Today its about me, its about the school I choose to go to, about the fashion statment I hope to make, about the role I want to play in the society as a young woman, about who I want to date....wow I could go on and on but in the long run what matters most is me. I have witnessed many occassions when we sit in the back seat and tell the stories of our friends who have made "bad" decisions, who have been violated or who have chosen the wrong careers. It never affects me until it happens to me.

Many times I found myself sharing about a girl I know who did this or who went through this without looking at what was on my doorstep. Now I find myself fighting a battle for eqality and justice for myself but moreso for other young women. Some who are aware of their vulnerability and some who have not personalized young womens issues yet.

So I ask myself when is it personal? At what point in time will all the young women be singing the same song and beating the same drum. Will a yonug woman start to speak about harassment when she has been harassed or will she she participate in elections because her friend is running?

As a young woman I feel that we need to be more involved as young women in our issues so as to push for them. I would like to see a university election where there are more women vieing than men so that voters are spoilt for choice on the university WOMAN leader they want.

Rape is MY problem, Unemployment is my problem, Lack of the the right to make decisions about MY body is MY problem, girls and young women dying due to unsafe abortions is MY problem, hunger,climate change and I could go on and on...but the idea is that I as a young woman play a role in all the above issues and I can decide what I would like to do in order to change them.

Young women and girls need to understand the powerful role they play in reproductive health and other development issues.

It is my role as much as it is YOURS.

Best!