Intro To HearHer
OUR MISSION
At Hear Her, our mission is to create a safe space where girls around the world can feel seen, heard, and supported. We believe that even though we are all teenage girls, no story is the same. Each Girl’s story is shaped by her experiences which makes each story empowering. This platform exists to support girls through their struggles, uplift voices that are often overlooked, and build a global sisterhood rooted in empathy and trust. We’re here to listen and learn from one another, even when our values or perspectives are different, because we know that understanding starts with compassion. No matter where you come from or what you’ve been through, your story matters here.
Hi! My name is Naila Noble. I’m a half-Jewish, Iranian-American teenager, and I’ve lived in Brooklyn, New York my entire life. When I was in the fourth grade, I moved from Clinton Hill to Bed-Stuy - a vibrant neighborhood full of culture, resilience, and strong community. Bed-Stuy is often misunderstood, shaped by harmful stereotypes and misconceptions that don’t reflect the real people who live there. Growing up in this environment as a young, white, teenage girl, I’ve been constantly surrounded by people from all walks of life: different cultures, religions, and personal experiences. It’s taught me how important it is to listen closely, to observe without judgment, and to truly value perspectives that are different from my own. Being part of a community like this has shaped the way I view the world, and has inspired me to create space for others to share their own stories too.
Traveling has deepened that understanding. From California to Mexico to Morocco, each place has shown me something new- not just a tradition or belief, but a whole new way of thinking and observing. What’s stayed with me the most is how different life can be for girls, depending on where they grow up and who raises them. I vividly remember driving through a poverty-stricken neighborhood in Morocco. At every corner, there were young kids — some as young as 4 or 5 — begging for money. I noticed that every girl wore long dresses and face coverings while walking down the street. Our tour guide explained that girls needed to dress that way not only to honor tradition, but also to stay safe. In so many parts of the world, girls don’t feel safe even leaving their homes.
In my sophomore year history class, I learned about the strict rules the Iranian government has around women’s clothing. Women are required to wear hijabs as a sign of loyalty to the regime. In 2022, a woman named Mahsa Amini was beaten to death by the Iranian morality police for wearing her hijab “improperly.” Stories like this make me deeply upset about the way women are treated in different parts of the world, and push me toward action. Many people don’t realize that girls our age are constantly struggling — not just with body image and safety, but with being heard at all. That’s why I feel so strongly about what we’re building with HearHer. I want to help open people’s eyes to lives different from their own, and create a space where girls everywhere feel seen, supported, and safe.
Hello! My name is Aiyana Vasquez and I am from Brooklyn, New York. I am a teenage girl who has always wondered how life is for other girls my age around the world. As an Afro Latina (half African-American, half Puerto Rican), who grew up and went to school around lots of children who didn’t look like me, I always felt as if I would never fit in. When I was younger, me and my mom went from living in Boerum Hill, to Coney Island. Coney Island is a place lots of people know for the beach and amusement park, but what a lot of people don’t know is how many people struggle there. I live in a small gentrified area, but every day I still see the things people often ignore. Homeless people who never receive the help they need, families just trying to survive, and environments that match the same stereotypes people place on communities of color. These are things I’ve grown up around, and they’ve shaped the way I see the world.
There was a time when I tried so hard to fit in, Most of my friends were white and because of that I’d get called “white-washed.” But when I spent time with people who looked like me, I was told I “wasn’t Black enough.” It felt like no matter who I hung out with, I didn’t fully belong and had to change parts of myself just to be accepted. It wasn’t until high school that I realized I didn’t need to choose one version of myself. I was enough exactly as I am. I started to understand that identity isn’t about fitting into other people’s definitions, It’s about owning your story. There are so many girls who look like me and just as many who don’t, and that’s okay. We are all girls, and we all have struggles, especially when it comes to figuring out who we are and where we belong.
I wish there had been something I could turn to during those times when I felt out of place. A space where I could hear other people’s stories and feel less alone. That’s why I feel so deeply about this project. Every girl no matter where she’s from, what she looks like, or what she’s been through deserves to know that she’s not alone, and that her voice matters. We all have stories to share, and we all deserve the chance to be heard.