Today is the first annual International Day of the Girl. A perfect day to speak about the brave girl Malala, and her fight for girls' right for education.
In America the word hero is being very much over used, but when I heard that the 14 year old Pakistani girl Malala Yousafzai had been shot by the Taliban for standing up for the Taliban ban for girls going to school, the word that first sprang to my mind was hero.
The Guardian:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/oct/09/taliban-pakistan-shoot-girl-malala-yousafzai?fb=optOut
The New York Times:
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/11/opinion/kristof-her-crime-was-loving-schools.html?hp
I pray that Malala recovers and can continue going to school and her pursuit of equal rights for girls to get an education.
With three daughters of my own, the oldest being a fifth grader who loves to go to school and came home today so proud for acing her tests, I can't even imagine how life would be if girls were not allowed to go to school. Unfortunately, this is the reality in many places in the world. Furthermore, I can't imagine how my life would have turned out, had I not received the education I have. Thanks to my graduate degree (MBA) I have been able to have a sustainable career and provide for my family.
We should not take it for granted that girls around the world have these rights. We need to recognize they don't and support change. Mr. Kristof's article for New York Times names two organizations that build schools in Pakistan and provide education for underprivileged children. We can begin by supporting these organizations and the work they do.
Developments in Literacy: http://dil.org/
The Citizens Foundation: http://tcfusa.org/
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