President Obama's Weekly Address | ‘Let Girls Learn’
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In this week’s weekly address, President Obama discusses an issue close to his heart: education for adolescent girls around the world.
TRANSCRIPT
Remarks of President Barack Obama Hi, everybody. Sunday is International Womenâs Day — a day to celebrate remarkable women and girls worldwide, and to re-dedicate ourselves to defending the fundamental rights and dignity of all people. Thatâs why, this week, Michelle and I launched a new initiative on a topic thatâs close to both our hearts: girlsâ education. Itâs called âLet Girls Learn.â And its goal is to help more girls around the world go to school and stay in school. Right now, 62 million girls who should be in school, are not. And thatâs not an accident. Itâs the direct result of barriers, large and small, that stand in the way of girls who want to learn. Maybe their families canât afford the school fees. Maybe the risk of being hurt or kidnapped or even killed by men who will do anything to stop girls from learning is just too great. Or maybe they arenât in school because theyâre expected to get married and become mothers while theyâre still teenagers — or even earlier. In too many parts of the world, girls are still valued more for their bodies than for their minds. Thatâs just plain wrong. And we all have to do more to stop it. Thatâs the idea behind âLet Girls Learn.â Weâre making it clear to any country thatâs our partner — or that wants to be our partner — that they need to get serious about increasing the number of girls in school. Our diplomats and development experts are already hard at work. Our Peace Corps volunteers will play a big role, too. And weâre putting our partnerships with NGOs, businesses and foundations to work on behalf of girls everywhere. I come to this issue as the leader of the worldâs largest economy, and Commander-in-Chief of the worldâs most powerful military, and Iâm convinced that a world in which girls are educated is a safer, more stable, more prosperous place. When girls are educated, their future children are healthier and better nourished. Their future wages increase, which in turn strengthens their familiesâ security. National growth gets a boost, too. And places where women and girls are treated as full and equal citizens tend to be more stable and more democratic. But I also come to this issue as the father of two wonderful young women. And I know that there are lots of girls just like Malia and Sasha out there — girls who are funny and caring and inquisitive and strong, and have so much to offer the world. Itâs a privilege to be the parent of girls. And we want to make sure that no girl out there is denied her chance to learn — that no girl is prevented from making her unique contributions to the world. Because every girl — every girl — deserves our respect. And every girl deserves an education. Thanks, and have a great weekend. (c)2015 The White House | SCVTV
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