“I was learning to code and felt so empowered”

Sometimes a simple remark tells us so much. After completing the first year of Womanity’s computer coding training, Zulikha, a schoolgirl in Afghanistan, told us, “When I was learning to code, I vividly remember thinking ‘I can do pretty much anything now’. I felt so empowered.”

Zulikha’s inspirational words capture everything we strove to do last year: give women and girls, living in some of the poorest and most inequitable places in the world, the skills, confidence and opportunities to flourish.
Thanks to your generous support since 2005:

• 33,000 girls have been reached with improved education in Afghanistan.
• 244,000 girls have been enrolled in school in India.
• 3,500 girls and women who were victims of, or vulnerable to, sex trafficking were empowered.
• 60,000 women in India and 7,000 in Brazil have been helped with income-generating skills.
• 3,9 million listens/views have been generated for our radio and TV drama series in the Middle East challenging gender stereotypes.

When women can thrive, so can the world. I hope you enjoy reading the stories in Annual Report 2016: Accelerating Progress for Women and their Communities as much as I did.

I look forward to continuing our journey together in 2017 towards a fairer and more prosperous world for everyone.

Yann Borgstedt
Founder & President