International Women’s Day: #OneDayWeWill…
Today is International Women’s Day — a moment every year to mark the achievement of girls and women. But today is also a time to shine a light on inequality girls face every day.
Despite huge strides in the fight for women’s rights since Women’s Day was first celebrated in the early 20th century, discrimination against girls and women persists in nearly every society, from the pay gap to early marriage.
One day we will make gender equality a reality — and education is the key. Malala and 17 year-old Syrian refugee Muzoon Almellehan took part in Google Doodle’s International Women’s Day project, joining girls and women around the world in sharing their hopes for the future.
Malala and Muzoon, who have both faced incredible obstacles in accessing education, close the video with this hopeful, defiant message: “One day we will see every girl in school.”
Women and girls around the world will not wait another century to see that day. At Malala Fund, we are addressing the barriers preventing women and girls from being truly equal — and urging our leaders to act now.
More than more than 60 million girls are out of school around the world today. Recent UNESCO data shows twice as many girls as boys will never start school.
Adolescent girls living in countries at war, like Syria, are nearly 90% more likely to be out of secondary school than girls in peaceful nations.
And getting to school is only the beginning. Many schools around the world lack adequate bathrooms for girls and few employ female teachers who serve as role models or address learning inequalities.
Last year, in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals, countries around the world promised 12 years of education for all children — girl or boy, poor or rich, those living in peace and those in countries affected by conflict.
And with that promise comes a commitment to prove it — to measure their results on gender equality in education. Malala Fund is working to make sure governments keep this promise — and count girls who complete 12 full years of free education. Otherwise, we may never know how many millions of girls are still missing out.
On this Women’s Day, we are again asking governments, donors and the humanitarian community to do more to ensure girls everywhere complete 12 years of education.
You can help the Malala Fund to make equality in education a priority. Join us today by sharing the #OneDayIWill video and adding your dreams for a world where gender inequality is a thing of the past.
