Mexican writer Fernanda Gonzalez is just 11, but she lectures at schools and universities, has addressed lawmakers and has been nominated for an international award, thanks to a book she wrote with a message of equality between men and women.
The native of Guadalajara, the capital of the western state of Jalisco, said in an interview with EFE that her goal was to tell boys and girls that "all people have the same rights."
"If I have a message for children my age, it's that when we all grow up and become adults, we will have the chance to live in equality, and the quality of our social lives will be better than it is now," Fernanda said.
When she was 8, Fernanda wrote "¿Azul o rosa?" (Blue or Pink), a book that was published by the Mexican congressional Center for Studies on the Advancement of Women and Gender Equality two years later, leading her to talk to children in urban, rural and Indian communities, as well as at several universities.
The book emerged from a school project that addressed a subject "that is quite common all over the world," Fernanda said.
"What I want to tell people is that they should go for their goals, ignoring stereotypes," she said. "It is simple: We are not as happy as we should be because of gender inequality."
Fer, as her family calls her, is articulate, emphasizes her statements with gestures and raises her eyebrows when she talks about situations she finds puzzling, like people mocking girls who want to play soccer or when "people are labeled" because of their appearance or what they think.
"Many people tell me I am too young to be talking about this, but I decided to take it seriously and do research to tell children they can start change in their families," Fernanda said.
Since she was a toddler, Fernanda was outstanding, learning to read almost without help by the time she was 3, and her passion for reading, writing and wanting to learn has been constant, her mother, Rocio Viramontes, said.
The girl has already worked with a children's newspaper in Mexico City called El Tentero.
"She has been always very sharp and analytic," her father, Gilberto Gonzalez, said.
Fernanda and her family went through a traumatic experience when a gang abducted them and stole all their belongings. For a while, fear forced them to leave the city and hide.
The family does not say much about the incident.
"I do not want to see myself as a victim," Fernanda said.
The family acknowledges that the crime opened the girl's eyes to violence "she didn't imagine existed" and moved her to promote her book and talk more about what happens around her.