On this week’s 51%, hear from the author of a book highlighting stories of ordinary girls around the world. We also hear about an animated film that features a girl superhero to help children relate to COVID times.
Masuma Ahuja spent the last three years reporting on gender around the world, and the stories she uncovered about girls’ lives were almost always about sexualization, victimization, or despair. She wondered what accounts of girlhood would be like if girls wrote them themselves, so she started reaching out to global development and community organizations that could connect her with local girls. She also began finding girls through sports clubs, writing workshops, and a network of friends and journalists.
Ahuja compiled these stories in her latest book Girlhood: Teens Around the World in Their Own Voices.
The book offers insight into the day-to-day lives of 30 teenage girls from 27 countries. It showcases their struggles, heartbreaks, and successes through personal diary entries and photographs.
And now, KALW’s Sandip Roy brings us a story about looking at the COVID pandemic through the eyes of India’s girl superhero.
That’s our show for this week. Thanks to Tina Renick for production assistance. Our executive producer is Dr. Alan Chartock. Our theme music is Glow in the Dark by Kevin Bartlett. This show is a national production of Northeast Public Radio. Follow us on Twitter @51PercentRadio.
Photo courtesy of Workman Publishing/ Algonquin Books.