Mini Hub Spotlight “The GHRH Essex Mini Hub”
The GHRH Essex Mini Hub was founded in 2024 by our executive members: Djuna (president), Rose (vice president), Béatrice (Treasurer), Angela (social media manager), Victoire (event manager), and Eden (welfare officer). If you want to see what we do or contact us, you can check our instagram: @ghrh_essex
“As a law student, the GHRH has given me the opportunity to put what I am learning into practice and engage in human rights issues beyond the classroom. It has pushed me to be proactive about the causes I care about”
Key Activities & Impact
The Book club event
On the 20th January 2025, we held a book club event, centered on Women in Culture and Literature.
We provided a space for members to share and discuss their best recommendations on this subject, spanning from books(such as The handmaid’s tale) and movies(like Ballerina or Call me Chihiro) to poetry and songs(such as “grandiose” of Pomme), which highlighted themes of women's rights, gender equality, and the realities of abuse. Each participant brought an artistic piece to the conversation, which allowed us to delve into some really interesting conversations. The exchange of ideas and personal reflections allowed us to appreciate the creative works of women across the world, and also to feel their resonance in our own lives. Whether through reading aloud poetry, analysing film scenes, or exploring the deeper meanings behind literary quotes, each contribution sparked meaningful conversations.
It was an inspiring event, through which we celebrated the voices that have shaped and continue to drive the feminist movement.
The movie nights
We organized two movie nights based on women rights, the first night we watched ‘the Braid’, a movie adapting the book of the same name by Laetitia Colombani. This was one of the most valuable experiences of women supporting other women as one of the main actresses, Mia Maelzer, contacted us to thank us for supporting her movie. We then had a beautiful interaction celebrating the fight for girl’s rights across the world and through different cultures. The second movie was the recent movie ‘She said’ denouncing the sexual abuse committed by Harvey Weinstein in Hollywood. This film was an opportunity to remind all members of the importance of speaking up and having a safe place to communicate. Indeed, while the movie shed light on sexual violence it also highlited how the silence surrounding the victim often causes her to become the criminal for speeking at loud and the abuser to become the victim of a “lie”.
The Panel
In February the Essex Mini hub organised its very first panel on girls in a male-dominated field. This was an opportunity to meet incredible women working in Law and in STEM and discuss the challenges they had to overcome around tea and snacks. Among our guests we received the president and vice president of the Essex society Girl in STEM, who thanks to their work received the award of most productive society of the year. Through their work they not only allowed women studying in our STEM department to feel seen but they also made a mission to introduce girls to sciences empowering them by sharing the story of leading women in the field. During the panel they explained to us the difficulties of being a minority of women in their courses and talked about the resilience that they built out of this experience.
We also had the chance to welcome Carla Ferstman, Head of the Essex Human rights center, member of the Council of Europe's Expert Council on NGO Law, and part of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights in Rwanda. Carla was an inspiration for all girls present, as she walked us through her experience as a lawyer in the 90's, forced to have office reunions in a strip club while being nicknamed Veronica lodge. She also shared her journey advocating in international law where she felt weak and had to work much harder than her male peers. The panel was also an opportunity for her to shed light on the GQUAL campaign for gender equality.Our final guest, Emmanuella Olawuyi was a former Essex Law student, now paralegal in a leading construction company. She explained her challenges being a young woman beginning in law and greatly motivated us to believe in ourselves to gain confidence in our work.
The Co-Hosted event
In march we had the chance to how an event in collaboration with the Amnesty society and In Aid of Unicef to present a documentary on FGM. This was a very intense moment for all of us, showing the importance of protecting girls from sexist violence. The documentary allowed all of us to engage and question the difficult relation between culture and girl’s rights, but also inspired us to take action in our own communities to educate and raise awareness against certains practices. As hard as it was to watch, we keep from this event a message of hope from the women who themselves were victims of FMG, and who fought the stigma of their communities to protect young girls from what they endured, demonstrating that culture can evolve for the better.
The Bake sale
On the 26th of February, the Essex Mini Hub held a bake sale on campus to raise funds for future events including the Panel discussion later that term. It was a lovely way to connect with students and spread awareness about our society’s work, all while sharing some amazing treats. The turnout was great, and thanks to everyone’s support, we raised enough to help make our upcoming events possible.
The March
On the 7th of march 2025, the Essex Mini Hub collaborated with the SU Women's Officer to organize a protest for women’s rights. This was a significant opportunity allowing women and men to stand for gender equality and advocate for women’s rights on campus. As we were demanding change against injustices and sexism, our thoughts were with girls from all around the world whose voices are being silenced. However, while we were chanting for justice, reclaiming the rights over our own bodies, and demanding equal pay, many male students laughed and giggled, highlighting the lack of education and knowledge of male students and of the university itself. This event deepened our desire to raise awareness about gender equality as a GHRH minihub.
🌟 Mini Hub Spotlight
Each month, we shine a light on one of our incredible Girls Human Rights Mini Hubs making change in their community. Want to be featured? We’d love to hear from you!
📩 Send us an email at minihubs@ghrh.org and tell us about what your Mini Hub has been up to, events, campaigns, wins, or ideas you’re proud of.
Let’s celebrate the movement, one Mini Hub at a time.