Social media may have been used just as a way to keep in touch with childhood friends, but now it’s for so much more. Not only are social media outlets used for keeping up with the latest news and trends, but they can be used as a way to promote social change.
These 12 women used social media to their advantage to reach a wide range of people to spread the word about innovative things they’re doing in their communities all around the world.
Kalki Subramaniam
As a writer, film maker, actress and transgender rights activist in Auroville, Tambil Nadu, she reaches out to transgender students and encourages them to stay in school. She is the head of the Shadohari Foundation, which educates and empowers transgender people in India. She uses facebook to connect transgender people to job opportunities and networks with employers to make sure workers feel safe and accepted in the workplace.
Her Voice
Her Voice is an organization based in Nairobi, Kenya to fight against gender-based violence and help women who are victims of it. Through Facebook, they were able to connect with the Kilimani Mums Nairobi group and organized the #DressMyChoice demonstration, in response to men stripping women in the street for “dressing indecently.” They provide support for victims of domestic violence and sexual assualt.
Masih Alinejad
Masih is a journalist who started My Stealthy Freedom, a campaign to advocate for women’s choice to whether they cover their hair in public. She created a Facebook page to gather women to make a statement against the hijab law.
Sukki Singapora
Sukki was the first woman to legally perform burlesque in Singapore in February 2015. Through her Facebook page, she was able to connect with women around the world who were inspired by her stance on self-expression and equality for women, and created a Facebook group called The Singapore Burlesque Society.
Shoana Cachelle
Shoana is an entrepreneur who started a movement to fight the stigma against West Africans during the Ebola crisis in 2014. With three other women, Shoana started a Facebook campaign called #IAmALiberianNotAVirus, which helped spread awareness about the virus and unite Liberians during this time.
Gioia Gottini
Gioia is the founder of Rete al Femminile, a networking group for female entrepreneurs in Italy. In 2013, she started a Facebook group to network with other women who are working for themselves, and eventually worked with women across Italy to start their own Rete al Femminile groups.
Mavis Mendonca Smith
Mavis is a co-founder of Win Bangalore Back, a Facebook group created in response to the rape of a 6-year-old Indian girl at a private school. The group organized the Red Brigade, which discussed eliminating shame and for victims and combatting police apathy.
Samantha Cristoforetti
Samantha is an Italian flight engineer for the International Space Station Expeditions 42 and 43. She is the first Italian woman to be in space, and shows that being in space is a perfectly normal thing for girls to do as well.
Annie Clark/Andrea Pino
Annie Clark and Andrea Pino are the co-founders of End Rape on Campus, an organization that provides support to anyone seeking it. Through Facebook, they were able to contact each other and share their stories of college rape and used Facebook groups to reach out to other victims provide support and resources.
Carol Rossetti
In 2014, Carol challenged herself to post one illustration on Facebook per day, and chose to dedicate her drawings to empowering women to “wear what you like to feel comfortable with your own body.” Her characters are inspired by the stories of women in her everyday life.
Mayumi Taniguchi
Mayumi is the founder of All Japan Obachan Party, which advocates for more women in Japanese government and gender equality causes. She created a Facebook group specifically for the AJOP, and encouraged women to speak up and change politics in Japan.
Azmat Khan
Azmat is an investigative reporter working at BuzzFeed News, where she focuses on stories about gender inequality around the world. Through Facebook, she was able to reach out to different communities to learn about what they have been through and bring those stories to her reporting.
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