KforChange

Some stories were never meant for children. Malak’s is one of them.

Safe cities, decent work and sustainable consumption are just 3 of the 17 Global Goals for Sustainable Development that were adopted by the United Nations in 2015. They aim at creating a peaceful, inclusive, sustainable life for everyone everywhere by 2030.

A young woman picks cashew fruits on a farm in rural La Côte d'Ivoire.

Consumers and businesses can now make a New Year’s Resolution to protect their purchases from modern slavery.

Ocean life is directly affected by rising temperatures and changing chemistry – yet these impacts are not being considered by world leaders at the climate talks in Paris. Join Julie Packard and Sylvia Earle, and help get the ocean on the agenda at ‪#‎COP21‬ by signing the ‪#‎OceanForClimate‬ petition.

A 40-year-old man proposed to Salamatou when she was just 14. Every year, tens of thousands of girls are married before reaching their 18th birthday. 

They are some of the most vulnerable girls on earth. They are denied their rights, they are at risk of abuse, their health is jeopardized, and their future prospects are limited. 

From 25 November to 10 December, the world observes 16 days of activism against gender-based violence. 

The UN Refugee Agency (UNHCR) has made an urgent call for an end to child statelessness.

A stateless child is born somewhere in the world at least every 10 minutes. In countries hosting the 20 largest stateless populations, at least 70,000 stateless children are born each year.

UNHCR says children and youth have a sense of identification with the countries in which they were born and have lived all their lives. In almost all cases the best solution to statelessness is to turn a child’s existing links with his or her country of birth and upbringing into the legal bond of nationality. It is vital that this is achieved as early as possible so that no child grows up with the indignities and harm caused by statelessness.

“The time I decided it would be easier to fight this alone than tell anyone and risk having them think I’m ‘crazy.’

Feeling ‘crazy.’

Not wanting to have kids in case you pass this onto them.

A hand closed around your throat so you can’t speak.

Embarrassment swimming deep in your belly.

Guilt between your teeth.

Questioning your own strength.

Questioning your own mind.”

‘It was the scariest thing I’ve ever done’: the Irish women forced to travel for abortions

The Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland have incredibly strict abortion laws, and it’s taking a toll on Irish women. Those who seek an abortion are forced to travel to the UK or elsewhere – often at significant financial burden. And then there’s the massive social stigma that can come from friends and family for wanting to terminate a pregnancy. 

“It was the scariest thing I have ever done,” said one woman.