“When I was in primary school, I noticed that girls have lower confidence. When I first started high school there weren’t any clubs [in my community] that supported girls.”

Two years ago, Radiya became a founding member of her school’s girls’ club at a time where there were no resources or activities to support girls to stay in school. When teenage girls like Radiya have their period, it often prevents them from attending school, which can lead to high dropout rates for girls.

“Like most of the girls, I believed that my only option would have been to drop out, but now I get to stay and learn.”

With support from Glimmer and the school principal, Radiya’s girls’ club now provides feminine hygiene products on campus and trainings on managing menstruation, peer pressure and the importance of staying in school. Glimmer built a girls-only room equipped with meeting space, a latrine and a shower. Girls’ clubs offer Radiya and other Ethiopian girls a safe space to share their goals and struggles, to learn about their bodies, and to receive the support they need to stay in school.

“After a lot of work, the girls’ club has empowered female students to speak up against harassment. To minimize the bullying of female students in the school, the club includes male students. Male students freely take part in the girls’ club activities. Female students are able to prevent harassment and child marriage outside of school.”