Kate's Point of View

Today is the day of every woman, every boy and every girl who has raised their voice for their rights. Let us pick up our books and our pens; they are our most powerful weapons. One child, one teacher, one book and one pen can change the world.
– Malala Yousafzai

He Named Me Malala is a new film about Malala Yousafzai, created in partnership between the National Geographic Channel and 21st Century Fox. The first global broadcast of He Named Me Malala will be on Monday, February 29th at 8 pm EST/7 pm CST. In an effort to raise awareness for girls’ education, the National Geographic Channel and 21st Century Fox will donate $1 to the Malala Fund, up to $50,000, for every person who changes their Facebook avatar using a custom-designed animation or who updates their Twitter avatar and tweets using the hashtag #withMalala. This is an easy way for people to take action! And action needs to be taken.

The State of Women and Education

• “The World Bank’s 2012 World Development Report on Gender Equality and Development drew attention to the fact that there are still 31 million girls out of school, nearly 4 million “missing” women annually (meaning the number of women in low- and middle-income countries who die relative to their counterparts in high-income countries) and, average wage gaps of 20 percent, along with gaps in labor force participation. The systematic exclusion of girls and women from school and the labor force translates into a less educated workforce, inefficient allocation of labor, lost productivity, and consequently diminished progress in economic development.” – The World Bank
• “Education of women in developing countries directly contributes to the growth of national income by improving the productive capacities of the labor force. A recent study of 19 developing countries found that national long-term economic growth increases by 3.7 percent for every year adult population of average level schooling rises.” – eGirl Power
• “Girls are almost 3 times more likely to not go to school than boys. Every year of schooling increases a girl’s earning power up to 25%. Girls are 6 times less likely to become child brides when they stay in school.” – Save the Children

The story of Malala, and how she has spoken up for equal access to education for everyone, is a powerful reminder that education is a privilege to which not everyone has access. He Named Me Malala is not quite perfect – too much focus on the “He” of the title, in my opinion – but the message is spot on. Education is power and until we make sure everyone has access to education, we are denying people power.

Watch the Trailer for He Named Me Malala

This is a sponsored post on behalf of Review Wire Media for 20th Century Fox. I received information to facilitate my review as well as a promotional item to thank me for my participation.

I like habit. I like living with the known. But life doesn’t go ahead at a steady pace. It’s what keeps things interesting. And, sometimes, what makes things difficult. I’ve developed a morning ritual that ensure a calm, slow start to each day. This was developed during my post-surgery bed rest when life was anything but normal. Adding in rituals gave me some sense of normalcy.

My days start like this…

I use my phone as my alarm clock. I have three alarms set, which provides emergency back-up and back-up back-up incase I oversleep. If I haven’t showered the night before, I hope in the shower and then get myself a cup of coffee cut with a good bit of frothed milk and a little bit of sugar. Then I head upstairs and watch one episode of whatever television series through which I’m working my way. (Typically, foreign police dramas.) At the episodes end, I quickly get ready. Sometimes that  means packing lunches and blow drying hair or flat ironing my hair. Other days I just put on some clothes  and go.

There’s not much to it. That one television episode means that for 22-42 minutes (occasionally 56 for the foreign dramas), I have quiet time with nothing on my agenda. I’m entertained and happy and can start my day feeling calm. If the day is a good one, the quiet morning time is a bonus. If it’s a hard day, at least I had that moment of quiet.

How about you? Have you added any ritual into your day? What are they and what purpose do they serve?

Oh! And in case you’re interested in some import crime shows, I recommend Poirot, Murdoch Mysteries, The Code, Broadchurch, The Bletchley Circle and Miss Fisher’s Murder Mysteries.

Inspiration for this post.