As coronavirus lockdowns swept across the world, the fallout for girls came fast and hard.

Measures meant to stem the spread of COVID-19 by restricting movement can escalate gender-based violence and limit girls’ access to quality education.

Even before a pandemic locked them down, gender stereotypes locked many girls in, confining their future prospects.

THE GIRL BEHIND THE CAMERA.

Dakar, Senegal

Oumou Kalsoum Diop, 18, hears stories from the girls in her community. Stories that need to be shared, she says.

Sexual assaults have been on the rise during the COVID-19 pandemic. Young women are stuck at home, sometimes with their attacker.

Some nights, Oumou leads group discussions with teens in her community – speaking on issues, like sexual harassment, that girls face.

When a young man in the group warns women to dress conservatively so as not to provoke sexual violence, Oumou remains steady. “No matter what a woman is wearing, you have no right to rape her.”

These conversations only propel her forward.

“We have to liberate what's in our hearts," she tells the young women she meets at the community centre, at school, in the city. “Don’t keep it inside.”

THE TEENAGE COUNCILWOMAN.

Paquiestancia, Ecuador

Belen Perugachi’s day begins before sunrise. At 4 a.m., the 16-year-old is up with the cows: Her family sells milk at the local market, fetching $0.43 per litre for the 20 litres they produce each day.

Then the pandemic hit. The price of milk dropped, and the market shuttered.

Belen advocates for indigenous rights on the global stage. In 2018, she travelled to Chile for the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean.

“My participation sent a message to indigenous girls like me in Latin America,” she says. “I told them to stand up for their rights and feel proud of their traditions.”

One of the traditions Belen hopes to preserve is the 'purification ceremony,' an indigenous ritual that's faded with time.

“Today, almost 50 people in our community are participating. We will ask the sacred mountains to bring us prosperity in the market.”

Before initiating the ceremony, Belen treks the mountains of the Mama Kayambi to collect holy water. The volcano, she explains, represents feminine power in her culture.

Belen was just 12 years old when she decided to become an advocate for indigenous rights by joining the Children and Adolescents Group of Pueblo Kayambi.

“I want people in rural areas to have the same opportunities as people in cities,” she says. “I imagine a world with respect for different cultures, with respect for men and women…I dream of equity."

THE ROBOTICS CHAMPION.

Herat, Afghanistan

Somaya Faruqi, 17, flips the switch and adjusts a dial. "We used locally available, second-hand car parts to assemble the device," she says.

When Afghanistan’s first case of COVID-19 was reported in their province of Herat, Somaya and her all-female robotics team set to work on a low-cost ventilator to treat coronavirus patients.

"There were days when the project did not progress, due to missing simple tools, such as a screw," says Somaya. "And what made it worse, is that shops were closed due to lockdown."

But after three months, the girls had produced a lightweight, easy-to-transport unit at a fraction of the cost of traditional ventilators.

The government took notice. Somaya and her team will soon travel to the capital, Kabul, to present their device to the Ministry of Public Health. If approved, the prototype could be used in emergency settings where traditional ventilators are unavailable.

Somaya’s thoughts return to the team’s upcoming trip to Kabul. “I guess we will be dubbed the first group of adolescent girls in the world to design a ventilator.”

For now, the girls’ official team name will have to suffice.

They are the Afghan Dreamers.

THE VIRTUAL REALITY CHEMIST.

Yerevan, Armenia

When Hasmik Baghdasaryan moved to a new high school, it was the chemistry lab that caught her eye.

“My previous school didn’t have anything like it,” the 16-year-old explains. “Many don’t have the space for a lab, let alone the funds."

Before Hasmik began conducting experiments herself, chemistry was not her strong suit. "When I was struggling, I began to wonder if boys really are just naturally better at science."

That's when Hasmik knew she wanted to help make science accessible to students of all backgrounds.

She and her co-founders created VR Labs, a virtual lab that simulates science experiments with virtual reality headsets.

“It’s one thing to watch an experiment being done by your teacher,” Hasmik says. “It’s another thing to do it yourself.”

“It starts from a young age,” Hasmik reflects, eager to pass her appreciation for science to her five-year-old sister, Maria.

“Chemistry, biology, physics, they surround us. There are so many opportunities to make a positive impact on our community if we are armed with the right scientific knowledge.”

Soon, Hasmik and her team plan to secure meetings with Armenia's Ministry of Education and Science to present their prototype. When asked who will coordinate the meetings with the government, Hasmik’s eyes catch.

“We will, of course,” she says.

THE SOCIAL ENTREPRENEUR.

Ivory Park, South Africa

When 19-year-old Sebabatso Ncephe suspected she had COVID-19, she walked to the local clinic, where she found a pregnant woman waiting alone in the punishing heat.

The woman had come for a prenatal visit. “But the nurse told her it happened in the morning and she had to come back tomorrow. Imagine the time she wasted. What if she lives far and has no money for taxi fare?”

That's when Sebabatso got the idea for an app – Afya Yangu, or "My Health" in Swahili.

The app allows hospitals to directly communicate with patients, giving them critical information about their health care without forcing them to wait hours or even days in line.

Especially for those living with HIV and AIDS, Sebabatso says, the app will help patients maintain privacy and dignity.

"There has been too much stigmatization in hospitals for people with HIV. Now, when you're trying to keep your status confidential, you won't have to stand in line with everyone who knows you."

“If more girls could be exposed to what I was exposed to, they would dream big," Sebabatso says, reflecting on her opportunities to learn to create digital technologies. "I want to tell them that your story must be told, your dreams are valid.”