Africa: 'My Success Is Not Mine Alone' - Meet the Young Women Working to Eliminate Violence Against Women and Girls

What the report says

Spotlight Initiative published a World Youth Day feature highlighting young women working to prevent violence against women and girls across Africa and beyond. The piece, dated 11 August 2026 and distributed by AllAfrica, presents several activists whose work ranges from community radio and church advocacy to skills training and public speaking.

In Liberia, 22-year-old Ruth Jeffrey uses radio programming to discuss sexual and gender-based violence and encourage reporting of rape rather than silence within families and communities. The article says she has been involved in this work since she was 17 and that Spotlight-supported training strengthened her commitment to speaking on behalf of other women.

The feature also profiles Anasis Afi'a, a 26-year-old rugby league player in Samoa, who used Spotlight-supported training to advocate for pregnant adolescent girls facing stigma. In Uganda, a young woman identified as Maria completed training from Smart Girls Foundation, a Spotlight-supported group that teaches mechanics, engineering and plumbing to young women entering male-dominated trades. The article says she is now working and mentoring others as a youth counsellor.

The story also includes U.S. recording artist Audrey Nuna, who used her first United Nations appearance to call for more investment in girls’ education and later supported scholarships for women of color. Taken together, the profiles show how training, media access and advocacy can help young women challenge exclusion and promote safer, more equal communities.