"Being ashamed of our bodies is a waste of time" - Lala Love, Wardrobe Stylist, Self-Love Influencer and Model

Lala Love is a wardrobe stylist, self-love influencer and model. In 2019, she appeared on Channel 4’s Naked Beach, a first of its kind series that encourages people to love themselves despite their insecurities or ‘flaws’ - she’s a powerful, positive and pink loving naked lady, and we’re here for her!

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"I ran away from home at 16 because I didn't want to marry a stranger" - Jasvinder Sanghera CBE, Author and Activist

Jasvinder Sanghera, CBE is a campaigner for those experiencing forced marriages and honour-based abuse. As a teenager, she refused a forced marriage and ran away from home. In later life, she founded the first UK helpline to support victims and successfully campaigned for forced marriage to become a criminal offence. Hers is the ultimate story of rising from shame into glory.

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"I'm finally living in the face of adversity, and it feels sweet." - Octo Octa, DJ and Producer

Octo Octa is a DJ, producer, label owner and BBC Radio 1 resident based in New Hampshire. In one of our favourite contributions to date, she speaks to us about the healing power of music, love, performing and kissing under the light of the moon.

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"Your circumstances don't mean you can't be extraordinary" - Kadeena Cox, Paralympic Champion

Kadeena Cox is a UK based Paralympic champion who has achieved gold medals at the 2016 Paralympic Games in Rio, the 2015 World Championships in Doha and the 2016 Track World Championships in Montichiari. We spoke to her about mental and physical strength and resilience, and the highs and lows of training and recovery. A real-life superhero.

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The Amazon is Burning: Who to Lobby, What to Say and Why.

The Amazon is burning, and the consequences for our planet are dire. But people power is a force! By applying pressure to our elected MP's, we can persuade them to prioritise this issue. Here are the email addresses and example email templates you need to lobby UK and Brazilian politicians to ACT NOW to save the Amazon.

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"We are all worthy" - Ibi Meier-Oruitemeka, The Afro Hair and Skin Co.

Ibi Meier-Ourituemeka is a natural beauty and wellness expert, creative entrepreneur and founder and creative director of The Afro Hair & Skin Co. For Issue 1 of Ash Magazine, we spoke to her about ‘otherness’ in mainstream beauty spaces and the importance of catering to the specific needs of black women.

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Book review: Feminists Don’t Wear Pink… and other lies

Feminists Don’t Wear Pink is Scarlett Curtis’ brilliant, intersectional collection of feminist essays. Packed full of truths, Scar says she made this book for her fifteen-year-old self. We think it’s an essential part of an ever deepening, ever evolving understanding of feminism. Here’s a review from our Editor, Charlotte Ruth.

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#MyMorningAfter: banishing the shame around the morning after pill

Via their #MyMorningAfter campaign, EllaOne want to end the stigma, shame and embarrassment that still lingers around emergency contraception. Their inclusive and respectful campaign ignites a conversation that challenges outdated attitudes at a time when women’s reproductive rights are still second-guessed and sometimes openly attacked all around the world. Sophia Moss talks us through the campaign.

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Yay, it’s Equal Pay Day 2018.

Friday November 10, is Equal Pay Day 2018, the day in the year when women effectively start to work for free. Think that sounds sucky? Well, it is. As the Fawcett Society, together with employment law charity YESS Law and former BBC China Editor Carrie Grace, announce the launch of a new Equal Pay Advice Service, we run through everything you need to know.

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Demystifying investment with Lisa Boden: "Women need to be empowered and encouraged to put themselves forward."

Investor Lisa Boden explains that the 100 or so she receives every year are almost always from men. Men who want investment to launch a new festival; men who want investment for an impossible app; and men who want investment for the next sure to be Oscar-winning feature film. With only 9% of funding into start-ups in the UK going to women-run businesses, it's about time we demystified investment.

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Mad Men(struation): The problem with period product advertising… and why you (most likely) don’t know what’s in your tampon

Things are on the move, and the U.K. is finally undergoing puberty when it comes to periods. People are talking about menstruation at a frequency and in volumes never before seen, calling for some serious taboo busting action. It’s about time. However, with every big shift in attitudes, especially when it comes to women’s health, there’s a real danger that, simply because things are moving in the right direction, we forget there’s still a long, long, way to go.

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"Fight the fear if you believe in your art": Phoebe Montague, 100 Women I Know

If we’re talking about positive role models (check our recent hashtag campaign), it’s difficult to think of a better example than Phoebe Montague of 100 Women I Know. Phoebe kindly talked us though the making of her award-winning short film, about better understanding consent, art as therapy and the importance of just putting yourself out there and getting shit done. Essential reading!

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Throw away the rule book: solo travelling

It’s unfortunate that we are still living in a time where we immediately think ‘danger’ when we think of a woman solo travelling. You’re going somewhere alone – a restaurant, the cinema, a bar? Madness! Are we programmed to think that holidays should be taken with someone else?

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Rosie Leggett