Whether organizing donation drives, hosting speakers, or starting fundraisers, the feminist leaders of Stone Bridge are using the Girl Up club as their voice. 

Girl Up is a club that was founded by the United Nations to improve gender inequality and to make girls into independent leaders who advocate for gender justice while also building a community of future-focused women.

“My favorite thing about it is that we get to create a safe space where so many girls have a community that they belong to,” Junior and Co-President of Girl Up Aanya Malyala said.

Girl Up specializes in improving the lives of girls through networking and fundraising events. 

“We’re doing [a fundraiser] with “Women Giving Back,” and we’re going to participate in the parade and the carnival,” Senior and Co-President of Girl Up Salma El Badaoui said. “We’re also going to collaborate with HOSA for authentic women’s health and we’re also thinking of selling bracelets for the Loudoun Breast Health Network.” 

Malyala and El Badaoui both joined the club in their freshman year because they wanted to create a safe haven for girls. Their job as co-presidents is to organize and help set up these events and donation drives. 

Another important member of the club is Communicator of Girl Up, Lulu Tsugan, whose job is to email others if the club needs assistance.

“I really wanted to help the Stone Bridge community and empower girls around the nation,” Tsugan said. “We’ve raised money for breast cancer awareness, help people throughout the world fight [period] poverty, and other stuff like that.”

Girl Up has many accolades to their name including gathering essentials for the Loudoun Abused Women’s Shelter. They have also helped multiple women join a non-profit group that assists women in financial instability and domestic violence and have raised money for breast cancer awareness. This is just the beginning for Girl Up. 

“The club is honestly about empowering women to be who they want to be by fighting gender inequality,” Tsugan said.