Courtesy UNICEF @ UTD I just watched Girl Rising, a film dedicated to spreading the word about the education of girls all over the world. And it was touching. Touching to see how many girls around the world do not get a chance to get an education and get ahead in life.
Of course what keeps them from school is even a greater injustice. Poverty, cultural sentiments, child labor, early marriages.... Yes it's not new. We hear it all the time. We know these things happen. And just like all other ills in the society, if it doesn't knock on our doors we can pretty much go on with our lives. Right?
But seeing those girls, real girls with real stories of how the very world that should uphold and protect them strips them of innocence and dignity- it really made me see how much we take for granted. If you're reading this and you went to school, have a family who loves you and want to see you succeed, didn't get married off to some stranger just because your family needed the dowry money... you're blessed, so privileged..and in a position to help a girl.
See the film if you can, it will surely make you see the world in a different light and thank God for the little things. It tells the story of nine girls, their obstacles, their struggles and how they found the strength to keep going, to keep fighting, despite the odds against them. Here's the trailer.
Earlier today I also watched Aamir Khan's TV show about Female Infanticide in India and I...I can't explain how I felt. To think that these things still happen, people killing baby girls because they want boys, deem them more profitable or whatever? Sad. I hear of these things even in Nigeria and I wonder what kind of people think like this, let alone commit such atrocities. Na wa o!
Here's the TV show on Female infanticide.
I feel like I can make a difference. Like we all can. In our own little way.
Roy
