Here I am reading a personal story during our feminism class assembly on International Day of the Girl (photo credit: Lexie Clinton).
Did you know that 66 million girls are out of school globally? Did you know that the number one cause of death for girls aged 15-19 is childbirth? Did you know that educated mothers are more than twice as likely to send their children to school? Did you know that there are 33 million girls fewer girls than boys in primary schools?
Well, if you didn’t know all of that, now you do. How do you feel?
Friday October 11, 2013 marked the second International Day of the Girl recognizing and advocating for the rights of girls, and the challenges we face.
In celebration of the International Day of the Girl, my high school feminism class led by Feminist Teacher, Ileana Jiménez, had an assembly sharing our own personal stories of race, class, and gender; we also raised awareness of girls and women all over the world. Our stories were about how we live along the intersections; intersectionality is the union of all the forces of oppression and the way in which they impact our lives.In addition to our own personal stories, we also dedicated our assembly to Malala Yousafzai. On October 9, 2012, Malala Yousafzai was shot on the left side of her face by the Taliban in Pakistan. The reason why she was shot was because of her activism on behalf of education for girls and women.
In Malala’s interview here on The Daily Show with Jon Stewart she says, “Why don’t I raise my voice? Why don’t we speak up for our rights?” This was so empowering because we’re both the same age and if she can talk to the whole world about her story with the Taliban still threatening her then why couldn’t I?
Then I got on stage, and the first thing I thought was, Oh crap. I didn’t even want to read out loud to the class and now I was going to read out loud to my school? This was my story; it was something I didn’t want to share with anyone because I felt like I would’ve been giving a part of myself away.
However, I started reading and a small voice in the back of my head said, You are not alone. I kept reading but I felt everyone’s eyes looking at me on my right and I glimpsed at the eyes looking at me on my left. You are not alone. I looked into the audience and saw that even though some were bored, they were still listening.
Then I thought about all of the girls over the world who are putting themselves out there because they want to make a difference and I kept thinking, You are not alone. I looked up at the projected image and I saw the quote by Audre Lorde, “the transformation of silence into language and action is an act of self-revelation” and I knew right then and there that I was not alone.
I was with girls all across the world standing up.
Here I am with my feminist classmates at the UN for International Day of the Girl. I am on the far left (photo credit: Ileana Jiménez).
On Friday October 11, 2013, my feminism class went to the UN to the Girls Speak Out event in which girls from all over the world were sharing their experiences and their work.
Girls from the ages of 13-17 from Mozambique, Algeria, Guatemala, Burkina Faso, and the U.S. were speaking about their stories and their call to action. It was so incredible to me because this was the first time that I was seeing girls in this large of a number who wanted to come together and make a difference.
There was such a profound sense of spirit, joy, and action; I’ve never felt anything like that before. I felt such a surge of happiness and hope knowing that the people in the room actually wanted to make a difference.
Malika, a 14 year old girl from Burkina Faso, West Africa realized that a major reason for girls not continuing their education is because the school’s distance from home was too much. Her friend had to walk 2-3 hours a day just to get to school, and then 2-3 hours a day to get back. As a result, Malika raised funds to provide 60 bikes to 60 girls so they could continue their education. She was the first girl to speak, and I was already inspired. I began to think of what I could do.
As many speakers were talking, I felt hopeful, but most of all, I felt lucky. I thought about all of the girls around the world who cannot go to school because of reasons such as needing to take care of family members, long distance commutes, or not having sanitary bathrooms. As explained in the Girl Effect video , not having an education leads to girls being forced off into marriage by the age of 12, getting pregnant by 15 or perhaps even having to sell her body to survive.
Then I think to myself, What kind of a world do we live in? Why does this need to happen? Why are people so afraid of sending a girl to school? If a girl is sent to school, if she is educated, then she will succeed; she will break free from the shackles that hold her down and she will rise and this is exactly what needs to happen. We need to help girls around the world break free from the oppressions of society and rise, and if it’s scary to go against the trend of ignoring everything, there’s no need to worry.
Because . . .
YOU. ARE. NOT. ALONE.
