Girls around the world are navigating societal pressures, cultural norms, and barriers to safety and education that limit their dreams and opportunities.
In honor of International Day of the Girl, we asked girls around the world to imagine something different:
- What if every girl could choose her own future?
- What might that future look and feel like?
The responses we received are full of hope, possibility, and a desire to create something better.
Below, five girls from four different countries share their visions for a brighter tomorrow.
Together, their responses imagine a world where every girl has the freedom to dream, the power to make her own choices, and the chance to determine her own future, on her own terms.
Read their powerful messages, in their own words, below.
Mutinta & Alice, Zambia
I hope it looks like freedom.
Freedom to choose my education — not dropping out because of fees, distance, pregnancy, or marriage, but staying in school because I want to learn what I love and am good at.
I hope I can choose to be a scientist, a teacher, an engineer, a soldier, a farmer, a president, or a mother — not because society told me to, but because I looked inside myself and knew what I wanted.
I hope my future is safe, that I can walk to school without fear, that I can say no and it is respected, that I can say yes to my dreams and I am supported. That my body is mine and my choices are mine and no one uses culture or tradition as an excuse to hurt me.
“I hope I can choose to be a scientist, a teacher, an engineer, a soldier, a farmer, a president, or a mother — not because society told me to, but because I looked inside myself and knew what I wanted.”
In that future, a girl is safe in her home, safe online, safe in her classroom, and safe on the street. In that future, I will have a voice. When I speak, people will listen — not because I am shouting, but because my community knows that a girl’s ideas matter.
I will sit at any table in my village, in parliament, in business and be taken seriously. I will not make myself smaller to make others comfortable.
I hope that in that future, we will all be equal. Equal pay, equal work, equal chance to get a loan to own land, to lead a team.
In that future we will not say, “You can’t because you are a girl.” We will say, “You can. How can we help you?”
I hope my future is full of other girls lifting each other up: where girls are not taught to compete against each other, but to complete each other. Where the older girls teach the younger ones, and where we celebrate when one of us wins because her win opens a door for all of us.
“I hope my future is full of other girls lifting each other up: where girls are not taught to compete against each other, but to complete each other.”
I hope my future is not just about success, but about happiness: that I can choose a big life in the city or a quiet life in my village, measured not by how much money I have or how many children I have, but by whether I am living a life I chose.
If every girl could choose her own future, the whole world would change. Because an educated girl educates her family. A healthy girl builds a healthy community. A girl who knows her power will never allow injustice to continue.
I hope that one day, every girl will wake up in the morning and ask herself, “What do I want to do today?” and that she will have the freedom and the support to do it.
Nida, Pakistan
If I had the opportunity to make my own decisions about my future, the first thing I would do is complete my education and move forward in the field I choose.
I want to be able to stand on my own feet and make my own decisions with confidence. I want to have opportunities to understand my abilities, improve my skills, and achieve my dreams.
I do not want to see only my own success in the future. I also want to do something good for my community. I would like to encourage other girls to get an education, think about their dreams, and share their opinions. I want every girl to have the right and opportunity to share her voice on important decisions about her life.
“I want a future where girls are not limited only to household responsibilities.”
I want a future where girls are not limited only to household responsibilities. They should also have opportunities for education, learning skills, working, and taking leadership roles.
I want my parents to understand my dreams and support me.
For me, a successful future means having confidence in myself, being a support for my family, and making a positive contribution to the betterment of my community.
Swati, India
If every girl could choose her own future, I would hope for a future where every girl has the freedom, opportunity, and support to make decisions about her own life. She should be able to continue her education, follow her dreams, choose her career, and build the future she wants without being limited by gender, family pressure, financial problems, or social expectations.
My Girl Advocacy Committee journey in the Sikharchandi Slum community helped me understand why this future is so important.
During my community work, we conducted a household survey among 50 families and identified five children who had dropped out of school. We spoke with parents, conducted awareness meetings and rallies, and later visited the schools to discuss admission with teachers. Through these efforts, I helped successfully readmit one dropout child to school, while the process for the other children is continuing.
This experience taught me that education, confidence, decision-making and self-advocacy are very important for girls.
I also understood that family and community support play an important role in shaping a girl’s future. When families listen to girls, respect their decisions and support their dreams, girls can move forward with greater confidence.
I hope for a future where no girl has to give up her education or dreams because of family pressure, financial difficulties, gender discrimination or child marriage. Every girl should have the opportunity to learn, develop her skills, express her opinions and choose the life she wants.
I also hope that girls will be able to speak confidently about their thoughts, feelings and rights. Their voices should not only be heard, but also respected. Girls should have opportunities to take leadership roles and contribute to positive changes in their communities.
For me, choosing one’s own future does not mean that every girl has to follow the same path. It means that every girl should have the freedom and opportunity to choose her own path. One girl may want to become a teacher, another may want to be a leader, entrepreneur, artist, or choose a completely different path. Every dream deserves respect and support.
“For me, choosing one’s own future does not mean that every girl has to follow the same path. It means that every girl should have the freedom and opportunity to choose her own path.”
My vision is of a future where every girl is educated, confident, heard and free to make decisions about her own life.
Every girl should have the freedom to dream, the opportunity to learn, the courage to speak, and the choice to create her own future.
Aldana, Peru
If every girl in the world had the choice to decide her own future, I think they would choose a future with FREEDOM.
A future where every girl can simply be a girl, enjoying every stage of her childhood.
Where she can play, laugh, study, make mistakes, and try again, without the fear of being told, “You can’t do that,” “That’s not for you,” or “You can’t study anymore because you have to get married.”
I would like a future where no girl has to leave school to become a wife or a mother before she knows how to take care of herself. A future where she has the freedom to discover who she is and choose to be a psychologist, doctor, teacher, engineer, artist, athlete, farmer, scientist… or whatever she dreams of, without anyone else deciding for her.
I would like a future with education. Because when a girl studies and prepares for life, she changes not only her own life but also that of her family and community. A girl who studies learns to stand up for her rights, to say NO, to imagine, to dream, and to look forward to big, wonderful things.
I would like a future with respect; Respect is the foundation of our societies, and girls deserve to be heard in every situation.
A future where her voice is heard so that if she says “I don’t want to,” that NO matters and is respected. Where she isn’t criticized for how she dresses or where she lives, but is valued for who she is and who she can become.
“A girl who studies learns to stand up for her rights, to say NO, to imagine, to dream, and to look forward to big, wonderful things.”
And, above all, I would like every girl to have time.
Time to grow, to discover herself, to love herself, and to fall in love when she chooses — not when she is forced to.
Time to be a child and a teenager, rather than being forced to become an adult too soon.
If every girl had the chance to choose her own future, I am certain she would choose a future free from pain, violence, and child marriage — and free from fear of anything or anyone.
She would choose a future where she is free, happy, and the author of her own story.
Let us give girls around the world the chance to grow up with the opportunity to make their own choices.
To be FREE.
Because a girl who can choose her own future can change the world.
Keep Listening to Girls. Check Out, The Girl Power Playlist: Girls Around the World Share Songs That Motivate, Uplift, and Inspire.
Global Catalyst mentors girls around the world to become powerful advocates and confident leaders. Our signature program, GLOW Club, connects girls in some of the world’s most underserved areas with trusted local mentors and a safe space to express themselves as they develop their agency, find their voice, and build their power. Since our founding, we’ve ignited the power of more than 100,000 girls, sparking a growing movement of youth-led change that is transforming communities — and the world — for the better.
