“The demographic data is telling us that the future is very young and the future is very female,” says Nyaradzayi Gumbonzvanda, a lawyer and general secretary of the World Young Women’s Christian Association (World YWCA), in this week’s podcast. “And therefore, we actually have an imperative to respond.”

Adolescence for young girls and women is a critical period, says Gumbonzvanda, “the age when they are transitioning from childhood to adulthood…[and] there is increased responsibility and increased personal decision-making on many matters, including social issues.”

The YWCA, active in 120 countries, provides physical and social “safe spaces” for girls and young women to express themselves and talk about the issues they are having away from the pressure of community or societal expectations.

“We are unique because we are a faith-based organization,” Gumbonzvanda says, focusing on “strongly advancing the issues of human rights and social justice.” This allows them to demand accountability from “faith and cultural leaders on sensitive and controversial issues,” she says, like child abuse, rape, and genital mutilation.

As difficult as some of these conversations may be, they serve to disrupt traditional power structures and elevate youth as engaged members of the community. Gumbonzvanda says these efforts are shifting the narrative “on adolescent girls and young people from a perspective of vulnerability…to the notion of leadership.”