Dear Friend,
I'll never forget my visit to the Mirpur slum in Bangladesh this year.
There, I met a group of girls, some just 5 years old, who had never spent a single day in school because they were forced to work as child laborers.
More than anything, these girls wish to be free – free from exploitation, chaos and violence. Until that day, these girls are fighting for every opportunity and every resource they need to build a brighter future.
So many of the girls I met in Bangladesh were like the young girls I met in Mirpur – facing the most heartbreaking odds with dignity, resilience and strength.
Women and girls suffer disproportionately in urban slums. Many go to bed hungry night after night. They become stricken with measles due to the lack of access to basic immunizations. They face beatings and other gender-based violence that gets overlooked. Many are forced into child marriages and experience early pregnancies that cause life-threatening injuries.
Despite these harrowing circumstances, so many young girls continue to fight. Today on International Day of the Girl, I'm thinking about all those amazing young fighters I met. Determined and empowered women and girls have always been at the center of progress in our world – and they're leading the charge against eradicating the conflict, hunger and poverty that still plagues us today.
But they can't do it alone: Add your name now, and join me in pledging to keep fighting on this International Day of the Girl.
Poverty – in all of its pernicious forms – is a threat to girls everywhere, whether in my hometown of Washington D.C., or in an urban slum in Bangladesh. We know that women and girls are often the hardest hit by poverty and inequality. It can keep a good education or economic independence out of reach. It can create inequality and deny empowerment. Too often, it can lead to violence.
We cannot teach our girls to be ashamed, or afraid, or to make their dreams smaller in order to fit into the world. We must teach our girls that they deserve the same fundamental rights to freedom, autonomy and equality. They deserve a world as big and expansive as their dreams.
Because when girls can rise... when they can overcome obstacles... they can write their own story. And they can make lasting impacts in their communities. With 1 billion girls living around the world right now, they have the power to shape history.
We need their dreams. And more than ever, we need their leadership.
For every girl in your life, will you add your name now?
Sincerely,
Gayatri Patel
Senior Policy Advocate, CARE
|
|
