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You’re in for a brilliant news round up today! One that’ll genuinely make you feel empowered.

Also, grab some tissues, this week’s trailblazing woman interview with Sasha K. Taylor is equal parts heartbreaking and inspiring.

That’s it from me for now. Heads up that I’ll be back in your inbox tomorrow with a short and sweet survey. It includes emojis, and you could win a book. Get excited!

Let's get glowing (and also a reminder to never give up!)

-Shilpa

P.S. Wishing a happy Lunar New Year to everyone celebrating! 🧧
P.P.S In this week’s fun moment, here’s 13 Fun Facts about Encanto (aka, my new fave Disney film) that you need to know.

You Get Sworn In, And You Get Sworn In, Everybody Gets Sworn In!

Go ladies, go!; Image via Istock

Politics and leadership: Ayesha Malik has been sworn in as the first female Supreme Court judge of Pakistan. This is a HUGE deal and an important step towards women’s rights in Pakistan. Currently, female judges make up only 4 per cent of Pakistan’s high courts.

Meanwhile in the US, for the first time in 232 years, a Black woman is likely to be appointed to the Supreme Court. About time, right!? Biden’s said he’ll pick his nominee by the end of February. These seven impressive women are the leading contenders ... watch this space for more.

See also: Xiomara Castro’s been sworn in as the first female President of Honduras; Chile’s President has named a majority-women cabinet; Sofia Chang is the first Asian-American CEO of the Girl Scouts; and Jemaima Tiatia is the first Pasifika woman promoted to pro vice-chancellor level at Auckland University, NZ.

Glowreel Reco

You need to read Manifesto: On Never Giving Up by Bernardine Evaristo.

A vibrant and inspirational account of Evaristo's life and career as she rebelled against the mainstream and fought over several decades to bring her creative work into the world. Manifesto is a reminder to us all to persist in doing work we believe in, even when we might feel overlooked or discounted 💜

Extra Nuggets

• And the Oscar (potentially) goes to...🏆 Writing with Fire. The documentary shares the story Khabar Lahariya, India’s only newspaper run entirely by women!

• Time to get Takeout with Lisa Ling 🍜 Ling’s new docu-series highlights Asian-American history through the lens of food. Currently streaming in the US on HBO.

• A new Korean Disney Princess!? 👸🏻 Julia Riew is blowing up the internet with songs from her original musical Shimcheong: A Folktale (feat. a Korean princess). Hey Disney, take note!

• The Top Shelf moment you’ve been waiting for 🧴 Find out every product Live Tinted Founder Deepica Mutyala swears by. Then copy + paste to your beauty routine.

Sasha K. Taylor: On A Mission To End Child Marriage

Image via Sasha K. Taylor

Sasha K. Taylor. Former FBI Analyst, wife, mum, coffee snob and anti-child marriage advocate.

Ending child marriage is an important cause. Sasha has more reason than most to be committed to it. She’s a forced child marriage survivor.

We had the honour of chatting with Sasha to hear her story and her plans for ending child marriage once and for all.

Snippets from Sasha’s incredible story are below. You can catch the full story here.

It was meant to be another ordinary day in the life of a teenage girl in Arizona. But it wasn’t. Fifteen year old Sasha got off the school bus and her life changed forever.

Sasha found herself forcefully engaged to a man seven years older than her at a family dinner. A few months later, she was legally married to him.

Sasha became a shell of the person she once was. Despite all the trauma she experienced, she managed to escape her forced marriage by the age of 18.

“His family wouldn’t let me leave the house unless I was only going somewhere with him or going to school, I stopped seeing my family. I stopped talking.”

Sasha found the strength to escape from her forced marriage in 1996. Fast forward to 2021, and young girls are still being forced into marriage in the US and beyond.

“Until the victims of forced child marriages find their own voices, I am going to scream it from the rooftops for them.”

Read more of Sasha’s story on the Glowreel website and in her latest opinion piece in The Washington Post. For more updates on Sasha’s work and exciting upcoming projects, and how Sasha is working to stop child marriage, follow her media company – Reality of a Desi Girl™ .

One Lioness To Another

“Don’t be afraid to take risks. In risks will come your biggest opportunities.”

-Kirthiga Reddy

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This week's email was brought to you by Shilpa Bhim, founder of Glowreel. You can see more of her work at www.shilpabhim.com or follow her on Instagram @skb.ontherun

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