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Diary of an ICS volunteer: host families, hard work and hot chai

International Citizen Service volunteer Vix in her sari

...that brings together 18 to 25-year-olds from all backgrounds to fight poverty in overseas and UK communities. To find out how to become an ICS volunteer like Vix go to...

Girls can drive development

Girls participate in a mentoring session in Niamey, part of the Action for Adolescent Girls initiative, in June 2014. Picture: UNFPA/Satvika Chalasani

Adolescent girls can play an enormous role in bringing about sustainable development. But for too long their rights and potential have been overlooked by world leaders, and this has held back development and equality. At last international momentum is building …

Energy poverty and gender - "We need our eyes wide open"

...in technology and cost reductions, these small electrical distribution networks are often the best route to expanding energy access to a large proportion of homes and businesses in remote areas....

We cannot end FGM without supporting survivors

Pictures of girls at Samburu Girls Foundation in Kenya

We often associate FGM with the harmful physical effects suffered by more than 125 million women worldwide. There is much less awareness about the psychological effects that can haunt a woman throughout her lifetime. I know from experience that sometimes …

Breaking the silence: violence against women in Somalia and beyond

Young Somali girl in a classroom. Picture: Sven Torfinn/Panos

When you think of Somalia, you probably think of Black Hawk Down, Al Shabaab terrorism and piracy. But if you’re born a girl in Somalia, you face so many other risks, both severe and everyday. Decades of war and humanitarian …

Why DRC’s youth need to take a stand to empower girls' lives

In DRC half the female population aged 15 to 24 are illiterate. Only 10% of girls reach some secondary level of education. Picture: DFID DRC

The Girl Summit 2014 is an important global campaign for DRC, where an estimated 39% of girls are married between the ages of 15 and 18  – and probably younger in rural areas. And that figure needs caveating with the …