Bohale Mphahlele is 16 years old and lives in South Africa, one of the countries with the highest levels of gender-based violence in the world.
Rather than resigning herself to that statistic, she designed an earring that, at first glance, looks like any other. Inside, it hides a tiny camera, GPS, and an emergency button: when activated, it photographs the attacker, sends the exact location in real time, and alerts trusted contacts or emergency services, all without the attacker noticing.
Her project, called “Alerting Earpiece”, has already won a bronze medal at the Eskom Expo, one of South Africa’s most important youth science fairs. It is still under development, but Bohale’s goal is clear: for anyone to be able to use it, and for that small accessory to become the difference between danger and safety.