ETA Nitika Johri leads a Girls Gang meeting every week with female students from her school to create a space for girls to talk about their experiences as girls in an informal, supportive space, and for girls to build confidence in themselves and their abilities. As Nitika proudly and excitedly watched the Women’s March in January, she realized that her Girls Gang members may disagree about what “Women’s Rights” meant, and may have different desires from those women marching in the US.

Nitika used a Girls Gang meeting to discuss Women’s Rights to inspire conversation about these topics. She showed the members 10 photos from the Women’s March, and then asked how the photos made them feel, if they had seen or experienced anything similar, and what they thought about the content on the posters. The girls shared that they felt inspired, motivated to do something similar, and surprised to see so many young people and men in the crowd. They also asked questions about reasons for the Women’s March, DACA, female healthcare, and other topics.

The girls then made two posters prompted by Nitika: “Adjectives That Describe Girls” and “What Does ‘Women’s Rights’ Mean to You?” Nitika was particularly pleased that girls wrote so many positive adjectives that challenged the norms and expectations for girls. She also realized that while Women’s Rights did mean similar things to these girls, defining “Women’s Rights” revealed a lot of nuanced ways the girls felt restrained. The meeting and activity proved enjoyable and successful in challenging the way we think about perceptions of women, and sharing cross-cultural movements that could inspire change.

Nitika Johri is currently teaching at SMAN 1 Salatiga, Central Java