Every Student to World course on NomadVerse is built by a youth cohort. They research the topic, shape the curriculum, and decide what the course should cover. The Women’s Rights course was no different.

The young people who developed it kept returning to the same issue: the pressure on women and girls around how they’re supposed to look. Not as a distant social problem, but as something they were dealing with personally, every time they opened their phones. That’s what shaped the course. It starts with beauty standards not because it’s the simplest place to begin, but because that’s where the young people who built it said the conversation needed to start. The broader questions about gender roles, global justice, and taking action all grow from that foundation.

Module 1: Everyday Mirrors – Imane, 18, Morocco

In the first module, learners explore beauty standards in their own communities and how those standards connect to broader questions about women’s rights. Imane, 18, from Morocco, wrote about what she sees every time she opens her phone.

She describes a set of expectations around how women should look like clear skin, a slim but curved body, long hair, plump lips, and what it feels like to measure yourself against them constantly.

“It’s tiring to feel like you’re not enough just the way you are.” – Imane, 18, Morocco

Imane is honest about the anxiety this creates. But she also writes about the work she’s doing to separate her own sense of self-worth from those external standards. She takes care of herself on her own terms, and is learning, gradually, that her value is not determined by her appearance.

Module 1: Everyday Mirrors – Yahia, Morocco

Yahia, also from Morocco, took the same module and arrived at a clear conclusion about how beauty standards function.

In his reflection, he looks at what happens when these standards get repeated by family, friends, and social media until they start to feel like facts. He writes about the effect this has on self-esteem, and the work it takes to recognize those standards for what they actually are.

“Many women realize that these standards of beauty are simply someone’s opinion rather than a law.” – Yahia, Morocco

Yahia is a young man who chose to engage with a Women’s Rights course. His perspective is a useful reminder that this course is for everyone, and that the conversations it opens up are not limited to any one group.

Module 2: Everyday Local Sheroes – Zainab, Lebanon

The second module asks learners to look at the women in their own communities who challenge gender expectations or quietly hold things together. Zainab, from Lebanon, responded with a short piece of fiction called ‘The Invisible Weavers.’

Her story follows Maya, who begins paying attention to the women around her: Amina at the corner store, Serena the nurse, Mrs. Gupta at the laundromat. Each one does small, consistent acts of care that nobody really notices.

“Local sheroes don’t perform miracles. They simply choose, every day, to weave kindness into the fabric of the everyday. And in doing so, they build the world.” – Zainab, Lebanon

When a crisis hits the neighborhood one night, each of these women shows up without being asked. At the end, Mrs. Gupta turns to Maya and says: ‘Now you hold the thread, too.’

Module 3: Everyday Global Sisterhood – Maryame, Morocco

Module 3 asks learners to look beyond their own community and connect local experiences to global movements for women’s rights. Maryame, from Morocco, wrote a letter addressed to a friend she has never met.

In it, she names movements happening around the world such as the protests against honor killings in Jordan, ‘A Day Without a Woman’ in Mexico, demands for safety in South Africa, and the #WeToo movement in Japan. She writes about how sharing those stories creates connection across borders.

“By sharing our stories, we create a Story of Us and build true solidarity.” – Maryame, Morocco

Maryame also points out that some women face compounded barriers because of their race and skin color, something that often gets lost in broader conversations about gender. She was 16 when she wrote this.

Take the Course

The Women’s Rights course is free and open to independent learners, students, and educators worldwide. It is available for anyone in English, Arabic, and American Sign Language.

Every learner who completes a module submits their own written reflection, which becomes part of the course for the next person who takes it. The pieces above are part of that collection.