Day of the Girl

Today has been designated International Day of the Girl to bring awareness to the inequality in education opportunities offered to girls around the world. From Because I Am A Girl:

Globally, one in three girls around the world is denied an education by the daily realities of poverty, discrimination and violence. Every day, young girls are missing out on an education, forced into marriage and subjected to violence.

That equates to some 75 million girls out of education globally.

Not only is this unjust. It’s also a huge waste of potential with serious global consequences.

Supporting girls’ education is one of the single best investments we can make to help end poverty.

A girl who has completed her education is …

…less likely to experience violence or marry and have children while she is still a child herself.

…more likely to be literate, healthy and survive into adulthood, as are her children.

…more likely to reinvest her income back into her family, community and country.

…more likely to understand her rights and be a force for change.

The power of this is astonishing. It saves lives and transforms futures, releasing the real potential of girls and their communities.

Recently, the Taliban attempted to assassinate Malala Yousafzai, a 14 year old girl in Pakistan, simply because she “dreamt of a country where education would prevail”. An education is a basic human right that to which everyone should have access, regardless of gender, race, or economic background. Raise Your Hand to show your support for her and the thousands and thousands of girls like her around the world that are denied an education every day.