MA Voices

Add your voice by filling in your email and the topic you would like to discuss in the boxes below, and we will get right back to you about how to submit it.

    Blog: Le mariage forcé à l’ère de la modernisation

    2 février 2021

    Josué Smith M. Avikpo, membre du Mouvement d’Actions des Jeunes au sein de l’ABPF, écrit sur les mariages forcés au Bénin.

    En pleine mondialisation, on croirait que la modernisation a sauté les vices sociaux, surtout d’Afrique. Pesanteurs socio-culturelles et cultuelles, jugements issus des séquelles de discordes de longue date, la pauvreté et même l’église normalement restauratrice du salut, sont tant de maux qui ne cessent de renchérir le fléau incessant du mariage forcé.

    Lisez le blog complet ici..

    Photo Essay: Social Enterprise in IPPF

    9 December 2020

    The IPPF Social Enterprise Hub, based at FPA Sri Lanka, has compiled an excellent selection of photo essays by MAs working on business ventures through the Hub.

    A number of MAs have benefited from working with the Hub. Click here to view their photo essays. The photographs showcase the different types of social enterprise concepts that MAs have developed.

    Click on any one of the listed MA icons to see their photo essay.

    Blog Post: IPPF for Youth, IPPF for All

    7 December 2020

    Gurminder Singh writes about the stifling of youth voices and the positive experience of being in IPPF. But he challenges us not to forget youth voices.

    While living in the community, one thing we commonly face as the youth is that our young voices are not heard. No matter how wonderful the idea, its credibility is questioned by the deciding authority only because the person is young and doesn’t have much experience. Youth energies and creativity is generally neglected.

    Read more…  

    Blog post: Making contraceptive freedom a reality in vulnerable communities

    30 October 2020

    As part of the IPPF project, My Body, My Rights, Marieka Vandewiele wrote a blog about the struggles to access contraception of marginalised women and girls in Romania, Serbia and Bulgaria as well as what members are doing to support these communities. 

    Blog post: Prisoners of Pregnancy

    27 October 2020

    The Director General of FPA India, Dr Kalpana Apte, and the Director of Resource Mobilisation, Dr Manisha Bhise, have written a blog about the right to contraception.

    If you want to publish a blog, please let us know by filling in the boxes above.

    Meet Board member Ulukbek Batyrgaliev

    Ulukbek shares his expectations for a transformed IPPF and how to sustain a youth-centered Federation across all countries where IPPF is present.

    What it means to youth to have at least 20 per cent representation on IPPF’s new Board.

    In a series of video blogs, IPPF youth volunteers share their views on the importance of youth voices to IPPF’s future and their hopes for meaningful youth participation in the new IPPF Board of Trustees.

    Today is World Contraception Day – a day for raising awareness about contraceptive care. It might seem surprising that we still need to raise awareness – isn’t everyone in Europe using modern contraception nowadays? Unfortunately, the answer is no.

    Read more

    Unfortunately, for centuries, women’s reproductive and sexual rights have not really been theirs to claim. The decisions and choices related to their bodies have been imposed by the community, religion, law, family and partners. The overarching reason espoused for such dominance has been the biological responsibility of being born with a uterus and ovaries.

    Read more

    Why IPPF needs diversity

    Hi everyone, my name is Advait Pershad, from Suriname, I am the vice president and youth representative of the board of Lobi Health Center Foundation. I believe that the new BoT of IPPF should represent us in all our diversity.
    Diversity for me means having different ways of thinking combined in one group. A certain way of thinking comes from a person with their own unique story. Having different minds working for one cause is a blessing, because everyone adds a different value to the greater good.

    My call to all young people is to never stop dreaming and achieving. Your mind believes
    everything you tell it, so feed your mind with positive and ambitious thoughts and watch you win! So if we are privileged with an opportunity let’s take it, and create more for the others who don’t have one right now. Let’s design a future for us and those who come after us by seizing and creating opportunities!

    IPPF is Changing, by choice. For Choice. And we all should be part of it

    Diversity, inclusion, and youth participation

    Youth volunteer Birenda Bist, from Nepal, speaks to IPPF’s shared values and urges young people to continue driving positive change during the reform process.

    “Young people are an engine of reform.”

    Hello everyone

    My name is Hayathe AYEVA. I am 20 years old and I am the youth focal point of MAJ ATBEF TOGO.  

    Given the opportunity for me to express myself, I always say: Being young and belonging to such a great federation as IPPF is a big step and a great opportunity for our future family and professional future, since IPPF also involves young people in all these programs and policies. Young people are an engine of reform, and they should join the Board of Directors. I hope that they will be able to express their needs in matters of sexuality. Personally, I am interested in the objectives of IPPF and I am passionate about SRHR issues.

    I therefore invite young people from IPPF’s 6 regions, in particular the Africa Region, to apply for the call for applications to the Board.

    Because IPPF is changing, by choice and for choice. Thank you

    What does meaningful youth participation mean for IPPF?

    Alice Ackermann, a youth member of the Governing Council, discusses why IPPF needs youth volunteers in its governance, and why you should consider applying.

    Importance of nominations to the IPPF Board of Trustees

    I am Echat Ahmed Bacar, national president of the MAJ Comoros, Comorian association for the well-being of the family (ASCOBEF). First of all, IPPF is in full swing and it is changing by choice and for young people. And one of IPPF’s main objectives is to promote SRH for young people. So in this transitional phase I encourage young people in the Africa region to apply to the IPPF board to defend our rights, win our places and make our voices heard within the federation. We understand that as young people, we have to integrate ourselves enormously, voluntarily commit ourselves for a better future of our federation because we are IPPF’s number one partner and nothing can be done without us.

    Youth voices on SRHR matter!

    I am Diana Al-Fallaha from Syria. I’m a volunteer in Syria Family Planning Association and I attended the Arab Regional Conference and the Global Youth Forum of IPPF in New Delhi, as a Syrian youth representative. The youth today have the potential to achieve their goals and are capable of being creative. Today we, as IPPF volunteers, are in need of becoming active participants and contributors in the transition process of IPPF as decision makers.

    We must do that in order to voice our requests and needs, to express our message in this transition, to be influential leaders in our communities and societies and become equal partners in shaping the future of IPPF. Our work as volunteers of IPPF will help achieve Sustainable Development Goals which include gender equality and empowering women and specially giving her equal rights to make independent decisions.