Michael Obama recently started a campaign to bring awareness to the fact that more than 62 million girls around the world are denied the right to an education. Additionally, many of the girls that are in school have to fight for the right to stay there. A young, female Pakistani activist survived an assassination attempt by the Taliban when she was 15 years old because she spoke out against their gender apartheid, particularly the ban prohibiting girls over the age of 8  years old to attend school. By now the name Malala Yousafzai is well known globally, and while her survival shows the sheer force a young girl can have, it is important to remember that millions of girls are still suffering from these atrocious acts of gender-based terrorism.

While shootings cause a national outcry (and rightly so), the practice of barring girls from schools has survived for centuries without so much as a desperate whisper to the wind. The privilege of an education is predominantly granted to males over females in many Arab states, Asian countries, and sub-Saharan African countries. Instead of attending a school, young girls are seen tending to the house and family. The cultural heteronormativity amongst certain regions allows societies to continue these unequal gender practices, and has even made it the standard way of living. Therefore, many governments do not see the need to challenge any upholding traditions of “girls as homemakers only.” Other less drastic, though impactful, barriers inhibit children, boys and girls alike, from receiving an education. One main reason is that there is a lack of funding for educational systems in many non-developed countries. Without adequate funding, schools cannot provide the resources necessary to educate children. For example, less funding means less teachers, less school supplies, and a high cost of tuition. The high cost of tuition makes it difficult for parents to send their children to school. Instead, they must often choose which child can attend school, the length at which a child can attend school, and which child must stay home to help provide and support the family.

But, in the back of our minds, we’ve known this all along. We’ve seen the horrific footages of children being mistreated in non-developed countries. We’ve read accounts of young girls pressured into prostitution, systematically imprisoned in their own house, or forced into marriages at as young as 8 years old. We’ve used the hashtags and signed the petitions to grant more aid and resources directed towards these children. And yet, this problem has continued to persist under our watchful eye, with no sign of ceasing in sight. Which leads to the important question: what is actually being done to resolve such a horrendous and ingrained problem. This brings me back to Michelle Obama’s campaign with the Peace Corps, appropriately titled “Let Girls Learn.” Let Girls Learn is an initiative by the Peace Corps to empower young girls through the training and educating of community leaders about gender based issues. By working within the community, gender-specific programs encouraging more girls to seek an education can be established for long-term transformations. Let Girls Learn utilizes locations where Peace Corps members already have a presence and influence on the community. Furthermore, they want to increase both the number of Peace Corps volunteers and the amount of resources in these area.

Overall, it seems like a promising solution to many of the problems communities face: a lack of proper guidance for young girls. This is an incredibly important issue and I’m glad that it is receiving world wide recognition, thanks to the help of our First Lady. I have a first-hand account of how my education helped me become the woman I am today (found here) and I think we should all share how an education has impacted our lives. It is easy to take our education for granted since it is, at the very least, a common expectation in Western society. The fact that it is so common means that we should be even more thankful for our privileges, since unfortunately  #62milliongirls are denied that basic right.