful practices. Individually, I try to pass on the information I acquire from GPI to my friends--males and females, brothers and sisters--in my immediate environment.
 
What are your dreams for yourself and for the world's youth? 
 
I know that because of what GPI and other non-governmental organizations (NGOs) are doing, in the next few years the future of girls and women will change - it's happening now. And I hope to see still more changes as I continue the struggle. I can't sit and watch a girl or a woman be humiliated; I just have to speak out.  

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