Blog: Girls and Women

I believe entrepreneurs are the foundation for innovation, economic growth, and job creation and have made it my personal mission to give back to the entrepreneurial community and to empower women around the world to pursue entrepreneurial endeavors. My work as part of the United Nations Foundation’s Global Entrepreneurs Council and my role as Dell’s entrepreneur-in-residence have given me a platform to reach entrepreneurs on a global scale in ways that would not have been possible on my own.

As we arrived at a Mangochi district secondary school, after driving for what seemed like hours down a dusty, bumpy red clay road in one of the most rural and beautiful parts of eastern Malawi, a group of about 40 girls greeted us enthusiastically and repeatedly sang ?well-a-come, well-a-come, you are most well-a-come.?

Did you know that 222 million women and girls globally want to delay pregnancy but don?t have access to quality contraceptives? This unmet need has devastating impacts on women?s health, and impedes progress on our global development goals.

Did you know that 7 out of 10 women have experienced some form of violence in their lifetime? That?s 7 women too many. Violence takes many forms – physical, sexual, emotional, and mental ? and the vast majority of it is perpetrated by men and boys.

At age five, Kakenya was engaged to a boy from her neighborhood, and she considered herself lucky. Her new fianc?e was around her age, and most girls in her community met their husbands ? much older men ? on their wedding day.

This week, thousands of researchers, development experts, policymakers, and others are gathered in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia to discuss one of the most important global issues: family planning.

Around the world, more than 220 million women want, but don’t have access to, modern contraception – which means they aren’t able to decide the timing and spacing of their families. Denying them this basic human right has far-reaching effects for themselves, their families, their communities, and their countries.

It’s easy to feel overwhelmed by the challenges facing girls and women around the world. One in seven girls in developing countries will be married before age 15. Approximately 800 girls and women die every single day from pregnancy-related complications. But awe-inspiring everyday heroes refuse to accept these statistics.

As the parents of young girls and people who believe that girls can change the world, today we’re celebrating International Day of the Girl and the power of girls everywhere. One girl in the news right now embodies this strength: Malala Yousafzai.

Girls are one of the most powerful forces for change in the world: When their rights are recognized, their needs are met, and their voices are heard, they drive positive change in their families, their communities, and the world.

Christine has faced many challenges in her 16 years of life in Malawi, but her drive to complete her education has helped her through it all.