Stories for Girls’ Rights and Global Change

The power of a good story can inspire us to action and teach us about the world around us.

Our new Embedded Storytellers Program (ESP) mini-documentary film series shows the challenges and triumphs that women and girls face. We work with locally-based filmmakers and photographers around the world to capture stories about girls’ rights and the people who champion them – told in their own words.

Watch the mini-docs below to meet determined optimists who are fighting for gender equality, girls’ education, sexual health rights and more.

When people speak the same language, the conversations stop being merely communicative. People can speak with their hearts because they can speak in their heart’s language.”

Joshua Kumunda — Joshua Kumunda, photographer, Media Zone, Zimbabwe

Latest news

We’re honoured that our mini-doc Salma was selected for the Imagine This Women’s Film Festival in New York this September!

Check out the festival in-person September 19-22 or online September 19-29.

Salma mini documentary cover

Supporting girls’ education – no matter what

Meet two young female filmmakers, and two girls who refuse to give up on their education.

Salma, Nigeria

Education

Salma lost her hearing as a child. Being back in school has opened new doors for her. In the Borno and Yobe regions of Nigeria, thousands of girls are unable to go to school because of disruptions or displacement, or because girls’ education isn’t valued. “When I grow up, I want to be a teacher,” signs Salma. “I don’t think anything can stop me.” Salma participated in our Education in Crisis project.

We are honoured that Salma will be featured at the Imagine This Women’s Film Festival in New York this September.

Mentorship program supports women in filmmaking

“Discovering Salma’s world, where silence speaks volumes and resilience shines, has been an eye-opening journey. Salma’s story isn’t just about overcoming barriers; it’s a powerful testament to our collective ability to create a more compassionate and beautiful world, one story at a time.”

— Ike Nnaebue, filmmaker and mentor, Nigeria

Salma found her way to education despite being unable to hear or speak.

“Discovering Salma’s world, where silence speaks volumes and resilience shines, has been an eye-opening journey. Salma’s story isn’t just about overcoming barriers; it’s a powerful testament to our collective ability to create a more compassionate and beautiful world, one story at a time.”

— Nigerian filmmaker Ike Nnaebue

BEHIND THE LENS

Aimalohi Ojeamiren is one of the first participants in our ESP young filmmakers pilot under the mentorship of Nigerian filmmaker Ike Nnaebue. They traveled to northeastern Nigeria where Plan ran an Education in Crisis project to tell Salma’s story. “I will never forget this experience,” says Ojeamiren. “I never imagined I could make a film about someone I can’t verbally communicate with. It’s a top 10 highlight as a filmmaker.”

» Read about the filmmakers' surprise behind-the-scenes discovery.

Zénabou’s Dream, Burkina Faso

Education
Zénabou believes education can change girls’ role in society.

“To change the place of young girls in society, we must help them do the work that boys do,” says 12-year-old Zénabou, who has tenacity and wisdom to spare. Though more than 1 million children in Burkina Faso aren’t in school, in our latest mini-doc, you’ll be inspired by what Zénabou is determined to achieve. “It’s not strength that counts; it’s intelligence,” she says.

» Read more about the Safer Schools for Girls Project that Zénabou took part in.

BEHIND THE LENS

Mallaury Kaboré joined the Embedded Storytellers team as part of a mentorship program that is supporting young women in filmmaking. She worked with Nigerian filmmaker Ike Nnaebue to convey Zénabou’s story. “Being part of Zénabou’s life was an extraordinary experience,” Kaboré says. “Despite the challenges in her family situation and limited resources, at such a young age she is already fully aware of her immense potential. As a woman, I was honoured to work on this project and to have the opportunity to offer her a small example of female leadership.”


Preventing teen pregnancy and violence against women

Two women from different generations envision the life they want for women and girls in Peru.

Susana doesn’t want women to live in fear.

Handmade Activist, Peru

Preventing gender-based violence

Susana knows that violence is happening to women around her. She also knows most people won’t talk about it. “Sometimes people don’t know that others will help them, because no one has taken the time to offer,” she says. In this mini-doc, discover how Susana is breaking the silence. Believe it or not, it starts with throwing a great party.

Natsumi and her younger brothers get ready for school.

Wave Maker, Peru

Sexual health rights

In this short film, Natsumi speaks candidly about her life as a daughter, sister, role model and mentor in a community where one in five adolescents is pregnant. “What is missing in society? What is missing in families? What is missing overall so that we stop seeing these kinds of problems?” she asks.

BEHIND THE LENS

“We’re from a different part of Peru, but we’re Peruvians. So people we met felt more natural with us, so we could get footage that was authentic,” explains Gina Rosas, audio-visual producer at Qajsiri Films, the creators of Wave Maker and Handmade Activist.

» Susana and Natsumi both took part in our We Decide project.


Ending child marriage

Useaking’s Journey, Bangladesh

Sexual health rights

When Useaking was 16, she met a young man, and together a year later, they ran away and married. She thought it would bring her freedom. It didn’t. In our first ever mini-doc filmed in Cox’s Bazar, discover how she’s ensuring that other girls keep their options open, with help from our LEAP project. “[Girls who study and work] can live freely and go wherever they want,” Useaking says. “If I had known, I might have made different choices.”

Useaking uses her experience to prevent child marriage.

BEHIND THE LENS

“I think that taking a documentary-style approach to storytelling shows the actual raw emotions,” explains documentarian Elizabeth D. Costa, who filmed Useaking’s Journey in Cox’s Bazar. “I’m from that community, so there’s a genuine connection.”


Young female teachers promote girls’ education

Second Acts, Sierra Leone

Education

When Eunice left school, she was living out a story that’s common for many young women in Sierra Leone, where 75% of girls don’t continue their education after primary school. “When you become a [school] dropout, you feel isolated,” she says. Leaving school might have been the norm, but this short film follows the unusual opportunity that allowed Eunice to take a very different path – and to offer a different example for other young girls.

Eunice is one of 200 young female trainees in our Teacher Training for Inclusive Girls’ Education project.

BEHIND THE LENS

“The Embedded Storytellers program aligns with a participatory and community-centric approach, ensuring the stories told are accurate and that they also uplift the communities involved,” says filmmaker Sessy M.J. Kamara.

girls who are in teacher training programs speaking to each other in a classroom
Eunice’s return to school charted a new course for her – and for other young girls.

Poria’s school offered safety, and a new vision for her future.

School offers a safe haven for girls fleeing violence

Diary of a Maasai Girl, Kenya

Preventing gender-based violence

Poria attends a school in Kenya where many of the Maasai girls have escaped early marriage and/or female genital mutilation. In this short film she explains how the unexpected offer of a kind neighbour set her on a course to transform herself, her classmates and her community. “[We will be] great women in society: ladies of substance, ladies of integrity and ladies who [can] depend upon themselves… and be great leaders of tomorrow,” says Poria.

BEHIND THE LENS

Armstrong Too had four hours to interview Poria, gather footage (including aerial shots) and take photos. But the Kenyan filmmaker managed to make it all happen. “Discovering that Poria’s father, who likely never had a formal education himself [and has 35 children], has taken a remarkable step by deviating from Maasai traditions to champion all his daughters’ education, including Poria’s, was truly inspiring,” says Too. “Plan International Canada’s shift in storytelling approach, emphasizing the protagonist and allowing the audience to immerse themselves in the protagonist’s experiences, is a strategic move that is bound to captivate a larger audience.”

Too recently traveled to Tanzania with Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Plan International’s Global Celebrated Ambassador, to film her experience meeting a group of inspiring young girls in the rural Geita region.


Changing norms for girls’ health in Zimbabwe

No Shame,
Zimbabwe

Sexual health rights
Thembinkosi and her father talk openly about topics that others consider taboo.

Most young people have things they don’t talk about with their parents. But for Sandengomusa and Thembinkosi, the taboo around talking periods with their fathers was putting their futures at risk. So they decided to make new norms with their dads and open the lines of communication about their periods, their bodies and their health.

Lesson Plan,
Zimbabwe

Health
Tanyaradzwa’s journey to education was anything but easy.

First, Tanyaradzwa faced a risky seven-kilometre walk to school. People came out of their homes to mock her and tell her that her education would amount to nothing. Then, she was forced to drop out altogether. So how did she end up studying at the University of Zimbabwe? Find out what it took in this mini-doc about Tanyaradzwa, who took part in our DREAMS HIV-prevention project.

Going Door to Door,
Zimbabwe

Health
A new way to distribute mosquito nets is saving lives in Zimbabwe.

A warehouse sits filled with life-saving mosquito nets. But many of the families who needed them had to walk up to nine kilometres to get there. These communities in rural Zimbabwe came up with a creative solution to get the nets directly into people’s homes. Watch the mini-doc to find out how these nets are getting around.

BEHIND THE LENS

“I came into contact with people whose lives had been completely changed,” says Patricia Mabviko, founder of Media Zone, the team that created our three mini-docs from Zimbabwe. “This was an enlightening and empowering experience for me as a storyteller.” For Media Zone’s videographer, Kingston Musanhu, meeting then 19-year-old Tanyaradzwa from Lesson Plan was an encounter to remember. “It was heart-rending to know that everything around her was constantly shifting, but she derives strength from her education. This was so much in character with the Tanyaradzwa we spent the day with: focused, grounded and determined.”

Patricia Mabviko
Patricia Mabviko helped capture Tanyaradzwa’s story.

Religious leader pushes for community health and girls’ rights

The Power of Faith, Guinea

Health

Changing norms doesn’t happen by trying to alter a community’s belief system. It happens by finding a way to shift people’s thinking without undermining the values they hold dear. That’s the challenge that religious leader Bangoura Moustapha faces when he works to raise awareness about HIV and STI prevention in a region where many people consider it taboo to talk about sex.

Bangoura Moustapha received training as part of our Eradicate TB & HIV in Guinea project.

Imam Bangoura Moustapha leads discussions that cover difficult topics.

BEHIND THE LENS

“The most challenging aspect of this film was to capture the essence of the community and make sure I translated that in a concise and respectful way,” says filmmaker Sayon Kourouma. “We were filming in my maternal grandmother’s hometown region, so I know the area well and I speak the local language. A local perspective brings authenticity and depth that only someone rooted in the culture and context can offer.”


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