I can read, I can write.
Amnesty International records show that women make up a fat 66 percent of the world’s illiterate adults, and in more than 20 developing nations, illiteracy rates amongst women exceed 70 percent.
In most developing countries, public school is not free, and girls are more likely to be excluded from school than boys when there isn’t enough money.
It is social traditions and deep-rooted religious and cultural beliefs that most often form the barriers to expanding girls educational opportunities in these underdeveloped areas.
Fun fact: There are six million more women in the world than men.
Why?
According to www.dosomething.org, gender-based violence kills one in three women across the world and is the biggest basis of injury and death to women worldwide, causing more deaths and disability among women aged 15 to 44 than cancer, malaria, traffic accidents and war.
It is educated girls and women who are less vulnerable to HIV infection, human trafficking and other forms of exploitation, and are more likely to marry later, raise fewer children who are more likely to go to school, and make important contributions to family income.
Education, protects. Education, raises awareness. Education, teaches us right from wrong.
It was in fifth grade that I first learned of the saying, “knowledge is power,” while taking a course about drug prevention. In fifth grade, I was 10 years old. I had a Barbie lunch box I was very proud of, two loving parents, and spent my days complaining about the “annoying” homework I had to do each night.
But what if there was no homework? What if, memorizing my times tables and the placement of the fifty states took a rest for a while, and I was left with ample time to leisurely enjoy a marathon of Boy Meets World instead? That, surely, would have been a dream come true.
On Oct. 9 2012, a 14-year-old girl was shot in the head and neck while fighting for the right to do this so-called “annoying” homework in her home country of Pakistan.
The young Malala Yousafzai is a teenager who hopes to be a doctor some day, though some argue after recent events that figure should change to be a politician. In following her dreams, she spoke for the right of children and girls to get a quality education. She campaigned for that right in a part of the world where many don’t believe a woman should neither be seen or heard. It was then, in an assassination attempt, that a Taliban gunman sought her out on her way home in a school bus full of children and fulfilled that looming fear.
As told by The Los Angeles Times, “The bullet entered her head, burrowed past her jaw and lodged above her shoulder blade,” said David Rosser, the medical director at Queen Elizabeth Hospital in Birmingham, England, where she was taken for special care.
Education, is a threat.
In the United States, social progress has come a long way. In 1919, women were granted the right to vote. In 1922, the U.S. elected its first woman governor, and the 2012 presidential election marked a new wave of success in the world of women’s rights within our country.
We are a nation based on the foundation of democracy. We value freedom and work to promote it wherever we go, often even when we shouldn’t. And as sort of an unspoken truth, women know to stick together. Women of all shapes and sizes, races and creeds, have an unspoken bond that no male on the planet can attempt to understand—trust us, it’s been tested.
Women have each other’s backs. And now, it’s time for us to have Malala’s back.
She’s the First is a national, non-profit organization that sponsors girls’ education in the developing world, helping them be the first in their families to graduate. But their mission is not limited to status; in the process, “She’s the First fosters leadership and global awareness in young Americans by inspiring them to lead creative fundraisers and correspond with sponsored students.”
Their goal is to raise a generation of not only well-educated women, but global leaders, future philanthropists, and cross-cultural communicators. Stemming from an idea that sparked 23-year-old’s Tammy Tibbetts mind two years after she graduated college, she is proof enough that we can all make a difference.
Their website even states that the rate of enrollment for girls in secondary school is only 33 percent in the countries where they work. Secondary school – when I didn’t even think twice about going to college.
So, this Friday, Nov. 16, Penn State’s chapter of She’s the First will hold its 2nd annual tie-dye cupcake bake sale in order to raise money to help women all over the world further their education. Partnered nationally, Her Campus will be there to support them as they challenge each and every student’s ideals who pass by Family Clothesline downtown between 12 – 4 p.m. If you know about the cause, help it. If you help it, spread the word. If you spread the word, smile.
One dollar to stuff your face with a delicious pastry treat is a hard price to pay to avoid a gun to the face. Or as I like to say it, saving the world one cupcake at a time — literally.
See you all there, my fellow Good Samaritans. For more information, you can visit their website here.