We make girls’ & women’s rights real
“Once, in a very long while, maybe once in a lifetime, you get to witness a story that shifts the way an entire country or continent sees itself. The process of change is usually daring, certainly time-consuming, invariably costly, occasionally heart-breaking, and eventually an exercise so rewarding that it is the stuff of legends; this is the story of the equality effect.”
– Sally Armstrong, Author and Amnesty International Media award-winner
About Us
The equality effect (e²) was originally founded by friends who met completing their Ph.D.’s in equality law at Osgoode Hall Law School, in Toronto, Canada: Elizabeth Archampong (Ghana), Winnie Kamau (Kenya) and Fiona Sampson (Canada). They were joined by additional “founding sisters-in-law”: John Burke (Ghana), Patricia Nyaundi (Kenya), Ngeyi Kanyongolo (Malawi), Seodi White (Malawi) and Mary Eberts (Canada). These sisters-in-law were committed to advancing women’s and girls’ rights internationally by using human rights law to implement systemic change.
Fiona Sampson assumed the key leadership role to establish and grow e² as an NGO, with the founding sisters playing a critical supporting role. The Equality Effect’s inaugural rape rescue partner was Ripples International, based in Meru, Kenya. Mercy Chidi, the Ripples’ E.D., invited e² to create a legal solution to the challenge of impunity for child rape, leading to the creation of the 160 Girls project.
“If there won’t be dancing at the revolution, I’m not coming.”
Emma Goldman, Feminist Activist
The Power of Dance – Harnessing Grace, Strength and Unity
Tragically, one of e²’s original founding sisters, Dr. Ngeyi Kanyongolo, Malawian lawyer, Dean of the Faculty of Law, University of Malawi, and Vice-Chancellor of the Catholic University of Malawi, died at the age of 55 in 2024 after a short illness. Ngeyi is featured in the above video, wearing white, and bringing to life her commitment to never pass up a chance to dance! Ngeyi was a dedicated feminist, equality advocate, and mentor to many. In honor of Ngeyi’s human rights passion and leadership, e² has created an award in her honor. The Ngeyi Kanyongolo 160 Girls Virtual Justice Club Award is awarded annually to the VJC leaders who best embody the spirit of fearless and compassionate equality rights leadership.
