Weekly Address: Let Girls Learn (International Women’s Day )
Source: White House
In this week’s address, the President discussed an issue close to his heart: education for adolescent girls around the world. Earlier this week, he and the First Lady announced “Let Girls Learn,” a whole of government initiative that will build on investments we have made and successes we have achieved in global primary school education, and expand them to help adolescent girls complete their education and pursue their broader aspirations.
62 million girls around the world -- half of whom are adolescent -- are not in school and therefore have diminished economic opportunities. Yet when a girl receives a quality education, she is more likely to earn a decent living, raise a healthy, educated family, and improve the quality of life for herself, her family, and her community. That’s why the President and First Lady have made addressing this problem a priority because every girl has so much to offer to the world, and no girl should be denied her chance to learn.
Read more: http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2015/03/07/weekly-address-let-girls-learn
http://www.whitehouse.gov/the-press-office/2015/03/06/weekly-address-let-girls-learn
Sunday is International Women’s Day -- a day to celebrate remarkable women and girls worldwide, and to re-dedicate ourselves to defending the fundamental rights and dignity of all people.
That’s why, this week, Michelle and I launched a new initiative on a topic that’s close to both our hearts: girls’ education.
It’s called “Let Girls Learn.” And its goal is to help more girls around the world go to school and stay in school. Right now, 62 million girls who should be in school, are not. And that’s not an accident. It’s the direct result of barriers, large and small, that stand in the way of girls who want to learn.
Maybe their families can’t afford the school fees. Maybe the risk of being hurt or kidnapped or even killed by men who will do anything to stop girls from learning is just too great. Or maybe they aren’t in school because they’re expected to get married and become mothers while they’re still teenagers -- or even earlier. In too many parts of the world, girls are still valued more for their bodies than for their minds. That’s just plain wrong. And we all have to do more to stop it.
That’s the idea behind “Let Girls Learn.” We’re making it clear to any country that’s our partner -- or that wants to be our partner -- that they need to get serious about increasing the number of girls in school. Our diplomats and development experts are already hard at work. Our Peace Corps volunteers will play a big role, too. And we’re putting our partnerships with NGOs, businesses and foundations to work on behalf of girls everywhere.
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Listened this morning and then headed off to the Philadelphia Flower Show (a welcome site after the 9" snow that we got where I live just a couple days ago).
Didn't realize that tomorrow was International Women's Day. I know that he and the family were supposed to be in Selma today so I expect he had to decide which topic to talk address.
