MARRAKECH, Morocco: US first lady Michelle Obama was visiting Morocco to promote education for girls in the North African kingdom, where only 36 percent of girls continue school beyond the primary level.
Obama was accompanied by the presidential couple’s two daughters, Sasha and Malia, for the “Let Girls Learn” event on Tuesday, as well as by actresses Meryl Streep and Freida Pinto, both advocates for girls’ education.
They will hold a conversation with adolescent girls to review obstacles to girls’ access to full education in the region, according to the US Embassy in Rabat.
Earlier on Monday, Michelle told girls in Liberia to fight to stay in school, as she visited the west African country where the vast majority drop out due to financial pressures.
Obama launched her “Let Girls Learn” education initiative in March 2015, and has since traveled the globe to call for greater support for the millions of girls kept away from school or forced to abandon their studies. After being greeted by hundreds of singing children lining the road from Monrovia’s airport, Obama met girls and young women at a project named GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) aimed at boosting active citizenship, run by the US Peace Corps in Kakata, east of the coastal capital.
Speaking about the value of women’s leadership and access to education, the Harvard-trained lawyer said she was “here to shine a big bright light on you.”
“I want you to keep fighting and stay in school,” she told the girls.
“You are going to be leaders tomorrow; you are going to be mothers; you are educating yourselves to achieve that.
Obama was accompanied by the presidential couple’s two daughters, Sasha and Malia, for the “Let Girls Learn” event on Tuesday, as well as by actresses Meryl Streep and Freida Pinto, both advocates for girls’ education.
They will hold a conversation with adolescent girls to review obstacles to girls’ access to full education in the region, according to the US Embassy in Rabat.
Earlier on Monday, Michelle told girls in Liberia to fight to stay in school, as she visited the west African country where the vast majority drop out due to financial pressures.
Obama launched her “Let Girls Learn” education initiative in March 2015, and has since traveled the globe to call for greater support for the millions of girls kept away from school or forced to abandon their studies. After being greeted by hundreds of singing children lining the road from Monrovia’s airport, Obama met girls and young women at a project named GLOW (Girls Leading Our World) aimed at boosting active citizenship, run by the US Peace Corps in Kakata, east of the coastal capital.
Speaking about the value of women’s leadership and access to education, the Harvard-trained lawyer said she was “here to shine a big bright light on you.”
“I want you to keep fighting and stay in school,” she told the girls.
“You are going to be leaders tomorrow; you are going to be mothers; you are educating yourselves to achieve that.
