A girl looks away from the body of an assassinated man, who was killed by a gang member in San Salvador. Encarni Pindado for NPR hide caption
#15Girls, NPR global health In many countries, the decisions teens make at 15 can determine the rest of their lives. But, often, girls don't have much say — parents, culture and tradition decide for them. In a new series, #15Girls, NPR explores the lives of 15-year-old girls who are seeking to take control and change their fate.
Special Series
#15Girls
Teens taking control and changing their fate.
Kamala B.K. in front of her menstruation shed. Cecile Shrestha/WaterAid hide caption
Many fewer baby girls are born in India and China than the odds would predict. LA Johnson/NPR hide caption
Nimmu, 15, on the terrace of the Veerni Institute. To stay in school, she needs to pass a national test this March. The problem: "I'm not a great student," she says. Because child marriage is illegal in India, we can't use her full name. Poulomi Basu/VII Photo hide caption
She's a teenager with a cellphone, surfing the Internet. And she's a Syrian refugee who works in the fields up to 14 hours a day. That's the new life of 15-year-old Fatmeh, seen here in the living room area of her family's makeshift shelter. Dalia Khamissy for NPR hide caption
A Teen Who Fled Syria Had High Hopes For Her Life In Lebanon: #15Girls
Now in tenth grade, Mulando is already planning how to negotiate her tuition for 11th grade. She's also trying to figure out how to get to medical school. Samantha Reinders for NPR hide caption
Can't Afford School? Girls Learn To Negotiate The Harvard Way: #15Girls
Aniket Sathe, 15, is in a program that's trying to persuade India's boys to treat girls as their equals. Here he's pictured with his younger sister, Aarati, 12, waiting for the rain to stop before walking her to school. Poulomi Basu / VII Photo/for NPR hide caption
Soccer buddies Lahis Maria Ramos Veras, 14 (left), and Milena Medeiros dos Santos, 16, don't let taunts keep them from playing. Lahis goes by the nickname "Lala." Lianne Milton for NPR hide caption
Hadia Durani is 15. She says she wants to be president when she grows up. David Gilkey/NPR hide caption
Prakriti Kandel wants to put a halt to menstrual taboos in Nepal â and the discrimination that goes with them. Poulomi Basu/VII Mentor for NPR hide caption
Girls start the day with a prayer at the Veerni Institute in Jodhpur, India. It's a boarding school where nearly half the students are child brides. Poulomi Basu/VII Photo hide caption
Fatmeh, a Syrian refugee, lives in a makeshift shelter in Lebanon. She who works in the fields up to 14 hours a day — and wishes she could be back in school. Dalia Khamissy for NPR hide caption
In many countries, the decisions teens make at 15 can determine the rest of their lives. But, often, girls don't have much say — parents, culture and tradition decide for them. In a new series, #15Girls, NPR explores the lives of 15-year-old girls who are seeking to take control and change their fate. Poulomi Basu/ VII Photo for NPR hide caption
Kamala in front of the hut where she sleeps when she has her period. Kamala told us, "I'm afraid of snakes and men." Jane Greenhalgh/NPR hide caption
Lala (center) and Milena (left) would like to see more incentives for young girls to take up soccer. Lianne Milton for NPR hide caption
Leslie Morales (from left), Soraya Mohamud and Tanjum Choudhury discuss what it's like to be 15. All three are sophomores at Montgomery Blair High School in Silver Spring, Md. Akash Ghai/NPR hide caption
Lea Hatouni is a Christian living in the predominantly Muslim Middle East. Like so many other Lebanese, she expects to have to leave Lebanon to start her career after college. Jason Beaubien/NPR hide caption
Zanele Themba (on the left with the pink backpack strap) admires American teens because they "know what they want and go for it." She's posing with classmates from the Sapphire Secondary School who participated in a model U.N. in Johannesburg. Courtesy of Youth@SAIIA hide caption
Some of the 70 students at the Veerni Institute gather in the courtyard, waiting for the first bell to ring. Poulomi Basu/VII Mentor/for NPR hide caption
Fatmeh (left) fled Syria with her family and now lives in Lebanon, where she works in the fields instead of attending school. Jason Beaubien/NPR hide caption
Who's ahead in the baby tally these days — boys or girls? Newborns are ready to be counted in a Florida hospital. JOHN STANMEYER/National Geographic hide caption