Community Protects 13-year-old From Marriage
Coumbayel had just finished primary school when she overheard her parents arranging her marriage. In her small village in Vélingara Ndiao, in northern Senegal, the decision would have marked a […]
A Q&A with Tostan Training Participant Charles Banda from Youth Net and Counselling (Yoneco), Malawi
Earlier this year, Girls Not Brides sponsored six members from sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia to learn from Tostan’s community-empowerment programme, particularly about how they had successfully adapted the programme to address child marriage […]
Portrait of Maty Cissé: leader, businesswoman, and solar engineer in training
Meet Maty Cissé! She was born in Keur Daouda Cissé, Senegal on October 16, 1963. Maty was introduced to Tostan in 1991—the year of our founding. Although her own […]
Lifting Stones: Ending Child Marriage in Mali
Introducing: the first story of the Breakthrough Generation. 25 stories for 25 years, on the path of human dignity. In this film, three families in Mali discuss their decision to […]
Promoting Human Rights and Gender Equality: 189 Communities in Tambacounda and the Next Generation at the Helm
Who is responsible for promoting gender equality and human rights in a community or a region? Building on the bold actions of their parents, and 25 years of grassroots social […]
Conflict Resolution at the Domestic and Community-Level: The Men and Women of the Gambia Show Us How It’s Done
Sona Jatta is a native of Njum Bakary in the Upper River Region (URR) of The Gambia. She is part of the Tostan program as a member of the Community […]
Women of West Africa: Finding the Courage to Lead
In the 2014 local elections in a conservative region of eastern Senegal, 63 Tostan program participants were elected as Rural Councilors for that region. 41 of them were women. This […]
Meet Demba Fatty: A Women’s Rights Activist and Health Worker
For over seven years, Demba Fatty has been heavily involved in Tostan classes and subsequent related projects. He is now the Secretary of the local Community Management Committee (CMC), as […]
A Public Declaration in Photos
On June 14th, 2015 the Sangardo community in Guinea–with the generous support of UNICEF–hosted a Public Declaration. This declaration included 65 participating communities, all expressing their abandonment of female genital cutting […]
Lycée Francais hosts panel of renowned nonprofit founders for "Women's Rights in Africa"
Megan White Mukuria, Molly Melching, Dr. Musimbi Kanyoro and Deogratias Niyizonkiza presented the panel on “Women’s Rights in Africa” in New York City last Tuesday. Three renowned nonprofit founders shared […]