The first time Ada’s mother told her to lower her voice, she was six. “Good girls don’t argue,” her mother had whispered, tugging at her hand. The market woman had just given them the wrong change, but Ada’s mother chose silence over conflict.

The second time, she was thirteen. She had questioned why girls in their village weren’t allowed to attend school while their brothers did. “That’s just how it is,” her father said, his voice final. “You’ll marry a good man who will take care of you.”

But Ada didn’t want to be taken care of—she wanted to fight for herself.

By the time she got into the university, she had seen enough injustice to last a lifetime. In her town, girls still dropped out because of forced marriages, and women still died in childbirth due to poor healthcare. She decided she couldn’t just watch anymore.

So she started speaking.

At first, it was just a blog. Then, it became a movement. She organized protests for better school funding, wrote petitions against child marriage, and spoke at events. But change never comes without resistance.

The threats started small—comments online, warnings from elders. Then, one night, her father called her.

“Ada, stop this nonsense,” he said, his voice laced with frustration. “You are bringing shame to this family.”

But Ada wasn’t ashamed.

When her best friend, Amara, was nearly married off at seventeen, it was Ada’s activism that stopped it. When a new law passed in her state making education compulsory for girls, it was Ada and others like her who had fought for it.

The night before her graduation, her mother called her into the kitchen. She expected another lecture about marriage, about being too loud. Instead, her mother took her hand, squeezing it gently.

“I wish I had your courage,” she said softly.

And for the first time, Ada realized—she wasn’t just fighting for herself. She was fighting for the voices that had been silenced for generations.

She was fighting for a world where no girl would have to lower her voice ever again.

You too, can be that voice that makes a difference!