When Global Sorority began this journey to empower young women with inside-out leadership development, self-awareness tools, and a platform to share their voices and stories, we had no idea how far the ripple would go!
In 2012 we went to India. On that trip, we interviewed a young Muslim woman named Zulfiya for our documentary film about the lives of young women around the world.
She was working at a non-profit called Point Of View. She was living alone in the city of Mumbai, thousands of miles from her family. Something young women just don't do in India! Even more modern well-educated girls are expected to stay close to home until they are married. This idea of living by yourself and discovering who you are as an individual is not widely accepted.
Zulfiya was different in many ways. She was breaking the mould that held tightly to all her female relatives and friends. We were very curious and had lots of questions about what gave some girls the courage to spread their wings and listen to their own inner voice and how personal leadership played a roll in that.
And of course, what we learned from her we also heard over and over from many girls who were able to forge their own path. and that was parents playing the biggest roll in the futures of this next generation of women. Their mothers in subtle supportive ways, and their fathers having a broader perspective of what was possible for them and both parents being able to stand up to criticism from extended family.
This taught us a lot because we could see how important it was going to be when working with girls to reach out to their parents. We would have even greater results if we met with their parents and gained their full support and buy-in first.
To my great joy last week I received a visit from Zulfiya! She was accepted into 5 renown schools here in the US but chose Standford above them all! Her goal is to work with nonprofits helping them to expand through the telling of their impact in the world! Her latest
film was showing at the San Diego international film festival, and she spent the day with me here before heading back to Stanford.
We couldn't be more proud of her! and we look forward to following her journey. It fills us up to stay connected to all the young leaders who have worked with our organization and to track what they are up to in the world.
Thank you for your continued support of young women who are breaking the moulds, changing the stories, and impacting the world.
Warmly
Tia
