Real-life and fictional role models as a resource for rights education for and about girls

Mae Jemison, Little People Big Dreams by Maria Isabel Sánchez Vegara and Janna Morton, tells the story of the first African American woman astronaut. In the novel Johnny Mad Dog by Emmanuel Dongala,16-year-old schoolgirl Laokolé is inspired by Mae’s story as she struggles to survive conflict in an unnamed African country. This article takes an interdisciplinary approach to analyse how narratives of real and fictional female role models are deployed in both texts and offer material for human rights and global citizenship education. As a form of utopian ideation, role model narratives can inspire transformative agency, but also raise questions around the relationship between individual striving and societal change, and the value of ‘representation’. Applying critical literacy methodology, this article explores how these stories shed light both on the significance of female role models as an educational resource and on connections and tensions between human rights and global citizenship values.