About Us
I Was Born a Girl was born from a deep desire to bring justice to our sisters around the world.
Designed and founded by Minna Pietarinen and Peppi Stünkel, the initiative raises awareness, stimulates dialogue, and sparks action for gender equality through the gentle yet powerful fusion of art and poetry. It also serves as a source of peer support for those who have faced discrimination or had their rights violated.
Minna Pietarinen
Artist & Poet
Minna was born a girl, as the third oldest in a family of 17 children in a Laestadian household. As a woman, her role model was deeply influenced by motherhood, as dictated by the guidelines of the religion. The guidance in her life was driven by the fear of securing a place in heaven, shaped by a sensitive conscience. At the age of 18, she married, and by the age of 27, she had experienced 9 pregnancies, of which only 5 children survived. In 2012, she left both the Laestadian faith and her marriage.
Throughout her life, Minna has always turned to painting and writing to cope with difficulties. She embarked on her personal journey of self-discovery and healing through the transformative medium of art therapy, eventually becoming a certified art therapy facilitator and a solution-focused coach. Minna's art and poetry, designed to provide peer support, have extended their reach far beyond the borders of Finland, offering solace and resonating with people across the globe.
I was born a girl, founded together with Peppi Stünkel, provided an opportunity to bring the power of peer-support through art exhibitions to communities globally. It also awakened a desire to make human rights visible through art and poetry, so that at least one woman in the world could become aware of them and find support for herself. To help women regain control of their lives, to prioritize their mental well-being and experience a sense of empowerment. In order for them to receive words of peer support for their personal experiences without shame or fear, to know they are not alone, and to feel the awakening of hope.
Minna’s life story can be found in Yle areena 2014: Cinderella stories Tuhkimotarinoita Minna.
Peppi Stünkel
Co-Founder & Curator
Peppi Stünkel, entrepreneur and co-founder of the I Was Born a Girl project, brings a purpose-driven commitment to connection, creativity, and global dialogue. With a background in international collaboration, social action, and cultural exchange, her work connects people, stories, and causes across borders.
With a degree in Communication Design and a corporate background in the international video game industry, she now leads transformative creative workshops for teams through her company, Team Creativity.
The I Was Born a Girl project was born in 2022, when Stünkel and artist Minna Pietarinen decided to create an initiative dedicated to the rights of girls and women. Driven by her passion for connecting people from different cultures and contexts, Stünkel has helped build partnerships with organizations such as the Ministry for Foreign Affairs of Finland, UN Women, and local governments in host countries. She speaks four languages fluently and is committed to inclusive collaboration; she has coordinated the international journey of the project — from Latin America and Africa to the United Nations in Geneva.
In addition to organizing exhibitions and communications internationally, Stünkel created a virtual version of the exhibition to make Pietarinen’s powerful art and poetry accessible in multiple languages and available to people anywhere in the world. She has also designed and produced each edition of the project’s books, helping carry its message even further.
One in a million: Peppi Stünkel lives by her life lessons
The artworks
To explore the artwork in more depth and read the accompanying poems, please click on the image.
