The Conversation

This Is a Truth I Believe to Be Absolute

"We're making it clear to any country that's our partner or wants to be our partner that they need to get serious about increasing the number of girls in school." Those were the words President Obama said to a packed room at the White House earlier this month. His words resonated with me as a citizen of India, as a fierce believer in women's rights, and as a passionate supporter of every girl's right to an education. I was both elated and astonished. This was a breakthrough. Two weeks later, First Lady Michelle Obama boarded a plane for a whirlwind trip to Japan and Cambodia, where she told the world the same thing: Girls deserve an education, full stop. Today, 62 million girls across the developing world are missing from classrooms. These girls are arranged into marriage, trafficked, sent to work at a young age, or—for a myriad of other reasons—deemed unworthy of an education. But this recent news at the White House tells me things are about to change. President Obama has made an unprecedented pledge to dedicate government resources to empowering girls across the globe. The new Let Girls Learn initiative, a collaboration between the First Lady, the

"We're making it clear to any country that's our partner or wants to be our partner that they need to get serious about increasing the number of girls in school."

Those were the words President Obama said to a packed room at the White House earlier this month. His words resonated with me as a citizen of India, as a fierce believer in women's rights, and as a passionate supporter of every girl's right to an education. I was both elated and astonished. This was a breakthrough.

Two weeks later, First Lady Michelle Obama boarded a plane for a whirlwind trip to Japan and Cambodia, where she told the world the same thing: Girls deserve an education, full stop.

Today, 62 million girls across the developing world are missing from classrooms. These girls are arranged into marriage, trafficked, sent to work at a young age, or—for a myriad of other reasons—deemed unworthy of an education.

But this recent news at the White House tells me things are about to change. President Obama has made an unprecedented pledge to dedicate government resources to empowering girls across the globe. The new Let Girls Learn initiative, a collaboration between the First Lady, the Peace Corps, and other organizations like Girl Rising, marks the beginning of the White House's commitment to girls' education.

"Even today, in too many parts of the world, girls are valued more for their bodies than their minds. That's not just antiquated. It's not just a bad strategy for any country that's serious about growing their economy or promoting stability," President Obama said, "It is just plain wrong. And we plan to do something about it."

About time. The discrimination of girls is a failing policy in any nation. In India, a woman is raped every 22 minutes. You might remember the story of Jyoti Singh, who was raped violently and tortured to death in a bus in New Delhi in 2012. Her assailants claimed they were teaching her a lesson for being a woman out at 8 P.M. And that's the one you know about. The vast majority of attacks—in India and all over the world—go unreported. In a single year, an estimated 150 million girls around the world are victims of sexual violence. And here in America, one in five college women will be sexually assaulted during her time on college campus.

The good news is, these are not facts we are prepared to take sitting down. How can we ever forget the profound expression of hope and solidarity in the weeks after the Delhi gang-rape as protesters, mostly young students, stormed the streets. Courts convened and laws and policies were scrutinized. The tremors of these united voices reverberated around the world and countries like the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia joined in the protests.

This is a loud and clear shift in consciousness. The world is full of good people who want these injustices to stop.

But the only way you can truly change things is via a simple truth called education. As Justice Leila Seth explains in the documentary India's Daughter, which premiered recently on the BBC and tells the story of Jyoti Singh, "Education gives a girl self-worth and also teaches young men the value of the woman."

This is a truth I believe to be absolute. It's what led me to stand onstage in Carnegie Hall last November and help launch Glamour's education initiative, The Girl Project. It's why I lent first my voice and then my continued support to Girl Rising, the film and global movement that has inspired supporters around the world to speak out and rise up in support of girls' education. And it's why I am a proud ambassador of Plan International USA, which puts rubber to road every day, providing girls around the world with the tools they need to complete their educations.

Education will enable the people of India to change how we perceive girls; to dig deep and work toward raising the value of the girl. And in a few months time, Girl Rising will officially launch in India, broadcasting stories about girls who became empowered through education far and wide. Audiences will be given ways to take action: to raise funds, volunteer, and lead change in their own communities. It will inspire a new crop of enlightened, charged, and well-equipped activists to lead us into a new future—one where the value of neither sex is undermined or ravaged.

So you see, progress is being made. The people of India are demanding justice for our women and girls. The commander-in-chief of the world's most powerful military is pledging his country's resources. And stories of change, like those in Girl Rising, are being heard throughout the land.

"These girls are our change-makers—our future doctors and teachers and entrepreneurs," the First Lady said. "They're our dreamers and our visionaries who could change the world as we know it.... We owe these girls, and girls like them across the globe, an education worthy of those dreams. So I am so proud to join this movement."

And we are so happy to have her.