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.
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