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Girl Rising - Educate Girls, Change The World @ Women Deliver 2013

By 17:25 ,

The issue to educate and empower girls has been around for the longest time. Up until now nothing much has been done to make this happen. Girls around the world face so many barriers when it comes to education, the main ones being poverty, early and forced marriage, domestic slavery, sex trafficking, gender violence and discrimination, lack of access to healthcare and lack of financial means. Girl Rising is long overdue. It's a wake up call to make a change now because by doing so it gives girls the opportunity for a better life. 



This must have been the 'awesomest' invite I've received so far this year. It was the exclusive screening to the documentary of Girl Rising with Intel Corporation and 10x10 in conjunction with Women Deliver Global Conference 2013 held in KL last week and I got Jean to be my plus one. Attending what could well be a world changing documentary definitely required a partner in crime.





Girl Rising aims at achieving gender equality in education and accelerating economic development. It follows the story of 9 girls from different parts of the world to see what they have to go through to be seen as equals, the fight to be treated fairly and to strive to achieve what we here take for granted, the opportunity for an education. So much has been taken away from them at such a young age but imagine what they can do with proper education. Girl Rising was heartbreaking and yet amazingly inspiring to watch.  These girls fight for the most basic thing they need. They don't take no for an answer and they don't let anything hold them back. It shows that the human spirit is a lot stronger than you give it credit for. I realised there are so many things we take for granted that we forget to just stop and be grateful for the things that we have. The opportunities we have been given especially education wise. It was a real eye opener.


Each girl's story is transformed for the screen by an acclaimed writer from her native country. Directed by Academy Award nominee Richard Robbins, Girl Rising is narrated by Anne Hathaway, Care Blanchett, Selena Gomez, Priyanka Chopra, Chloe Moretz, Frieda Pinto, Salma Hayek, Meryl Streep, Alicia Keys, Kerry Washington with Liam Neeson as the main narrator. Visit GirlRising.com to find out more about the stories of the 9 girls.




16 Facts You Need To Know About Girls Education:


1. Globally, 66 million girls are currently not enrolled in either primary or secondary education (UNESCO, 2012).
2. 80% of all human trafficking victims are girls (UNFPA, 2005).
3. There are 33 million fewer girls than boys in primary school (Global Education First, 2012).
4. 75% AIDS cases in sub-Saharan Africa - the region hardest hit by the disease - are women and girls (UNAIDS, 2010).
5. In a single year, an estimated 150 million girls are victims of sexual violence (UNIFEM).
6. 50% of all sexual assaults in the world are on girls under 15 (UNFPA, 2005).
7. 14 millions girls under 18 will be married this year; 38,000 today, that is 13 girls in the last 30 seconds (UNFPA, 2012).
8.The number one cause of death of girls ages 15-19 is childbirth (WHO).
9.Girls with 8 years of education are 4 times less likely to be married as children (Mensch, Singh, and Casterline, 2005).
10. A child born to a literate mother is 50% more likely to survive past the age of 5 (UNESCO,2011).
11. Educated mothers are more than twice as likely to send their children to school (UNICEF).
12. School is not free in over 50 countries (UNESCO, 2011).
13. A girl on planet earth has a 1 in 4 chance of being born into poverty (The World Bank, 2008).
14. A girl with an extra year of education can earn 20% more as an adult (The World Bank, 2011).
15. If India enrolled 1% more girls in secondary school, their GDP would rise by $5.5 billion (Global Campaign for Education and RESULTS Education Fund).
16. There are 600 million girls in the developing world (The World Bank, 2011).

CNN International will premier ‘Girl Rising’ on CNN (Astro 511) on Saturday, 22 June at 2000 BST / 2100 CET and Sunday, 23 June at0200 BST / 0300 CET and 1400 BST / 1500 CET. You guys can't miss this! Thanks loads Intel Malaysia for the invite!!

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