Brown girls now have a formidable trio that looks like them in the animation world!
The Tibeb Girls is a Powerpuff Girl-inspired Ethiopian adventure series, with a serious heart for
social justice, that’s geared towards teaching adolescents about activism and leadership. The
action-drama radio series takes on the most devastating and pressing issues faced by girls in
the region, like child marriage and HIV infection. With courage and the help of their
superpowers, the Tibeb Girls fight against injustice and the harmful practices that Ethiopian girls
face and learn about problem-solving and solution implementation, empathy, and teamwork
along the way.
Tibeb Girls follows three young girls who use their superpowers to fight against injustice and the
many harmful practices Ethiopian girls routinely face. Using their powers to see the past and
future, Tibeb Girls draws the audience into the typical lives of Ethiopian girls, building empathy
for their hardship and a vision of a brighter future. The series places girls’ issues at the center
and provides examples of girls asserting themselves, problem-solving, and implementing
solutions. By broadcasting a program that will examine harmful practices and explore girls’
agency in addressing those challenges, Tibeb Girls will foster a culture of conversation among
girls, families, and throughout the broader community.
Per the series website: “In a place such as Ethiopia, where social supports are often
inadequate, adolescent girls struggle to find a path into a healthy and secure adult life. Many
adolescent girls struggle with limited access to high-quality education while simultaneously
facing traditional practices such as child marriage and health risks such as high maternal death
rates and HIV infection. According to Girl Up, a campaign of the United Nations foundation, only
38% of girls and young women between the ages of 15-24 in Ethiopia are literate, one in five
girls is married before the age of 15, and girls ages 15-19 are seven times more likely to be HIV
positive than their male peers. Furthermore, 12% of girls between the ages of fifteen and
nineteen are mothers or pregnant with their first child.” (sources: Ethiopian Demographic and
Health Survey, 2011; World Bank data, 2013, 2005; EFA Global Monitoring Report, 2009; UN
data, 2012; UNDP Human Development Report 2013)
Tibeb Girls is produced by Whiz Kids Workshop, which was established in 2005 by a husband-
wife team. With general storylines and characters already established, the team is seeking
support for the initial pilot season of Tibeb Girls, with a with a mission to produce 13 radio and
13 television episodes in the second year and 13 radio and 26 television episodes in the final
year.
This series is a great stepping-stone for a variety of reasons, including media inclusion and
social awareness, of which young boys and girls can benefit from. Check out Whiz Kids
Workshop and support their initiatives!
