From PRX, this is the Moth Radio Hour.

I'm Sarah Austin Janice.

We at The Moth include stories from everyone, but this episode is dedicated to the young women of the world.

It's about girlhood, with five unexpected stories of beauty and brawn.

The Moth's first main stage in Nairobi, Kenya, featured stories of women and girls.

The show was held at the Kenyan National Theater and packed with

people who had braved Nairobi traffic even in the midst of a rainstorm. And that theater is

where we begin this hour. Here's Sasanke Misimung who hosted that inaugural event. Hello and welcome to

the mall.

Before we begin our official program, please stand Margaret Kenyatta, took the stage.

She was dressed in a perfectly tailored deep blue suit, and on her suit jacket were five pink embroidered moths in a semicircle.

Ladies and gentlemen, good evening.

I'm delighted to join you here for the first presentation

of the moth in Kenya. We are here to celebrate an initiative that provides a platform

for girls and women to reach out and share personal stories and personal reflections. We will hear voices

from diverse backgrounds spanning multiple generations. Traditionally, Africans have been known

to be great communicators. We are great word collectors, and that explains why so many of us understand the power of

storytelling in the cultural context.

I cannot think of a better way that allows our girls and women's voices to be amplified by shedding light on many urgent

issues that they face in their daily lives. We will always require examples to emulate,

stories to give us hope, stories full of courage and optimism that will

inspire and encourage us to promote gender equality and women's empowerment.

...