Give & Grow
Rebirth – Renewal – REGENESIS
REGENESIS. I love that word! It has such potency – such energy. It means rebirth or renewal. Something... Continue ReadingREGENESIS. I love that word!
It has such potency – such energy.
It means rebirth or renewal. Something I believe many of us are craving. Why?
Because everything is changing, shifting. Our foundations are crumbling. What we thought we knew no longer makes sense. It seems nothing can be counted on. And we’re not sure where to turn.
It’s as if all of a sudden the world is cloaked in darkness. Where did this come from?
Here’s the thing, Sisters. The darkness didn’t just emerge. The darkness has been here and so have the signs.
We’ve just chosen to ignore them or turn the other way. Hoping someone else will fix it.
We’ve been coping in a profoundly unhealthy world. Learning to become well-adjusted to a neurotic existence.
And now here we are. At the tipping point.
It is believed that there are have been five mass extinctions on the planet to date. And as we are poised for yet another we, for the first time, are aware of this potentiality and have the choice to stop it.
So where do we begin? Within! We begin by Rebirthing ourselves into health and wholeness. For we cannot be for others unless we are first nurturing ourselves.
The last couple of years have taken a toll on all of us. How are you caring for yourself? Are you eating well, taking supplements, exercising, and getting a good night’s sleep? Limiting your exposure to the news and social media? Doing things that bring you joy? Taking time to nurture your soul through meditation, journaling, spending time in nature?
What about your relationships? Could they use some Renewal?
Yesterday, I was speaking with my integrative physician who said he is seeing many patients with physical symptoms caused by their strained relationships with partners, family members, friends, and colleagues.
Additionally, since the lockdowns many people have been slow to re-engage in the social life they previously enjoyed. But we are social creatures. We need each other to thrive. A robust social life is one of the primary indicators of health and strong immunity. So we must get back out there and play again!
Another key factor in flourishing is altruism – going beyond yourself to help others. It’s AWE-mazing the effect of getting the focus off ourselves and sharing our gifts with the world.
This is the Re-Genesis we are being invited to. An opportunity to move beyond the darkness to co-create a whole new way of being.
A whole new future for ourselves and generations to come!
What would it take for you step up and into your leadership potential? To become part of this new unfolding?
We can’t do it without you because there’s something only you can do. A calling that is uniquely yours. A destiny waiting to be revealed.
In Genesis, the first book of the Bible, God creates our beautiful planet and all its inhabitants. And it is good.
Now, in this time of Regenesis, we are being invited to co-create with Source a New Earth. A return to Eden perhaps. To bring Heaven to Earth.
When you envision this New Earth, this New Future, what do you see? How big can you dream? And what steps will you take to bring it forth?
Ready or not…here it comes!!
Be bold. Be Daring. Be AWE-dacious!
Energy & Intention
Perhaps our ability to hold ourselves at a higher frequency empowers us to do extraordinary things.
What Do You Hold Sacred?
Could it be that the forgetting of what is Sacred, the collective amnesia of our role on the... Continue ReadingJust when we think we’re emerging from one global crisis – we’re thrust into another. As little boys disguised as men play a dangerous game of “Mine’s Bigger”.
The result is many of us are questioning – Everything! How did this happen? When does it end? What can I do?
Last month I introduced you to the “7 Pillars of Re-Powerment”. An approach to addressing our social challenges by lifting up women and girls around the globe. Re-balancing the feminine and masculine energies on the planet. Re-connecting to Mother Earth. Re-storing the Sacred.
If I had to choose just one pillar to focus on – one that is infused into all the others. If there is one that is absolutely critical to addressing the chaos and insanity we are witnessing – it is without a doubt …
Restoring the Sacred
Why? What does that mean?
It means silencing the noise of the outside world and turning within. Asking ourselves and deeply listening. What do I hold Sacred?
For me first and foremost it’s the connection with my Soul – my Essence – the deepest, truest sense of who I am and why I’m here.
This connection to Soul inevitably leads to my connection with Source – the Breath of Life – the Creatrix of All.
As I reconnect with my Soul and Source I am reminded of my own Sacredness. My worth, my dignity, my purpose.
And as I re-member this for myself I can remember that this is true for my Sisters as well. That each of us is a shining star of uniqueness and perfection. That we are intimately connected to each other and powerful beyond measure.
I am then reminded that the atrocities committed by the hierarchical, patriarchal society we have lived in for thousands of years is in fact the result of the “wounds” of the masculine. For they have long forgotten what is Sacred. They have long forgotten the truth of who they are. And so the answer is not to condemn them, but rather to offer healing – deep healing so that they, too, might remember.
I have been blessed to be surrounded by strong, yet loving, men in my life who have encouraged me as I step more fully into my calling. Let’s remember to hold Sacred the men who support the rise of women into co-equal partnership. And those who have the courage to speak out against the madness, the cruelty, the harm.
I hold Sacred family, friendships, and the Soul Sisterhood I have developed with women from around the world.
Women who have the AWE-dacity to take back their power, speak their truth, and step into the role of Lightworker, Wayshower, Starseed at a time when their gifts are so needed.
As I Re-connect with Mother Earth I am reminded of the Sacredness of all creatures – the four-legged, the winged, the swimmers, the crawlers. Of the trees, the plants, the flowers. Of the mountains, the oceans, rivers, and streams. All is Sacred and we are meant to be caretakers.
Could it be that the forgetting of what is Sacred, the collective amnesia of our role on the planet – has permitted the darkness to overtake the light?
Could it be that the Soul-ution is to incite a Global Awakening – a Planetary Re-membering? A Rising Consciousness to snap people out of the slumber of apathy. Burst their bubbles of indifference.
Invite them into a New Future built on love, compassion, cooperation, harmony, and abundance for all!
This is the way of the Divine Feminine. This, Sistars, is what is needed so desperately at this time.
You are so needed!
So I ask you…What do you hold Sacred? And what are you going to do about it?
7 Pillars of Re-Powerment
Repowerment is a practice of "reminding" women and girls of the power we inherently hold simply because we... Continue ReadingWomen and girls are half of the world’s population and yet in 2022 we are still overlooked and undervalued in most parts of the world.
And despite attempts to direct funding to organizations that serve women and girls, support is surprisingly deficient when compared with philanthropic giving as a whole.
With the knowledge that making investments in women and girls promotes a ripple effect of change throughout families, communities, and even entire countries – why aren’t more of us supporting causes that lift up women and girls? And what can we do to change that?
Perhaps the answer lies in the confusion over how we can effectively support our sisters around the globe. Of the philanthropic giving directed toward women and girls, 90 cents of each dollar is focused on reproductive health, leaving inadequate funding for a range of other issues. Although reproductive health is of critical importance, the factors that will lead to women rising into co-equal partnership with men are varied and go beyond our ovaries.
So what does this mean for those of us who desire to lift women and girls out of oppression? It means we need to focus on multiple issues at the same time. We can’t devote resources in one area and expect it to be enough.
But it can be a daunting task to sift through data and information and identify those efforts that have the greatest potential for effecting real and lasting change. Many different frameworks exist, but no single framework that is commonly used across the field. For example, the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals are not specific to women, do not organize the topics that improve women’s lives holistically in one place, and can be overwhelming given there are a total of 19 goals.
But what can feel overwhelming doesn’t have to be. In an effort to simplify the approach I’ve created the:
7 Pillars of Re-Powerment
Let me first explain why I use the term “Re-Powerment”. Most of us are more familiar with the concept of empowerment when speaking of women and girls. However, empowerment doesn’t accurately describe what we hope to achieve. The definition of empowerment states that one person or group of people are bestowing power on another. This implies a hierarchy where those wielding power choose with whom to share it.
“Repower = to provide again or anew with power;
to rebuild the power source”
Repowerment, on the other hand, is a practice of “reminding” women and girls of the power we inherently hold simply because we are alive. It’s a power given to all by Source, the greatest power in the Universe, and from which we are all equally created. Re-powerment is ultimately a reminder of our inherent worth and dignity as Divine beings.
Now on to the 7 Pillars. Using research from the Center for High Impact Philanthropy at the University of Pennsylvania, we begin with the five core areas with the most promising solutions for women and girls globally. These five dimensions are inextricably linked and provide a holistic view of how to create the greatest impact:
- Health & Wellbeing
- Education
- Economic Empowerment
- Freedom from Violence
- Equality
There is terrific work being done on the ground to address the issues that keep women and children disempowered. But is it enough? Are we moving women from a life of suppression and oppression quickly enough and at scale? What might we be missing?
Can we really make an impact on the re-powerment of women and girls if we’re living under the old constructs and beliefs of a patriarchal, hierarchical society? Constructs and beliefs around culture, religion, politics, business, education, and healthcare that we have accepted as truth. Until now.
The rise of the Divine Feminine on the planet is shifting the way we look at women and men, the roles we play, the privileges we have, where the power is held, and ultimately the imbalance that is prevalent in all sectors. It’s time to incorporate two long forgotten pillars into the women’s re-powerment movement and all sectors of society:
- Re-connecting to Mother Earth
- Restoring the Sacred
I believe these two anchor pillars merged with the five core pillars are the missing links to ending oppression, restoring equality for all, and ultimately saving our planet.
It’s time, SiStars, to shift the paradigm that has allowed the pandemic of “-isms”: sexism, racism, classism, etc…to fester and infect the health of our planet and all humanity. Over the next couple of months I’ll share more about how we do this together.
Be bold. Be Daring. Be AWE-DACIOUS!
Restoring the Sacred
For the Sovereign Feminine…Her Medicine is her Presence; Her Beauty is her Offering; Her Wisdom is her Gift. She... Continue ReadingIn ancient days and past lives the Temple was a place of worship. Where Goddesses and Priestesses were honored, respected, and revered. Where community gathered to pray, engage in ceremony and rituals, and offer sacrifices to the Divine.
Over time, the Temple changed as patriarchy and hierarchy implemented rules and protocols for belonging. A separation occurred. A heaviness descended. A darkness emerged.
It is now OUR TIME to Restore the Temple and Restore the Sacred. And women will lead the way forward.
In Sacred Circle together…
We Realize –
Our Individual and Collective Sovereignty
We Release –
Letting Go and Surrendering
Getting Naked and Vulnerable
Acknowledging our Wounds as Sacred
Allowing to fall away old beliefs, identities, and things that no longer serve
We Remember –
Our Connection to Mother Earth, the Cosmos, Source, Sisterhood
Our Inherent Worth and Dignity as Daughters of the Divine
Our Voice that speaks Our Truth
Our Authenticity and Pure Essence
Our Life Force and Goddess Energy
We Rise Renewed –
Transformed and Abundantly Free
Evolving and Ascending into our Feminine Genius
Tapping into our Intuition and Deepest Heart’s Desire
Moving through the world in Lightness of Being with Ease, Flow, and Grace
Exploring and Sharing our Creativity
We Reimagine –
Engaging our Fierce Feminine through Inspired Action and Sacred Impact
Claiming our AWE-thentic Power and Holy AWE-dacity
Connecting with and Drawing from the Field of Infinite Possibilities
Dreaming a New World into Being
Birthing a New Creation
We Re-Unite –
In Unconditional Love
The Divine Feminine and Sacred Masculine
The Light and The Dark
Heaven and Earth
As Above So Below
The Temple is no longer a place where we need to go to be in the Presence of the Divine. We now know that the Temple is within each and every one of us. As close to us as the beating of our Heart.
Our Body is the Temple of the Spirit. Where we are invited to embrace ourselves as Healthy, Whole, and Holy.
For the Sovereign Feminine…
Her Medicine is her Presence
Her Beauty is her Offering
Her Wisdom is her Gift
She is All that is Good, True, and Beautiful.
This is the New Temple. The Temple of the Sovereign Feminine. And we are Her in all Her Radiant Splendor!
Welcome Home Sister!
The Great Awakening
A rising consciousness inviting us to remember the truth of who we are. An opportunity to release what... Continue ReadingIf you missed my blog last month explaining where I disappeared to last year you can see it here…https://awepartners.com/freedom-flow/
When we left off, I had spent about six months learning to “just be” and enjoying every minute of it. But last fall, I started getting a nudge from my Soul. She had more planned for me and was ready to embark on another adventure.
As we can all have different understandings about the “Soul”, let me clarify what I mean when I use that term. I’m speaking of my Essence, my Truest and Highest Self. She is the part of me that is Divine and has incarnated into this body to experience growth and transformation on the Earth plane.
To be clear, I believe this is true for everyone of us. We each have a Soul which is Divine, and we have each chosen to come to Earth in human form at this time for a unique purpose.
I said in my last post that I didn’t always recognize the guidance I was receiving as coming from a Higher Source. I also didn’t always recognize that my Soul was providing guidance as well. What I learned is that she wants me to experience Freedom and Flow. And she wants me to fulfill the purpose I came here for – my destiny. But I had to learn to trust her enough to follow where she was leading.
In addition to “just being” last year, I had plenty of time to question and research what is happening in the world. Although the pandemic has upended our lives in so many ways, this is about so much more than just a pandemic.
The leaders we thought had our best interests at heart are suspect. The sources we’ve turned to for information are following a prescribed narrative. The systems we’ve relied on are failing.
And we are doing our best to keep it together. Congrats to you SiStar for hanging in there!!
So, is this it? Is this what we’re left with? A world that’s in constant chaos? Powerless to do anything about it? At the mercies of the medical establishment, politicians, and corporations? With nowhere to turn?
NO! NO! And NO!
Spending time “just being” allowed me to get out of my head and into my heart more often. Through meditation, reflection, and observation, I became aware of what I believe is happening to us collectively on the planet.
An event that has been prophesied for centuries if not millennia. A Great Awakening!
A rising consciousness inviting us to remember the truth of who we are. An opportunity to release what no longer serves and begin to birth anew. A co-creation so extraordinary we can only begin to imagine it.
This is our collective “once in a lifetime” moment!
And I sure didn’t want to miss it by staying in my bubble of comfort. No, I wanted to be full in!
After all, we’ve been preparing for this our entire lives (and some would say for many lives). All the learning, and struggling, and striving, it can’t be for naught. Surely, our life to this point has had meaning beyond measure.
Now each and everyone of us is being invited to play our part in bringing forth a New Earth!
Hot diggity dog!! I hope you’re as excited as I am.
But what do we do? Where do we begin? I have an idea…and I’ll share it with you next time.
Until then…Be bold. Be Daring. Be AWE-DACIOUS!
Awakening of the Sovereign Feminine
Together, WE are uniting in our Feminine Power to uplift and awaken ourselves and support one another in... Continue ReadingAwakening of the Sovereign Feminine…A Circle Gathering to Restore the Sacred
We are living through a time of great challenge individually and collectively. Perhaps as a result of the chaos and confusion in the outer world, our inner world is crying out for release, remembering, renewal.
We long for a lived experience of what we sense is true within our deepest selves. An embodiment of the sacred knowing of our inherent worth and dignity.
Within our cellular memories lie the rites of passage that honor the cycles of our own journeys as unique expressions of the Divine Feminine. Although this ancient wisdom is tucked away underneath centuries of oppression of the feminine, as awakening women, we are reclaiming our Divine birthright as sovereign beings, who hold the keys to our own liberation.
As the old is crumbling, we feel an urgency for the new to be born in us and through us. But how will this be? What will it take? Where do we begin?
We begin right here, right now, together in community. We begin by gathering in Sacred Circle with our sisters as the womb of creation.
Where what is no longer useful can be witnessed, healed, and surrendered. Where what is most needed to co-create our new future can be visioned, claimed, and called forth.
Have you been searching for a non-partisan, interfaith community in which to immerse yourself in…
Body Wisdom – Heart Opening – Soul Connection
Together, we are uniting in our Feminine Power to uplift and awaken ourselves and support one another in the truth of who we are.
We’ll gather monthly to explore the following themes:
#1 – Realize our Individual & Collective Sovereignty (January 16)
#2 – Release what no longer serves (February 13)
#3 – Remember our Connection to Sister – Soul – Source (March 20)
#4 – Renewal & Regenesis (April 17)
#5 – Reimagine Sacred Impact (May 15)
#6 – Coronation of the Sovereign Feminine (June 12)
Come as often as you like. We lovingly invite you to join us in the Awakening of the Sovereign Feminine!
Be sure to register here…
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/awakening-of-the-sovereign-feminine-tickets-237886313367
Freedom & Flow
“The Freedom and Flow you’re seeking aren’t out there beyond some goal you’ve set for yourself. The Freedom... Continue ReadingWhere’s Williams??
Not that I am so self-absorbed to think any of you have asked this question over the past ten months. After all, you have plenty to keep you occupied amidst the ongoing chaos.
But for those of you in this AWE-mazing Sisterhood who have wondered, I thought it was time to share where I disappeared to and why. I wish I could say I decided to escape to a far off destination until the madness ceased. But, alas, my story is not that romantic.
My first blog post was in January of 2016, and for five years I wrote consistently at least once a month. Until I abruptly and unexpectedly stopped this past February. I say unexpectedly because this was not at all in my plan. If you have been following you know I was in the midst of sharing lots of posts, interviews, videos, and trainings focused on social impact and women’s empowerment.
So, what happened? Well, in February I was in meditation. And let me just add that I had committed in 2021 to devoting my mornings to spiritual reading, reflection, and meditation recognizing that more time spent on the “inner work” would lead to more impact on the “outer work”.
Who knew how profound this decision would be!
So, I’m sitting in meditation and I receive a download, or guidance from the higher realms. I get this a lot; however, it’s only recently that I’ve recognized it as such. Historically, I would have said it just came to me or it was a thought I had. Now I know I have always been guided and, thankfully, for much of my life have listened to the wisdom.
Anyway, the message that day was crystal clear…
“The Freedom and Flow you’re seeking aren’t out there beyond some goal you’ve set for yourself. The Freedom and Flow are available to you now. So why aren’t you choosing them?”
Boom! I immediately sensed the profundity and knew it was Truth. My Soul had been crying out for Freedom & Flow for a long time. But what did this message mean for me and my life?
It meant I needed to put AWE Partners on indefinite pause. Why? Because something about the way I was running this social enterprise was keeping me from the Freedom & Flow I deeply desired.
Although AWE Partners has been inspired from the start – and I absolutely love all it represents (Authentic Women Empowered) – it had become a burden. I was spending the bulk of my time “running the business” – trapped on a marketing treadmill that kept me from doing the things I really loved and spending time in my Zone of Genius. It happens a lot to entrepreneurs, but particularly to those running on-line businesses where you’re constantly trying to get your message out there in a world that grows noisier by the day.
When the message came through it was clear to me. I had to take a break, re-evaluate, and determine my next course of action. So I did. I looked at my calendar, figured out what commitments I needed to follow through on, and stopped any future planning. Within a couple of weeks, I was completely done.
Now here’s where it gets interesting and surprised the heck out of me. I didn’t miss it! Not one iota! I didn’t miss any of it!
To say I was shocked is an understatement. How could I not miss the thing I had devoted six years of my life to? How could I not miss being absorbed in my purpose? How could I not miss the most fulfilling calling in my life other than motherhood?
How? I don’t know. I just didn’t miss it. In fact, not only did I not miss it – I LOVED IT! I loved it so much I thought I might never go back. I might not ever work again. Why would I when this is so freeing??
AWE Partners 1.0 was complete. Perhaps there would be an AWE Partners 2.0 or maybe not. I didn’t know.
I was so happy to JUST BE!!
But here was the even bigger revelation. I didn’t need AWE Partners to be content or fulfilled. I didn’t need to say I was a Founder and CEO to feel good about myself. If someone asked me what I was doing I had no problem saying…”NOTHING”!!
Why is this such a revelation? Because my entire life had been spent on the path we’re supposed to be on. You know, the one that’s supposed to make us fulfilled and content.
Study hard, get good grades, go to college, get a good job, make money, get married, buy a house, have children, keep your children off drugs and out of jail, get them into a good college, start a business, volunteer, save the world……
Sound familiar to anyone?
The Freedom & Flow I was seeking required me to step off the path and into the wilderness – the great unknown – where there was no pre-determined path.
But there was something else that shocked me. By learning to “Just Be” I discovered that I WAS ENOUGH!
In my book, The Gutsy Guide to Giving, I wrote about how etched on my inner glass ceiling were the words, “You’re Not Good Enough”. And now, my inner glass ceiling had been shattered! I knew without a doubt that I was good enough, and I didn’t need to do anything to make that so. I could truly “Just Be” and that was enough.
For about six months I floated in a river of just being, enjoying every moment of it, until something started niggling at me very gently, asking me to consider what my Soul might want to do next.
Stay tuned and until then…
Be Bold. Be Daring. Be AWE-dacious!
P.S. Have you been longing for a non-partisan, interfaith Community in which to immerse yourself in Body Wisdom – Heart Opening – Soul Connection? Together, WE are uniting in our Feminine Power to uplift and awaken ourselves and support one another in the TRUTH of who we are. We Lovingly Invite you to Join us in the Awakening of the Sovereign Feminine!
https://www.eventbrite.com/e/awakening-of-the-sovereign-feminine-tickets-237886313367
What will it take for Women to Come Together to End Oppression and Patriarchy?
Our February Film Festival concludes this Wednesday, February 24th @ 7:00 p.m. CST. Our screening this week is... Continue ReadingOur February Film Festival concludes this Wednesday, February 24th @ 7:00 p.m. CST. Our screening this week is “Rising Power: Building an intersectional justice movement in the United States.”
In an increasingly polarized and racially segregated United States, we see the impact of patriarchy through the eyes of Black and Southeast Asian activists living in Madison, Wisconsin. Against a backdrop of anti-Blackness, violence against women, and increasing social and political polarization, we meet M Adams and Kabzuag Vaj, community organizers and co-directors of Freedom, Inc.
What began as a sexual assault support group has grown into a community organization at the forefront of battles over education reform, police brutality, land access and ownership, women’s safety and security, and mental health. In this Fundamental episode, Kabzuag says “Freedom, Inc. exists because there were no organizations serving women like me.”
With Freedom, Inc. Kabzuag and M have cultivated a movement that invites women of color—in particular, Black, Hmong, and Khmer women, girls, queer, and trans people—to tie their own rights to one another. Freedom, Inc. works to equip the communities they serve with the tools and resources they need to uproot our broken system and ultimately build a roadmap toward shared liberation.
Most Americans say it’s now more common for people to express racist or racially insensitive views. Additionally, 2019 saw the most deaths of transgender or gender non-conforming people in the U.S. due to fatal violence, the majority of whom were Black transgender women.
In this Fundamental episode, we learn about grassroots movements led by women and gender non-conforming people of color who confront oppression and patriarchy in the U.S. It highlights the ways people from different backgrounds experience discrimination and focuses our attention on the importance of not placing issues in silos, but instead recognizing how systems of oppression intersect and overlap.
Movements addressing one form of oppression must take others into account. For example, efforts to fight racism must include addressing homophobia, classism, and anti-Semitism, and work to eliminate gender disparities must acknowledge how women of color experience inequality and prejudice differently from white women.
INTERSECTIONALITY: The interconnected nature of social categorizations such as race, class, and gender, regarded as creating overlapping and interdependent systems of discrimination or disadvantage. The term “intersectionality” was coined by Kimberlé Crenshaw, a civil rights activist and legal scholar.
Nothing changes if we don’t talk about it.
Be bold. Be Daring. Be AWE-dacious!
How do we prevent children from having children?
How many of you think it’s a good thing that girls as young as 10 years old are... Continue ReadingHow many of you think it’s a good thing that girls as young as 10 years old are getting pregnant? I think I know the answer.
Our February Film Festival continues with “Girls at the Heart of It: Comprehensive Sexuality Education in Kenya.”
In Kenya, anti-rights movements are blocking access to comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) for girls and young people—a critical barrier to girls and young women realizing their full potential.
In this episode, we meet Purity Kagwiria, Executive Director of Akili Dada, an organization that provides education and leadership training to high school- and college-aged girls and young women. We also meet Mary Adhiambo, a young leader and sexual assault survivor in her early twenties who is taking her new organizing skills to the streets, and Mary Anyango, a high school student who is sharing what she’s learned about sexuality and leadership in her own community.
Across Kenya, young people and especially teenage girls are denied CSE and access to sexual and reproductive health and rights. According to a 2017 United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) report, more than 390,000 10- to 19-year-olds became pregnant in Kenya between July 2016 and June 2017.
Patriarchy and religious and social conservatism are exacerbating the issue: teenage pregnancy is high, along with maternal mortality rates and rates of unsafe abortion. Pregnancy—often a result of a lack of comprehensive sexuality education—is one of the main reasons that girls drop out of school. For girls in Kenya, misinformation on sexuality and gender is coming from many different places: religious leaders, individuals with deep cultural and traditional beliefs, media and news sources, social media, or teachers without the skills or training to develop CSE.
But teenage girls and young women in Kenya are change-makers and leaders. Many of them are advocating for comprehensive sexuality education, educating their peers on their bodies and rights, and working for laws and policies that advance sexual and reproductive health and rights.
Comprehensive sexuality education (CSE) is about more than just reproductive health, pregnancy, and sex. A truly comprehensive sexuality education program includes positive, scientific, and nonjudgmental information about so much more, including gender roles and power relations, bodily autonomy, consent, and gender identity (among other important topics).
CSE is an incredibly effective tool to empower girls. A 2019 United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) report outlines why comprehensive sexuality education is crucial: it leads to improved health; contributes to gender equality; enables young women to understand basic facts about their bodies; encourages young people to think about families and social relationships, and recognize inappropriate behavior; and helps prepare women for healthy, consensual, and pleasurable relationships.
However, CSE is rare, and even basic information about sexual health can be lacking in many places. For example, 48% of girls in the Islamic Republic of Iran believe menstruation is a disease. Likewise, 51% of girls in Afghanistan and 82% in Malawi were unaware of menstruation before they first experienced it.
In the United States, CSE programming varies widely across the country. Currently, just 29 states in the U.S. and the District of Columbia mandate sexuality education, and 39 states mandate HIV education. Although almost every state has some guidance on how and when sexuality education should be taught, decisions are often left up to individual school districts.
Nothing changes if we don’t talk about it. Join us!
Be bold. Be Daring. Be AWE-dacious!