Every day, we are so consumed within our own spheres of life and community. We absorb ourselves in our school work as students and as adults, we absorb ourselves in our work. Life goes on as though there is no problem whatsoever, and we remain blind to the struggles of those not as fortunate as us. 

As students, we all go to school every day without a care for those across the globe who do not receive an education. Those who are forced to stay at home and do the daily chores, those who are ostracized from a formal education all because of their gender. Those millions of girls around the world who have the talent and potential to carve a successful career and make a change in this world; those girls who do not get a chance to prove themselves. And as a girl myself, I feel utter disbelief upon hearing these numbers: 130 million girls. 130 million girls around the world are denied an education. Girls who could have found a cure for cancer, helped resolve world hunger, or worked to end climate change. Girls who could have made a difference. 

Gender is not and should never be a barrier to a person’s natural right to an education. A girl should never feel as though she doesn’t have the same rights and opportunities as a boy and that she can’t grow up to be an independent woman of knowledge. However, there are still millions in the world who are against such thinking in many places around the globe. 

Global issues such as poverty, cultural practices such as child marriage, physical/sexual violence, and poor infrastructure serve as a hindrance to girls across the world, becoming an obstacle between them and their education. According to the non-profit organization CARE, which works to promote girls’ education in underprivileged communities among other social problems, “every 20 seconds, a girl younger than 15 is forced to marry somewhere in the world. Child marriage robs them of their education, health, youth, and future.” 

We cannot allow such barriers to continue to exist in this world. We must make an effort to help ensure that every girl around the world has an equal opportunity to attend school safely and receive an education without any hindrances from cultural practices, poverty, and violence. And by doing so, not only would girls around the world gain the courage to raise their voices and educate themselves, but they would also help solve our ongoing climate change crisis. 

According to Conservation International, studies have shown that “for every additional year of school a girl receives (on average), her country’s climate resilience measurably improves…. Girls who are taught about reproductive health and family planning, for example, have fewer children, which is one of the best ways to slow climate change. Education, meanwhile, enables girls to pursue careers in conservation, science, and economics.” 

When a girl receives the opportunities she truly deserves, not only can she develop a better life for herself, but she can take command of what she wants to do in the future. By encouraging more girls to strive for an education and make a better life for themselves, not only would they be able to prosper as young women in their future careers but they would be able to make informed decisions and in turn, help solve climate change, a problem everybody is facing around the globe.

Below is a link to a TED video on this topic. The speaker, writer and environmentalist Katharine Wilkinson explains the importance of gender equity and the science behind how educating girls could also help to resolve climate change, amongst other concerns. 

Link: https://youtu.be/vXlJEcrinwg

Many activists around the world have begun initiatives to raise awareness about this issue and fight for gender equity. An avid activist for girls’ education and a Nobel Prize laureate, Malala Yousafzai has an initiative known as the Malala Fund that works to ensure girls everywhere have an education. Here’s the link to her website: https://malala.org/

I also firmly believe that: “There is no limit to what we, as women can accomplish.” ~ Michelle Obama

Together, all us girls around the world must rise in solidarity to make a difference for those of us whose rights are being infringed upon. And together, we can empower women to go out in the world and do amazing things.