The road to education is still not around for everyone. During First Lady Michelle Obama's live broadcast in Glamour's "A Brighter Future: A Global Conversation on Girls' Education," girls from around the world express their concerns regarding the goal towards giving everyone the right to education.
Partnering with Glamour Magazine's Editor in Chief, Cindi Leive, Michelle Obama faces two Liberian girls who were in Washington, DC as part of the "Let Girls Learn." "Let Girls Learn" is a United States Government initiative that is dedicated to giving girls the opportunity to education. Their trip to Washington is a follow up to Michelle's last visit to Liberia and Morocco this June 2016.
When the girls attended a luncheon at the Liberian Embassy in Washington, the girls talked about their personal challenges, cites VOA News. The girls explain that some of their friends' education has been affected by the Sande women's secret society. It is a society that focuses on female circumcision or rather female genital mutilation. According to Shalita Jill from the Frank Emmanuel Tolbert high school in Monrovia, the Sande issue is huge in where she comes from. After being mutilated, the girls lose the opportunity to learn for a year.
This is a traditional practice that prepares them for marriage. Activists from all over the world are rallying against this practice. Recently, actress Emma Watson challenged Africa to end early childhood marriages.
Another hurdle to their path to education is the loss of family. Some girls suffer the loss of parents from the recent Ebola crisis. Jill adds that because they are not financially capable without parental care, they are unable to go to school.
According to the U.S. Embassy in Liberia, investing in adolescent girls through education benefits will benefit everybody in the entire community and economy. "When girls remain in school, they are more likely to marry later, have fewer and healthier children, and earn an income that they will invest back into their families and communities," according to a statement from the embassy.
