PORTLAND, Oregon: World Pulse, a social networking platform connecting women worldwide for change, has selected three global leaders from Pakistan, Nigeria and India for utilising technology to achieve high-impact on community issues.
If World Pulse was a woman, she would be described as tirelessly ambitious with a voice to fill any room. Collectively, that’s how World Pulse operates: amplifying women’s voices and visions in order to speed up change and improve the lives of millions around the world.
The work of three women – Sadaf Kashif of Pakistan, Carolyn Seaman of Nigeria, and Urmila Chanam of India – has been selected to receive a $1,500 and full promotion on WorldPulse.com and its marketing and media channels, in order to bring greater visibility to the issues of child marriage, girls’ empowerment, and menstruation.
Three powerful visions for change
Sadaf Kashif is working to stop child marriage in Pakistan by involving and educating fathers and boys. She believes that ending this harmful custom will start with raising awareness among men so that they can stand up for their daughters.
Her campaign, “My Dad My Hero-Breaching Customs Structuring Future,” seeks to reach men on a larger scale through creating and distributing documentaries and by hosting an interactive web portal that will address the subject holistically.
“I believe in harnessing digital platforms to reach the maximum number of people in the shortest possible time. Reaching the community is vital as knowledge acts as a catalyst to unlearn inhumane customs and adopt women friendly practices,” says Sadaf.
Carolyn Seaman’s “Make Girls Voices Count” campaign will entail a radio series aimed at mobilising community action toward girls’ empowerment. Each episode will feature an audio story about a local girl’s life, a brief discussion where Seaman and several colleagues discuss the story, and a call-in session for questions and comments from listeners.
Beyond the radio show itself, comic-book style animations for social media and the usage of #MakeGirlsVoicesCount will further the digital outreach of the campaign. Seeking to empower adolescent girls, Seaman’s goal is “to teach girls to use their voices to influence their lives, and to raise community awareness about the plight of young girls who are married too young and denied educational and job opportunities.”
Urmila Chanam chose to focus on raising funds and awareness for “Breaking the Silence,” a campaign that has already won her awards like the UNFPA National Laadli Award in 2015 for the Best Social Media Campaign in India.
The campaign is dedicated to using technology and social media to change public perspectives on menstruation. Chanam’s newest proposed programme for her campaign, entitled “Urban Partnerships for Rural Impact- Dignity for Periods,” will run from June to November 2016.
Adamant about the use of technology as a means of education and a tool to combat old schools of thought, Chanam says she is on a mission to end “the myths, taboos and stigma around menstruation”. “Twenty three per cenr of girls in India drop out of school when they get their first period. My campaign uses social media, on-the-ground outreach and community- and school-based trainings to spread accurate information on menstruation, its hygienic management and creation of a support system for girls and women.”
