Girls Rising Inspire Hope

“One girl with courage is a revolution,” beautifully sums up the message of the film Girl Rising (2013).  This film which started out as a project on world poverty by a group of journalists became a powerful collection of the stories of girls from developing countries who have overcome great obstacles in order to attend school and change their lives.  Nine girls were paired with writers from their own countries to tell their stories which are creatively portrayed by the girls themselves and narrated by actors such as Anne Hathaway, Salma Hayek and Meryl Streep. 

Actor Liam Neeson interjects the facts on educating girls based on 2011 data.  He tells us that “in spite of the fact that educating girls gives one of the best returns for investment, 66 million girls are not in school.”  “Girls are expected to work, fetch water, care for younger children and get jobs.”

The number one cause of death for girls 15 to 19 is child birth. But girls with 9 years of education are four times less likely to be married as children and putting every child in school could prevent 700,000 cases of HIV each year.  In addition, a child born to a literate mother is 50% more likely to survive past age 5 and educated mothers are twice as likely to send their children to school.  Neeson summarizes, “educating girls can break the cycle of poverty in just one generation.” It can create a “safer, healthier and more prosperous world for all.”

The girls the filmmakers met believed they were revolutionaries and they wanted to change the world. “Educated girls are a powerful force for change.  And this kind of change, it happens fast.”  You can learn how to a part of this change by visiting the Girl Rising website.

“One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world,” says Malala Yousafzai.  Born in Pakistan in 1997 and allowed to go to school by her father who was himself an educator, she became famous when the Taliban shot her in 2012 for standing up for this right.  She survived and now lives in England with her family. She has become a global advocate for the education of girls. In 2014 she won the Nobel Peace Prize for her work and donated the $1.1 million prize to build a secondary school for girls in Pakistan.  She spent her 18^th birthday at a school she has created in Lebanon for Syrian girls who live in refugee camps.  Her life story so far is told in the book My Name is Malala and in the film He Name Me Malala .

    

Malala and her father Ziauddin Yousafzai started the Malala Fund  to “raise girls’ voices and ensure every girl has access to 12 years of free, safe, quality primary and secondary education.”  You can join this courageous young woman by signing on-line petitions which she delivers to groups such as the United Nations, by sending letters of support to some of the girls and by donating funds.

A friend recently told me about a documentary she saw at the Hot Docs Festival in Toronto called What Tomorrow Brings  about 68 year old Razia Jan who founded a girl’s school, the Zabuli Education Centre in 2009 in a part of Afghanistan where girls have never been allowed to go to school before. “I have so much hope for these children,” she says.  

The compelling film tells the interconnected stories of girls, teachers and the community and shares the changes that education offer these girls as well as the threats that they face. You can watch a ten minute film on Razia and the Zabuli Education Centre on youtube.

Razia Jan and students of the Zabuku Education Centre

                               

Razia Jan was born in Afghanistan and came to the United States in 1970.  She has a long history of community work. Her foundation has a website Razia's Ray of Hope where you can go to learn more about this inspiring woman and to support her work.  The website offers a kids book on this story as well.

All three of these films use storytelling as drivers of change.  When you see these girls speak of their lives, their hopes and their determination to create new pathways you will be amazed at their courage and strength. They inspire hope.  I, like Razia have so much hope for these girls and in turn, they give me hope for change.  It becomes clear that changing their lives can change the world. 

The technology that we have, allows us to hear their voices, see their faces and feel the passion that they have for life.  That same technology allows us to reach out to them and make their dreams possible.  They say that it takes a village to raise a child.  What could a global village be capable of I wonder? What is this new story that we are creating?