Girl Rising -The Case for Educating Girls

Thursday, 04 July 2013

SISHA USA recently attended the premiere of Girl Rising, a film designed to promote the education of girls as a means of sustainable development. Women often reinvest in their families and communities, and women are the owners of most micro businesses in many countries across the developing world.  The education of girls yields some of the highest returns of all development investments, including private and social benefits that accrue to individuals, families, and society. SISHA USA is founded on the notion that the education of women and girls is key to improving their lives and the lives of the families and communities.

Girl Rising, followed the stories of 9 girls in 9 countries. They shared their stories of struggle and dreams of getting and education. Voiced by an all-star cast from Meryl Streep to Kate Blanchett, the movie explored human trafficking, sexual assault, bounded labour, child brides, and many other exploitative practices that women face around the world. We had the privilege of meeting Sokha, the young woman featured in the film who represents Cambodia (picture above). She gave a moving speech about her childhood as a scavenger in the dumps in Phnom Penh and how education has transformed her life, empowering her to give back to her community.

SISHA USA is firmly committed to empowering women as instruments of change and our education programs are uniquely geared toward the prevention of human trafficking. In the past 2 years we have conducted 6 POWER (Protection of Women’s Equity and Rights) Courses with 155 graduates. POWER is designed to equip women with the knowledge and skills to deal with issues relating to violence, abuse, exploitation, and human trafficking. Through our 3 educational pillars, awareness, protection, and prevention, SISHA USA hopes to infuse knowledge and mitigation techniques into at-risk populations.

* SISHA USA and SISHA are partner organisations.