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: Actress Freida Pinto is known for her roles in movies such as "Slumdog Millionaire" and her work with Plan International. 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,
First of all I have to say: Congratulations! We have all come a long way from once being mistakenly called the inferior sex. I remember the first time I read Aristotle's view that a female is an incomplete male, "or as it were, a deformity." I was really offended and furious. The first thing that popped in my mind was, "We have to prove all our detractors wrong." But we definitely can't do that with 60 million of our girls out of school! So yes, we have come a long way, but we are still not there yet.
A wise friend recently told me: No child in the developing world has died directly due to the lack of education. They die due to illness, during childbirth, due to violence, poverty, etc. -- which is probably why the world hasn't yet understood the gravity of having more than 100 million children not in primary school, of which 60 million are girls.
If you really think hard, you will realize that the way to end the cycle of poverty, reduce the number of teenage pregnancies and early marriage and many other ills that befall our girls is through education. An educated girl will marry later, will have fewer and healthier children, will educate her daughters and without a doubt her sons, will be self-sufficient and, most importantly, will have a voice. She will not only dream but also realize her dreams of becoming whoever she wants to be.
Actress Frieda Pinto on 'Girls Rising'
Pinto: Access to schools comes first
CNN Films' "Girl Rising" documents extraordinary girls and the power of education to change the world.
What happens when you educate a girl?
'Girl Rising,' coming at 9 p.m. ET Sunday
I am writing this letter to all of you girls, but especially appealing to those who have had the privilege of going to school. We need to use our educated voices to raise awareness in our families, communities, countries and the world and say we cannot and will not ignore our sisters anymore. They have the same rights as we do, and there can be no discrimination. We can and must hold our governments accountable and ask them to give us the answers and results we deserve.
I am also writing this letter to all the boys -- fathers, brothers and husbands, friends who have supported us. I am grateful that you see us as just as important to the human race as our male counterparts. Your support and belief in us keeps us encouraged to keep powering on. Please keep it coming and please spread the word.
Finally, I write to those we want to affect with our voices positively: You have the right to an education. You have the right to grow up healthy, in safety, and with equal access to opportunity. I, and millions of your supporters across the globe, stand with you in the pursuit of equality. Change is coming; the world is listening.
I know that this movement -- your movement -- will grow in influence and scope. My promise to you: I will continue to use my voice as your voice. Together, we can ensure that girls everywhere can go to school and stay in school.
You hold our future in your hands. I believe in you.
With love and hope,
Freida Pinto
Open letter from Christiane Amanpour: It's time to power the world
Open letter from Queen Rania of Jordan: More than tiaras and cupcakes
How to help | Take action with 10x10
Loading weather data ...
© 2013 Cable News Network. Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. All Rights Reserved.
"What if a girl's life could be more?" When Azmera turned 13, it was time for the Ethiopian girl to be given to a stranger in marriage, like her mother and grandmother before her. But Azmera refused. Azmera is fearful, but she is not alone. She has a champion beside her: an older brother who would give up anything for his sister to be able to stay in school. Together, brother and sister dare to reject her fate.
"Poetry is how I turn ugliness into art." La Rinconada, Peru, is a bleak corner of the world that regularly turns out two things: gold from deep within its mountain, which is immediately sent far away; and despair, which remains. Senna's is the poorest of the poor mining families clinging to that mountain. Every day is a struggle. Yet, somehow, she was given two magnificent gifts: a father who named her for a warrior princess and insisted that she goes to school, and a talent with words. And when Senna discovered poetry, everything changed.
"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.
|