To be born a girl in Afghanistan is often to be ushered into a life of servitude, where girls have very little worth and very dim futures. Amina is forced to marry at 12, to bear a child though still a child herself -- while her own brother is given her dowry money to buy a used car. But Amina, whose name was changed and story portrayed by an actress out of concern for her safety, has had enough, and she is fighting back.
CNN Films' "Girl Rising" tells the stories of Amina and other girls from around the world and how the power of education can change the world. Learn more about the girls' inspiring stories.
(From 10x10)
Editor's note: Grammy Award-winning singer Angelique Kidjo was hailed by Time magazine as Africa's premier diva. This open letter to the girls of the world is part of the "Girl Rising" project. CNN Films' "Girl Rising" documents extraordinary girls and the power of education to change the world. Watch on CNN International.
(CNN) -- Dear Girls of the World,
I was a 12-year-old girl living in the center of Cotonou, Benin, in West Africa. Music was all around us, with the traditional singers and their drums and with the radio blasting songs from the entire world.
Singing had always been my passion. My mom even told me I sung before I spoke. One day, I discovered an uplifting song that made everyone dance. It was called "Pata Pata." The power and beauty of the voice singing it mesmerized me. I had to get the 45 rpm single right away. That's when I first heard the name of Miriam Makeba, the famous South African singer. I also learned her struggle against apartheid and her success all over the planet.
Even though at home I could see the respect that my father had for my mom, I could feel the world was unbalanced and that it was so hard for girls and women to succeed. Many of my girlfriends at school were dropping out at an early age as the social pressure was huge. Most of them could not choose their own destiny. It was as if they would always be the daughter, the wife or the mother of someone.
But looking at Miriam's smile on the cover, her confidence and the respect she inspired, I started to dream. If an exiled African woman born from a poor family had been able to accomplish so much, there might be a little chance for me to follow her steps. Lost in my thoughts, lying on my bed, listening to her music for hours, learning by heart the lyrics of all her songs -- in my imagination, I was already traveling with her, singing with her, meeting world leaders and advocating with her for the freedom of her people.
That dream has never left me. I grew up and I experienced much rejection, many obstacles, but Miriam's voice was always singing in my head. I started to have some success singing on the national radio.
CNN Films' "Girl Rising" documents extraordinary girls and the power of education to change the world.
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'Girl Rising,' coming 9 p.m. ET Sunday
One day, on the way back from school, a group of teenagers recognized me and insulted me, calling me a whore because I was a singer. I came back home, crying, and wanted to give up singing for good. Mama Congo, my maternal grandmother, happened to be home. She asked me why I was crying so much. Once I explained, she gave me a piece of advice that I have never forgotten and that I want you to remember when you feel your dreams are shattered.
She told me: "Do you want to be a singer?"
"Yes, Grandma"
"Then, you can't let the opinion of other people discourage you. Don't give up on your dreams, don't allow them to define who you are or they would have won!"
Many years passed. I left my country like Miriam had done. I worked hard, listening to constructive critics and ignoring the naysayers, keeping Miriam's songs close to my heart. Then, in a different decade, in a different country, the day finally came when I was asked to sing as the opening act of my beloved idol. I could not believe it.
Please remember girls: Don't let anyone define who you are!
-- Angelique Kidjo
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"Change is like a song you can't hold back." Suma's brothers are sent to school, but her parents have no money for a daughter's education. Given into bonded servitude at age 6, Suma labors in the house of a master from before dawn until late at night. For years, the Nepali girl suffers in silence, until music gives her a voice. A stroke of luck and kindness gives Suma a chance to go to school -- and a crusader is born.
"I will come back every day until I can stay." Wadley is 7 years old when the world comes crashing down around her. When Haiti's catastrophic earthquake destroys lives, homes and families, Wadley's happy life with her mother, filled with friends and school, becomes a struggle to survive in a teeming tent city, devastation and grief all around. But Wadley believes she is meant to do something special with her life -- and that the way to begin is by getting back to school. What happens when this irrepressible spirit confronts a system that tells her she is unworthy of an education is an inspiration to the world.
"Now there's nothing to stop me. Nothing in the world. Nothing in the universe." Mariama describes herself as a typical teenager, which in itself is remarkable. Her poverty-stricken country, Sierra Leone, is still recovering from a brutal decade of civil war. But Mariama isn't looking back; she is the voice of the future. She is the first in her family to go to school and already has her own radio show and dreams of being a famous scientist and a television star.
"He was strong, but I was stronger." An Egyptian girl of 12 whose family can't afford to send her to school has very few options. She can become a street kid; she can become a bride; she can become a target. Yasmin -- whose name was changed and story portrayed by an actress out of concern for her safety -- is lured into the trap of a sexual predator. But what she doesn't become is a victim. Yasmin becomes a superhero.
CNN Films' "Girl Rising" documents extraordinary girls and the power of education to change the world. Watch it at 9 p.m. ET June 16 on CNN.
CNN Films' "Girl Rising" documents extraordinary girls and the power of education to change the world. Watch it at 9 p.m. ET June 16 on CNN.
CNN Films' "Girl Rising" documents extraordinary girls and the power of education to change the world. Watch it at 9 p.m. ET June 16 on CNN.
CNN Films' "Girl Rising" documents extraordinary girls and the power of education to change the world. Watch it at 9 p.m. ET June 16 on CNN.
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