The fighter for the equal future.
I use this space to share my thoughts with you — to tell you about the 130 million girls out of school worldwide, and about the incredible global environmental benefits that come from educating girls, and I’m so grateful to have the opportunity to be here, speaking with you in this way.
Today, though, I’m not the one who’ll be speaking.
Today is International Day of the Girl, and for our Day of the Girl celebrations this year, we put a challenge before our students: This year's IDG theme is "My voice, our equal future." Today, young people worldwide are connecting across time zones and cultures. What do you want to tell the world about Afghan girls? What changes are you seeing because of the work that you, or other young people, are doing?
We asked our girls to respond with essays and with art. I knew they'd create beautiful things.
I just didn't know how beautiful.
In the 6 images below, you'll see girls moving from darkness into a colorful future. You'll see the face of a young woman in a fruitful tree. You'll see a girl who, in the words of the artist, is surrounded by "squares that show the strength of her mind, and a galaxy that is the huge level of her thought"...and you'll see the artist, too.
You'll see all this, and you'll read the words our students wrote. I hope it makes you feel the way I do.
Click on any image to enlarge.
Happy Girls’ Day.
