This International Day of the Girl, Sanskruti Banerjee - member of this year's Y25 program - shares 'Embers' a poem she's written about the spirit of girlhood.

The YWCA Aotearoa's Y25 program spotlights trailblazing young women - like Sanskruti - aged between 15-25years, who are working to improve their communities, the planet and society. Not only is Sanskruti a talented poet, she's also a changemaker, dancer, and wāhine activist. Read more about Sanskruti and the 2025 Y25 here.

EMBERS

beauty is something so deeply desired,

it is at the heart of every woman 

it is a catalyst for social change 

it is an unfiltered microphone 

but what we often fail to realise 

is that society’s fabricated construct

of what a woman should be 

often sets boundaries 

a mother will often be asked 

how much independence she sacrificed

while a top working woman will be

questioned regarding her value for family 

a double-edged sword 

girl spirit simply means strength

it is something so entrenched in 

every young girl and woman 

no matter the colours they choose

to paint their lives with 

a little girl decides to tie pink shoelaces, approaching

a skate park for the first time,

a young female decides to pursue medicine 

harbouring knowledge from those before her, while 

her friend invests in the arts

some distant timeline away, an elderly woman

sips a tea in the comfort of her home, holding a book

she published many years ago as a housewife

where i’m from girl spirit is found

in those who sacrificed for decolonisation

the echoes of freedom fighters, nurses

and educators - all part of a revolution

to collect the scattered fragments of

their home

“My voice is loud because it has to be but also because I know how lucky I am to have it.”

- Sanskruti Banerjee - changemaker, dancer, poet, wāhine activist and member of the 2025 Y25,