Fareeha is a 14-year-old Muslim schoolgirl who dreams of becoming a champion fighter. Her school in southern India started teaching the Chinese martial art, wushu, amid rising concerns about violence against women. Fareeha soon falls in love with the sport and qualifies for the national championships. But her family decides she can’t go, deeming it inappropriate for a girl to fight in public. Fareeha negotiates these complex issues at home, and wins them over. She emerges the winner in her category and has a clear message: “Girls should get the same freedom boys do. We can do everything they can.”

In Tanzania, women are expected to stay home, cook, clean, and take care of the children while their husbands are away at work. Like a typical teenager, Winnie needed an outlet for her curious mind and in 2013, she joined Apps & Girls, an organization that teaches young girls how to code their own websites.

A single mother with a passion for nursing, Lisa Creason wanted the freedom to pursue her dreams. When an unjust law prohibited her from doing so, she took the fight into her own hands and ended up opening doorways for thousands like her.

Gnarly in Pink is a short op-ed New York Times documentary by Ben Mullinkosson and Kristelle Laroche that premiered in film festivals in 2014. It provides a look into a group of six-year-old girls known as the Pink Helmet Posse who love skateboarding. The film portrays the lives of three young girls who enjoy both skateboarding, which is sometimes perceived as a masculine activity, as well as pursuits more typically associated with girls. Using footage of them skating and interviews, it compares and contrasts their interests with their gender and explores some of the challenges they face.