Oct 05, 2015 U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama recently shared some empowering words with a group of young girls at the New York Apollo Theater.
The event, which was hosted by Glamour magazine, aimed at highlighting the importance of girl education. Also on speaking duty were, actress Charlize Theron, former Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard, Nurfahada, a girl advocate from Plan International and the magazine’s editor-in-chief, Cindi Leive.
Speaking at the event, the first lady said:
“If I had worried about who liked me and who thought I was cute when I was your age, I wouldn’t be married to the President of the United States today.”
While commenting on “Let Girls Learn”, an initiative which aims to reduce the number of uneducated girls, the first lady said:
“We’re really working to engage everyone on the ground, everyone all around the world. But we also want you all to be aware of this. So a huge part of ‘Let Girls Learn’ is public awareness here in the U.S. We want you guys to know about these 62 million girls and we want this to spur and inspire you to not take your education for granted. Because let me tell you, there are 62 million girls around the world who would give anything to be in your position,”
During the event, Oscar winning actress, Charlize Theron, urged girls to understand and recognize their worth.
“There is nothing sexier than a smart woman. We have been told to live by a certain mold, women, especially women and it’s time to break it. And it is up to us to do that. Stop waiting for men to do that. Look in the mirror and see yourself and say ‘I am sexy, I am attractive, I am smart, I am intelligent, I am powerful.'”
In closing, Mrs Obama urged her supporters to post photos of themselves on social media with the hash tag 62milliongirls to raise awareness on the issue.
“For me this is personal. You know, when I think about those 62 million girls that aren’t in school I think about myself, I think about my daughters. Because quite frankly all these girls, these are our girls. And I think about where I would be in my life if I didn’t work hard in school and have the opportunity to go to college and then on to law school – I wouldn’t be here. So I think it’s imperative and it is part of my passion and my mission to make sure that every girl on the planet has the same opportunity that I’ve had, that my daughters have. And I want to make sure that all of you here in the United States are taking advantage of the opportunities that you have as well, I want you to be that hungry to get your education because it is going to be the key to your future.”