The Girl Up Club is a club focused on empowering and promoting awareness of topics that specifically affect women. During the meetings, club members gather to listen, collaborate, and have fun while striving to make a difference in the struggle against gender inequality. So far this year, Girl Up has learned about breast cancer awareness and the importance of 3D mammograms for women’s health. In the most recent meeting, Sophia Sobhani ‘23 spoke on women’s rights in Iran, including ideas on what Girl Up can do to make a difference.
The club leaders want to educate members on topics affecting women and inspire others to make a change. Catherine Wilkowske ‘23, one of the five captains, said, “As a group of girls, I see us all as very driven individuals who want to make a difference in the AHA community. Together, we work well as a team to do this, so I encouraged these girls to lead the club with me.” Some future topics the leaders hope to discuss are abusive relationships and eating disorders. They want to spread awareness of the effects eating disorders can result in, both short-term and long-term. The Girl Up leaders’ goal is also to allow members to understand what an abusive relationship is and the signs that point to a negative relationship.
Leah Cierzan ‘23, another leader, said, “I think our main goal for Girl Up this year was to continue to grow the club in our school community as well as continuing to make it a safe space for all…It is a safe space for personal testimonies, educating, and sharing ideas of what feminism means in the context of today’s ever-changing society.” These issues do not exclusively affect women, but oftentimes negatively impact them. The club leaders also want to organize a drive for female hygiene products to donate to female shelters. Currently, the club provides free hygiene products in three of the girls’ bathrooms, with funding from the money raised from last year’s fundraiser. Girl Up’s main focus this year is to educate the young women at AHA and improve the lives of all women one topic at a time.
