Strong Girls, Strong World

In every RMHS hallway, you see girls. Girls at their lockers talking with their friends; girls cramming for tests; girls discussing last night's math homework and how "x equals five?" Across the Atlantic Ocean, however, RMHS’ daily reality, girls actively learning, is but a dream.

This year, the club "Girl Rising," was introduced to the ranks offered at RMHS by juniors Catherine Grayson, Sam Williams, and April McKie, and already has approximately 45 female members. This group focuses on spreading awareness about girls' lack of education, and bring light to their daily struggles.

The club’s first event, a screening of the documentary to engage the local community, took place on October 14 and was hosted by RCTV Studios. After the documentary’s local airing, the club is also planning fundraisers throughout the year. Grayson, Williams, and McKie said, "We plan on having three or four fundraisers this school year to raise money for the campaign. One will likely be a walk in which club members get sponsors for every mile."

The Girl Rising campaign is a global campaign for girls' education which uses the power of storytelling to unite people of all genders and ages to speak their truth that, "...educating girls can transform societies,” according to the campaign's website. Their goal is to ensure that girls' education is no longer ignored, and is discussed in mainstream conversation.

Female education is a given in Reading, as well as the U.S. as a whole, but millions of girls in impoverished countries worldwide never get the opportunity to learn which we sometimes take for granted. In fact, today there are 62 million uneducated girls out of school worldwide. According to the experts, barriers to education include early marriage, gender-based violence and domestic slavery.

The global campaign was first launched through the creation and airing of a documentary, "Girl Rising," which premiered on CNN in 2013. This documentary focused specifically on the lives of eight girls from different cultural backgrounds and countries, and the power that education has in changing their lives for the better.

The documentary grabbed attention of audiences globally, as Catherine found her inspiration after watching it, "I was moved by it, and became eager to involve myself further with the cause. So, I applied to become a regional ambassador for the campaign. After I was accepted, I figured that the best way to bring the campaign to my community was to create a club at the high school. I then enlisted the help of two like-minded friends."

The group does not have a regular meeting time yet, but they publicize with signs around the school.

The power of girls helping fellow girls their age is innately forceful. There is a sisterhood and a history of fighting oppression that unites every one of us. As countries continue their attempts to silence their girls, our girls, this club is determined to ensure that we will not be silenced.

#clubs #genderequality #education