It began as a student club in Johnson County. Now it’s a nonprofit empowering women

Sadiya Abid said that while she was growing up her mom always made sure that she was assigned the same number of chores as her brother: no more, no less. It was just one of the subtle ways her mom taught her about her worth.

Her childhood was filled with similar lessons, many of them not so subtle. From a young age, her mom would encourage her to speak up in class and make her voice heard, to advocate for herself and to fight for her rights.

But during her freshman year at Blue Valley West High School, Abid realized that many of her classmates did not have such a strong, female role model at home, someone to help them navigate the world as young women.

“I began to understand that not everyone grew up learning about things like the pay gap or gender inequity. And I saw myself actively wanting to do something about it,” she said.

Abid and her friend Kavya Parikh in 2020 started a student club at their school, called Future is Female, to help empower teen girls and offer a safe space to talk about difficult issues. But the club quickly expanded far beyond Blue Valley West.

The club has now been duplicated in schools across the country. Abid and Parikh launched a nonprofit, which supports 11 chapters at schools in six states, about half of them in Kansas and Missouri. They have started clubs in schools as far as Florida and California, raised donations for women’s shelters, such as menstrual and hygiene products, and held student walk-outs and protests to advocate for women’s rights.

The nonprofit recently was named a winner of this year’s T-Mobile Changemaker Challenge, a national contest that gives young leaders seed money, plus networking and mentorship opportunities. Future is Female won in the family category, a $5,000 award, while there were 15 winners in other categories.

The Blue Valley students are fighting for gender equality and speaking out against sexism amid a tense political climate, as the U.S. Supreme Court overturned Roe v. Wade and eliminated the constitutional right to abortion. And they are making waves in schools as districts continue to host debates over curriculum on race, gender and diversity.

But they said that has only encouraged them to keep going.

“People believe in us, even people we don’t know,” Abid said. “Even if other people challenge us, there are people who believe in us. And that’s definitely rewarding and fulfilling.”

‘Giving them the tools’

Abid and Parikh decided their freshman year that they wanted to start a club for young women, something different than what was already available in local schools.

“For me, I’ve always seen a lot of STEM-based stuff, to get young women into STEM (science, technology, engineering and math). But I had never seen just an overall women’s empowerment club,” Parikh said.

Through Zoom calls during the pandemic school year, the Blue Valley West students found ways to connect and educate each other, on topics such as sexual harassment, imposter syndrome and self defense. And the club quickly grew to about 50 members, with more students joining every meeting, they said.

“We’re not just educating them about women’s issues, but we’re also giving them the tools to combat them. We had a lesson on the pay gap. But we’re not just saying the pay gap exists, we’re also sharing resources and best practices to advocate for equal pay and make sure your employer is open about your salary,” Parikh said.

The students faced criticism almost immediately, including from adults in the community, and received what they called sexist comments on their first Instagram post.

“We got really negative comments. And I think that had an effect on me personally. We were really passionate about starting this, and people weren’t necessarily respecting that,” Abid said. “But as we progressed and started getting the word out more and more, more support started flowing in. That really helped us progress and not be discouraged.”

Abid said that she remained motivated as she realized so many students needed a safe space to talk.

That spring, the club decided to focus on volunteering, so they held a bake sale, where they raised about $1,000. The students also held a donation drive so they could fill care packages for women’s shelters, sending hygiene products, along with hand written letters.

The girls thought they might be able to turn the club into something bigger.

“I always had the idea of giving back. But the idea of making it bigger and expanding it, that was not necessarily something I thought was possible or was even on my mind my freshman year of high school,” Abid said. “But once we got the ball rolling and started getting donations, that really made me confident.”

In the meantime, the club’s Instagram page was reaching students across the country. The girls started getting more questions about how students could bring the club to their own schools, some of them hundreds of miles away.

The students decided they wanted to start a nonprofit, to help clubs get off the ground, raise more money and expand their reach.

“I was super proud of (my daughter) when she told me about her vision. She was like, ‘Mom, these girls from other schools are wanting to start a club, but I don’t think I can do it just as a club at Blue Valley West. I think I have to make a nonprofit where we can sponsor those clubs and help them set it up,’” Abid’s mother, Fariha Shafi said. “I said I’m going to support you 110% and help you find resources. Or if they needed, I could cosign at a bank, because they were only 15 when they started this.”

‘There was nothing like it’

Shafi, an associate professor at the University of Missouri-Kansas City’s School of Medicine, said that she knew very little about starting a nonprofit.

“They really had to figure out how a nonprofit worked. A lot of people were telling (my daughter) how expensive it was and how she had to worry about litigation. And I don’t know how to set up a business or do any of that stuff. So I helped them find those people in the community that guided her and could show her how to do it. And that really boosted up her confidence,” Shafi said.

Last year, Abid and Parikh officially launched their nonprofit, Future is Female, Inc. And they got to work helping students in other schools start their own clubs. Nearby, at Blue Valley Southwest, 16-year-old Shubha Kohli started a chapter of the club last year, where students have learned about sexual harassment awareness, college readiness and how to write a resume.

“I was a bit nervous about starting the club at my school since there are some kids who wouldn’t approve of the message of Future is Female,” Kohli said. “But that did not affect me too much into changing anything. If anything I think it makes it more important to have a club like this.

“I do think it was something needed in my school because there was nothing like it. Not only does it empower women, but it’s also a good club for raising awareness.”

Abid said chapters of the club have been started in Missouri, California, Texas, Florida and Massachusetts as well. The teens said they’ve already felt the difference they’re making in young women’s lives.

“We had a meeting about sexual assault and harassment, and that was really meaningful for me because I know someone who’s been sexually assaulted,” Parikh said. “She came up to me afterwards and thanked me for educating people about it. And so I think it’s really important know that resources are out there for that kind of stuff. It might not be widely advertised. But it helps creating a space where people learn about it.”

Recently, club members have been protesting the Supreme Court overturning Roe v. Wade, encouraging students to do advocacy work, and asking those 18 and older to get out and vote. In August, Kansas voters will decide whether to overturn a 2019 Kansas Supreme Court decision that found state level protections for abortion rights in the state constitution.

The girls said that in their upcoming junior year, they want to continue fighting for women’s rights and empowering other students to stand up for gender equality.

“I have felt such a sense of pride. People are getting educated because of what we’re doing,” Parikh said. “Because education is the best way to stop ignorance, and how you make the community a better place.”

The students also are focused on continuing to give back to the community. They said they’ve raised about $7,000 so far, as well as about 20,000 products they’ve donated to women’s shelters.

And while they’re figuring out their college and career plans, they’re also thinking about how to keep Future is Female running after they graduate high school. They hope to expand the clubs into elementary and middle schools, to start empowering girls from a younger age.

Abid’s mom has a front-row seat, getting to watch her daughter share the lessons she instilled in her with girls around the country.

“There’s a lot of joy and a lot of tears of gratitude and happiness,” Shafi said. “I felt like what I was teaching or instilling in my daughter was kind of second nature. I come from a family with strong female role models. I didn’t think I was doing anything exceptional, except just doing my job as a mom. And to see her take that to heart and really make it her passion, understanding how she can impact those around her, as a parent it feels like success. It feels like you did something right.”