Feb 8

Feb 8 Sarah Little | Founder, More To Her Story

As Founder of More to Her Story, Sarah’s had the honor of meeting girls from all over the world—girls who grew up in villages in Ethiopia, refugee camps in Kenya, and cities in Syria and Afghanistan. Girls who were forced to uproot their lives due to war, genocide, and fathers who wanted them to marry before starting their periods. Girls who took an idea and turned it into a thriving business. Girls who are the first in their families to attend university. Girls who are resilient, honest, scared, brave and in love. As someone who spends her time committed to sharing the stores of others, we’re excited to have Sarah on the other side of the interview today, and share parts of her story that deserve to be heard.

The Basics:

Hometown: New York City
Current city: London, England
Alma mater: The New School in NYC. Currently pursuing my masters at City, University of London in International Journalism
Degree: It’s changed a few times over the course of my college career… but I’d say Journalism.
Hustle: Journalist; Founder/CEO, More to Her Story

The Interests:

Do you have a hobby that would surprise us?

In my free time, I write spoken word poetry and rap. It’s a hobby I enjoy doing at the end of a long day. From 18-20 years old, I lived in Chicago and discovered my love for rap music there. Then, I moved into a 300-square-foot studio in Manhattan, and started experimenting with storytelling through spoken word poetry and rap. To me, they are interchangeable. I use my words to highlight issues I care about, and set an example for the next generation. Unfortunately, most mainstream rap music is sexist and narcissistic. People rarely talk about the pervasive misogyny because these rappers are cultural icons. Well, if that’s the case, we need better icons. I see change happening on small scales, but I’m waiting for it to happen on large ones. If I can play a tiny part in that, I’ll be happy.

The Hustle:

Tell us about your hustle, providing a summary of your roles and the work you do daily.

The past two years have disrupted everyone’s daily routines. During the pandemic, I moved apartments in New York, helped move my parents to Baltimore, and moved to London, where I’ve been for the past five months.

Let me try to break my current routine down for you: Each morning, I get up, head to Pret for my morning boost (because, duh, Pret subscription), bring my coffee back to my flat, meditate and pray for 30 minutes (or my mind won’t be clear for the rest of the day), watch Al Jazeera over breakfast, then begin work.

My current roles include founder and CEO of More to Her Story, freelance journalist, podcast host, and master’s student. I try hard not to spread myself too thin, but it gets tricky. In light of recent events in Afghanistan, it’s been a hectic few months. We worked with NGOs and media outlets to (safely) highlight Afghan women’s stories, and for the women and girls who are still there, life remains hectic, scary, and uncertain.

The world is still weathering a pandemic, so things we used to do to relax and unwind aren’t as accessible as they were pre-COVID. I feel lucky that I’m doing what I love and work doesn’t feel like ‘work.’ Having said that, I look forward to the day I can meet my friends for drinks after a long day without feeling like I’m taking a risk.

For those who don’t know (and if not already covered above), what is More To Her Story?

More to Her Story is a global platform and nonprofit organization that amplifies the voices and stories of young women and girls who have been silenced. Our mission is to bring awareness to the injustices women and girls face globally, build confidence in young women by sharing their work, and help shift cultural norms that contribute to gender-based violence through journalism and storytelling. We partner with grassroots organizations worldwide, focusing on issues affecting women and girls. We also partner with large media outlets to help their stories reach a wider audience.

What’s your professional journey been like so far? How did you find yourself where you’re at?

My journey has been just that—a journey. I’m of the mindset that what we decide to do with our lives can be at least partially traced back to childhood, even subconsciously. For me, that was traveling and exposure to a kaleidoscope of cultures, beliefs, and stories. Growing up, my parents would frequently quote Mark Twain: “Don’t let schooling interfere with your education.” And Mr. Twain was right: watching my mother, a documentary photographer, and my father, a social entrepreneur, live and work in the world was education by itself. As I grew into a young adult woman, I took those childhood values and applied them to my own life and work without even realizing it.

When I was twenty years old, a sophomore in college, I left university for two years to travel and interview young refugee women from ten countries, hoping I could help amplify their stories to a larger world. I was a student and fashion model bouncing from Chicago to New York at the time, so it was a full 180 from what most people saw from the outside. But I knew I was being called to make space for something greater. Those two years traveling, interviewing, and befriending young women from around the world changed my life, worldview, ambitions and catalyzed More to Her Story — which has become bigger and more impactful than I could have ever imagined. And we’re just getting started.

Have you always had a passion for storytelling? Where do you think this stems from?

Probably my upbringing. I spent my childhood following my parents around the world: from Brazil to Bangladesh to Zambia. By the time I was 18, I’d spent time in nearly 40 countries. We moved to the Middle East during my early adolescence, which certainly shaped my worldview and interest in the region. When I was 17, I moved to Costa Rica by myself to study Spanish; it was there where I fell in love with capturing people’s stories through film and photography. I went on to study documentary filmmaking in Chicago, but I wasn’t sure if I wanted to be a filmmaker, so I “stopped out of school'' for two years. I went to Jordan for several months to interview young Syrian women who had fled the war. I ended up traveling to more countries and interviewing hundreds of young women and girls, which is how More to Her Story started and I fell in love with journalism.

Your platform gives a voice to many women and girls across the world that would otherwise have their stories silenced. In your opinion, why is it so important to raise awareness about these stories and experiences?

A few months ago, I was having drinks with a male friend of mine, an (American) photographer who makes a living taking erotic photos of young women. Somehow, the topic of feminism came up, and I asked my friend if he considered himself a feminist. He laughed, took a swig of beer, shook his head, and said, “Why should I care about the problems women face in Afghanistan or the Middle East? Women are totally equal here, so why should I care about women over there?”

I found it fascinating that a young man who made his career profiting off the bodies of women and girls had no interest in their rights or well beings. I also found it curious how he claimed women in America “are totally equal.” I wondered where he found those statistics and what barometer he was using to measure our equality.

I avoid using the phrase “giving a voice to women and girls” because they have very loud voices, if only the world would listen. I heard a quote once: “In the game of life, the hardest setting is a young girl in a developing country.” This is true, and the stories and voices of young girls in most contexts are the first to be ignored.

If I can help amplify their voices and stories to a larger world, a world that includes young men (like my friend) who don’t see a point in listening, I will feel like I did something worthwhile.

How has being a woman impacted your professional experiences? What can we collectively do to support and empower women in your industry today?

Journalism is full of women! The industry is changing. Of course, men still outnumber us at the top—but the progress made over the last decade has been remarkable. The internet is one of the scariest places to be as a woman—period. Online harassment is real, and intensifying. I appreciate the organizations that create safe spaces for women journalists, and I wish there were more. Reach out to women journalists you admire—just to be kind! It means more than you know.

What is the most challenging part of your job? How do you keep yourself from getting burnt out?

There are times when the stories I hear from girls are so intense that I have to take a break for the sake of my mental health. It feels silly saying that because they are the ones living it, but I won’t be my best, most effective self if I don’t take breaks. I’m not a psychologist, and don’t know how to properly manage the kind of trauma many of the women in our network have faced. I usually keep a list of domestic abuse hotlines for as many countries as I can, and I’m in the midst of compiling a list of grassroots NGOs in some of the major countries we work in that deal with getting women and girls out of life-threatening situations. On a personal level, I pray and meditate each morning, and I listen to classical or Arabic music to calm down.

What’s one thing you’re proud to have accomplished in your career so far?

This is kind of cheeky, and I’m not even sure I’d call it an “accomplishment” because it wasn’t my doing, but a dear friend of mine and an incredibly talented graffiti artist asked to draw a mural of me on the side of a wall in Amman, Jordan. When he asked, I didn’t think much of it. But the final product ended up being almost 70 feet tall and made a list of the 12 Best Murals in the World of 2021. It totally blew my mind, and I’m proud of everyone who worked on it and the fact that my face is plastered on a wall in one of my favorite cities in the world.

Who are some women in your field that you look to for inspiration?

Marie Colvin, Christiane Amanpour, and Clarissa Ward are just a few journalists I admire. There are so many, it’s hard to choose. I also think the definition of “journalist” is expanding; I look up to those who fight for democracy, their countries, and their people. I especially look up to Afghan women journalists risking their lives to report on the state of their country. More to Her Story has published several accounts of Afghan women journalists, and we are beyond grateful for their enduring bravery and conviction.

How does your activism impact your approach to your day-to-day work and career?

I don’t consider myself an activist. I consider myself a woman who cares about other women and uses her privilege and platform to help amplify the voices of other women. Injustice doesn’t happen in a vacuum; the plights of women and girls span the world. It should be the norm, not the exception, to care about basic human rights, and I don’t think you need to call yourself an “activist” to do that. Or you can, and that’s great, too. I feel that if you were given a certain amount of privilege or a platform, you bear some responsibility to use it well.

Career and/or life advice for other babes (both inside and outside of your industry?)

Keep going! You must sacrifice things and people to get to where you want to be, but it’s worth it if you believe in the mission. Also—instead of going with the grain, try going against it sometimes.