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imagine a girl
any girl
your daughter
your granddaughter
your niece
now imagine she is nothing more than a burden to her family
so she is taken out of school
and married to a much older man
he abuse her. he rapes her. he gives her ***/AIDS.
within the year, she is pregnant
she has no education and no job
so she can't afford to send her daughter to school.
without an education, her daughter is nothing more than a burden for her family
the cycle begins again
this is not just in your imagination. this is happening today.
in fact, this is happening 25,000 times today, and tommorrow, and every day after that.
one in seven girls in the developing world marries before she is 15.
this is what 15 looks like
girls who are married early are forced into pregnancy and motherhood...
...before they are able to be just children themselves.
child marriages are a human rights violation (according to the United Nations)
read: child marriages are wrong.
female genital mutilation
is wrong
the ***, abuse, and suppression of girls is wrong.
girls in the developing world are often overlooked, underfed, and undereducated.
here are the facts:
there are 600 million girls in the developing world.
about one-fourth of these girls are not in school.
in fact, 70% of the world's out-of-school children are girls.
of every international aid dollar spent, only 2 cents goes to girls.
women make 10% of the world's income and own only 1% of property
even though they perform 66% of the world's labor.
there is good news, though.
if she can stay in school, fight custom and tradition, and refuse to be married to a strange and older man
if she can pursue an education and get a job
she would not change only her own fate
she would change the fate of her community
perhaps her entire nation.
because all of her daughters
and all of her daughters' daughters
would have the opportunity to be educated as well
in other words, it all comes down to the education of women
no--the education of girls
girls who stay in school marry later, have fewer and healthier children, and make more money.
and they are better able to avoid
obstetric fistulas
widow self-immolation
***/AIDS
female genital mutilation
so...
invest in the future
make a change
save a life
it only takes a girl.
soundtrack: optimist by zoë keating