Marie Claire celebrates the female body – in all its shapes and sizes – and has partnered with their beautiful November cover stars to encourage young girls and women to do the same.  Penned by Lebo Mashile, their Body Bill of Rights manifesto forms part of a campaign to spread the message that each of us has the power to take back our body image.  But also reminds us that we have the responsibility to respect one another

“We are fast becoming a society that is ever more obsessed with the surface of things.  Our self-worth seems to be ever more painfully caught up with our body image and its so-called perfectibility.  It is a dangerous idea, and it’s about time we root it out”, says Aspasia Karras, editor of Marie Claire. “We need to take a stand and love our brains and our bodies in equal measure – healthy mind, healthy body.”

Some of our favourite celebrities taking part in the campaign and sharing advice to their younger selves and other young women are:

Bridgitte Hartley – Olympic Medallist & Rower
Poppy Ntshongwana – Radio Personality
Karlien van Jaarsveld – Singer & Performer
Tamara Dey – Musician
Pabi Moloi – Radio & TV personality

Marie Claire are also inviting schools to send through their plans to encourage learners to honour their bodies and cultivate a healthy body image.  In turn the Marie Claire team will pay schools and learners a visit, to talk through the importance of understanding and singing the Body Bill of Rights.

The November issue of Marie Claire is on sale from Monday, 15 October.

Visit the Marie Claire website to sign their Body Bill of Rights.

What a cool initiative!