This year, International Women’s Day feels particularly poignant. Perhaps it’s because of #MeToo, perhaps it’s because of Times Up, perhaps it’s because of the 100-year anniversary of the Representation of the People Act. Whatever the reason, it’s no bad time to reflect on what it means to be a woman.
And while these are important conversations, they only make up a small fragment of what it really means to be a woman on planet Earth in 2018. Some of us are much luckier than others. Think of the millions of women who live in war-torn countries, displaced by fighting and famine. It’s women like this who NET-A-PORTER is hoping to help in its latest collaboration with Women for Women International. The fashion favourite and this incredible organisation have tapped six designers – Stella McCartney, Ganni, Off-White, Bella Freud, Rosie Assoulin and Chloé – to design special edition T-shirts.
All proceeds from the sales of the T-shirts will go towards helping women in countries like Afghanistan, Rwanda and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq, where Women for Women International give hands-on assistance to women. They train them up, give them skills like tailoring, bread-making or poultry-keeping, and introduce them to other women to form a support network. These networks are life-changing not just for these women but for their families and the communities they live in. After all, when groups of women come together, good things tend to happen.
To celebrate this collaboration, we spoke to five amazing women who are using their own strengths and networks to help other women in 2018. We have Amika George, the 18-year-old schoolgirl fighting to end period poverty, Women Who founder and career guru, Otegha Uwagba, alongside two of Refinery29’s leading lights, Gillian Orr and Sarah Raphael, and Women for Women International’s very own executive director, Brita Fernandez Schmidt. Prepare to be inspired.
Amika George, Activist, #FreePeriods
Standing outside Downing Street on 20th December, 18-year-old Amika George turned to address the crowd behind her and was amazed to see the protest she had organised had attracted over 1,000 people.
This particular gathering was a direct result of the teenager’s campaign to end period poverty and give girls on free school meals access to free sanitary products. Because, as she was shocked to find out last year, period poverty is not just a problem that affects girls in some faraway developing country, but is happening right here, in the UK. In fact there are governments around the world in countries with much less money than ours who still have initiatives to help young girls, so they can stay in school and not face the embarrassment of bleeding through their clothes.
Now, with nearly 150,000 signatures on her petition, she’s getting closer to delivering it to parliament where she hopes it will be discussed by the government. “It’s been really crazy. I started it on 1st April. It’s gone up really exponentially,” says Amika, with enthusiasm and an impressive eloquence. Oh, and she made time to speak to Refinery29 the day before one of her mock A-level politics exams; she’s also studying history and French.
Amika, who wears the “empowering and cool” Rosie Assoulin T-shirt, has a laser-like focus on resolving this issue but knows the battle to end not just period poverty but the taboo around menstruation will not be easily won. She is, however, optimistic about the power of activism in the digital age. “This has taught me a lot about social media. And how big activism is when you have this tool to communicate with women across the world. We have to use all the resources that we can to bring about change.”
Amika wears NET-A-PORTER x Rosie Assoulin 'Do It For Grandma' T-shirt, £165
Do It For Grandma t-shirt by Rosie Assoulin, £165; Skirt by Missoni, £980; Trainers by Veja
Otegha Uwagba, Founder, Women Who
Since launching networking platform Women Who last year, Otegha Uwagba has been pretty much unstoppable. One Sunday Times bestseller later ( Little Black Book: A Toolkit For Working Women – read it), she’s still on a mission to help women get the best from themselves at work and find satisfaction in their vocation. Or as she puts it: “I want to help women achieve happiness in their careers. We tend to define ourselves, for better or worse, by our jobs. So we should be happy.”
Otegha explains that working on her own project has helped her realise how much women from all backgrounds need networks and platforms specifically aimed at women in order to redress the balance. That’s part of what made her want to join this collaboration. “The thing about Women for Women International is it helps women who are marginalised,” she says. “It’s a very different angle to what I do, which helps women who are already empowered and emancipated. I feel like it's a different facet of the fight for equality for women.”
For many of us, wanting to help other women can often just end at donating money or sharing a Facebook post. So what would Otegha have us do in 2018 to really, truly help other women? “I think volunteering time and skills to organisations can be massively useful – and something that people don't often think to do,” she says. “Lots of causes and charities often don't have the resources to pay, for example, a PR or a marketing team, but are in desperate need of those skills, so offering your time for free is often hugely appreciated. It's something I try to do regularly myself.”
Otegha wears NET-A-PORTER x Stella McCartney 'Thanks Girls' T-shirt, £180
Thanks to agency @creativedebuts and artist @dereksimdesigns for the artwork in the background
Thanks Girls t-shirt by Stella McCartney, £180; Trousers by Helmut Lang, £1095; Mules by Tibi, £450
Gillian Orr, Content Director, Refinery29 UK
There was a time not so long ago when the media addressed ‘women’s issues’ at arm's length; a small conciliatory move here and there to acknowledge the fact that half the population do in fact have vaginas. These articles were often edited by men, and did little to recognise the diversity and depth of what it means to be a woman.
It’s this complete experience that Gillian Orr, Refinery29’s content director, is hoping to address with everything she commissions. “I think the main thing is that we see women as incredibly complicated beings,” she explains. “Which they are. You can have an interest in what happened at fashion week but also want to know what’s going on in the Middle East.”
It’s important, says Gillian, that women understand the lives of people beyond their own immediate experience, whether that's in the UK or further afield. “We tell stories of women who look at life through a unique lens and who have experienced great challenges. And part of that is women who have been affected by war,” she elaborates.
Of her own approach to helping facilitate change, Gillian says she takes "a campaigning stance". The initiatives she’s worked with in this capacity include Gina Martin, who’s fighting to make upskirting a criminal offence, fellow International Women's Day collaborator Amika George, and Revolt Sexual Assault, a university collective against sexual violence on campus.
Gillian wears NET-A-PORTER x Bella Freud 'Love For You' T-shirt, £95
Love For You t-shirt by Bella Freud, £95; Jeans by Victoria Beckham,£275, Boots by Chloe £520
Brita Fernandez Schmidt, Executive Director, Women for Women International
One woman who never ceases to inspire us is Women for Women International's executive director and all-round powerhouse, Brita Fernandez Schmidt. For this shoot, Brita wore NET-A-PORTER's Ganni T-shirt, and the thinking behind the design resonated with her a lot. “I love the quote that Ganni gave, that girls will not be held back by their gender. For me, gender is the most constricting of all the boxes that society puts me in.”
It was when Brita was a child and her family moved to Venezuela that she first found her altruistic side. Seeing extreme poverty, and how it affected women disproportionately, ignited a lifelong ambition to work in the charity sector and do everything within her power to help people. “There were expectations about what a good job was,” says Brita. “But all I cared about was doing something I was passionate about and trying to make a difference.”
When you talk to Brita, who’s worked at Women for Women International for nearly a decade, you feel like anything is possible. Her enthusiasm is infectious. “When we put our minds to it we can achieve so much. We can inspire others to help,” she says, offering her take on what you need to make change happen: “If you allow yourself to be inspired and you act on your inspiration without fear, you inspire others to do the same. We are living in an unprecedented time for women. We need to speak up and we need to be brave and continue to push this change.”
Well, what are you waiting for?
Brita wears NET-A-PORTER x Ganni 'Girls Girls Girls On Top' T-shirt, £85
Thanks to Mortimer House
Girls On Top t-shirt by Ganni, £85; Skirt by Peter Pilotto, £570 Trainers by Marc Jacobs, £245
Sarah Raphael, Editor at Large, Refinery29 UK
Refinery29 UK’s editor at large Sarah Raphael has worked with Women for Women International for the last 18 months. She’s been involved in the #SheInspiresMe Car Boot Sale, held in London each May, sponsors a woman through their yearlong programme, and now she’s teaming up with their executive director for a special project, currently in the pipeline, around women’s issues. Watch this space.
Sarah also works with a young women’s charity in London as a youth worker. “It’s a privilege to be around teenage girls and to discuss all the issues we see in the media but from their perspective," she says. "They are the next generation of women with the power to make serious cultural change, and their spirit and energy is invigorating."
So what drives her to work in this field? “I’m interested in the woman's experience, at every level and across the world. I'm committed to reporting on the challenges, both mental and physical, that are specific and endemic to the female condition. Through Refinery29 I can provide a platform for marginalised voices and that’s what compels me to work on the side of the industry that I do. There are so many untold stories, and I see it as my responsibility as an editor to make them visible.”
Sarah wears NET-A-PORTER x Chloé embroidered T-shirt, £375
t-shirt by Chloe, £375; Track pants by Miu Miu, £665; Jacket by Off White, £865Like what you see? How about some more R29 goodness, right here?
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