My name is Hasina. I arrived at SOS Children’s Villages in Madagascar 22 years ago, at just two months old. Even as a child, I had a passion for numbers. My interest in technology started in high school — I dreamed of creating my own video games. As I got older, I realized that digital tools could provide practical solutions to everyday challenges, and that this is what I want to focus on in life.
Today, I study Artificial Intelligence Engineering and Data Science. As part of a youth association focused on Green IT, I explore how technology can help protect the environment — a topic crucial for my generation and for Madagascar, which is among the most climate-vulnerable countries in the world.
Across my work and studies, I see young women already creating positive change in ICT. What we need is greater digital inclusion so we can do this at scale. It cannot wait, because artificial intelligence shaping how we live, learn and work is being developed now.
For many girls, access to science and technology is still blocked before they ever enter a classroom — leaving their perspectives out of AI systems.
Every child and young person has the right to be safe and to access education — so they can fulfil their potential. But the reality is different in Madagascar. Many children, especially in rural areas, are working instead of going to school. Some do not have enough to eat, and others walk long distances just to find water. Because of extreme poverty, families struggle to survive, and children are the first to suffer.
For young girls, the situation is even harder. Some face sexual violence or are pushed into prostitution, which can lead to early pregnancy and dropping out of school — cutting off their chances to pursue a career.
This is how, without consistent support and access to learning, girls are excluded from opportunities in technology before they have the chance to develop basic skills. In the rural areas of Madagascar, limited access to electricity, internet and devices further deepens this divide.
Even when families have the means to support digital education, boys are often encouraged more than girls, reflecting persistent beliefs that women do not belong in technical fields. Those who start their careers can still face discrimination, for example when managers give more technical tasks to men, limiting women’s opportunities to learn and grow.
Inclusion into the technology workforce should mean fair working conditions, dignity and protection. But today, a large share of the invisible labour behind AI is carried out in precarious conditions by outsourced, low-paid workers, many of them women from underserved communities. Often, their livelihoods depend on exploitative work in data labelling or content moderation, where they spend hours exposed to distressing content, with serious impacts on their mental health and little to no support in place.
Expanding meaningful digital inclusion requires action across multiple fronts — from tackling poverty and inequality to challenging the stereotypes that keep girls out of decent jobs in technology.
Governments have a critical role to play: strengthening social protection so families can meet basic needs, investing in reliable electricity, making internet access more affordable, and ensuring that schools and community centers have the resources needed to build digital skills. There must be policies in place to protect both children and adults from harmful content and prevent hazardous work.
I want decision-makers, from tech CEOs to politicians, to understand that women succeed in technology when they are given the same opportunities as men. Acting on this means investing in training, mentorship and stronger support for girls in STEM — so we can prepare to strengthen our economies and use AI as a tool for good.
To respond to the challenges of my generation, governments must listen to young people and support the solutions we are already developing — for example through initiatives like the Green IT youth association, where we work to reduce the environmental impact of technology by reusing and repairing devices, while also finding ways to make digital tools more accessible to those who need them most.
Growing up, I always heard I was capable of more than I thought. I had opportunities to discover my strengths and put my ideas to the test. In high school, I entered DHL Madagascar’s entrepreneurship competition to present a project about raising silkworms and transforming silk into fabric, and I won seed funding to make it real. Through SOS Children’s Villages’ cooperation with the non-profit Passerelles Numériques, I completed a pre-university year in IT and digital skills and travelled abroad for the first time. This gave me the confidence to pursue a career in computer science. More young women should have access to similar opportunities, with clearer pathways into education, training and employment.
Representation matters too. When girls see women in leadership roles in ICT, it motivates them and shows them they belong in the field. This gives me hope — seeing more of us achieving great things and supporting each other in a growing community that opens the doors for the next generations.
For girls and women, artificial intelligence creates new opportunities — from accessing education, healthcare and information more easily, to entering rapidly developing fields such as data science, machine learning and AI ethics. We can use this technology to respond to real challenges in our communities. But we cannot ignore the risks it poses to girls and women — not just those in precarious work. One major risk is perpetuating inequality. AI built on data that reflects existing stereotypes can reinforce bias and exclude women — for example, in hiring processes where systems favor men, repeating patterns from the past.
AI should help us, not work against us or replace us. We should develop and use it wisely, so it supports our creativity and work without limiting our potential. Technology can be fair, inclusive and a tool for positive change for girls and women — but only if more of us are meaningfully involved in creating it. The systems shaping our future cannot be built without us.