All girls have rights, we’re told, and that we deserve to dream as high as the stars. But we also frequently hear that girls do not need higher education because they will end up being “mothers”.

This mindset has been holding us back. Although a girl can choose to become a mother, she is usually the primary source of information and education for her children, so it is important that all girls have access to education. Education is also a human right.

During the 4th World Conference on Women in 1995, thousands of women and men from almost 200 countries gathered in Beijing to push for leaders’ commitment to gender equality for women and girls. Nearly 25 years later, we see greater promotion of girls’ rights, including sexual and reproductive health and rights, the right to education, the right to be heard and the right to make their own decisions for their lives and future.

The way people view girls and the way we see ourselves has something to do with the way girls and women are portrayed in popular media.

We often see girls who lack self-confidence just because they don’t look like the characters portrayed in soap operas, commercials and infotainment. There is actually no need to follow these stereotypes. We don’t need to buy whitening cream or have our hair straightened to be “beautiful”.

Furthermore, we are often considered less capable than boys. As a small example, a girl purchasing a rather expensive book is treated with surprise by the bookstore attendant, who finds it hard to believe that a girl can read it.

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