This is an absolutely amazing video that will move you to tears about bullying. I have seen this video more than once, and every single time I watch it, it moves me so much.
Why Men NEED To Take A Stand For Gender Equality!
Picture this: People campaigning for women’s rights. Now, when you are imagining this scene, are the people campaigning men or women? For most people, they would be probably be picturing women. Actually, I did a quick experiment by doing a quick Google search by using the search terms “people campaigning for women’s rights.” To my astonishment, not one picture that came up showed a man in it-they were all women! This is a big problem. Gender inequality should not just be a women’s problem, it is everyone’s problem!
The movement for gender equality was originally thought of to just be a women’s problem. Currently, throughout the world more men are starting to take action, but unfortunately, still the majority of people campaigning are women.
Some men may think it would be seen as weird or “unmanly” to be seen standing up for girls’ rights, but actually, I believe that men would be admired for supporting such an important cause. For example, recently there was an article in The Guardian about a man in the UK who is running a woman’s campaign. The title of the article was “I’m a man running a girls’ rights campaign. So what?” I think that this title really speaks for itself-that men should not be thought less of for taking action on this issue. To read the article you can go to:http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/2014/nov/18/im-a-man-running-a-girls-rights-campaign-so-what.
According to actor and author Terry Crews, “I kind of relate it to slavery. Or even civil rights. Let’s not even go back to slavery, let’s go to civil rights—the people who were silent at the lunch counters, when it was the black lunch counter and the white one or the schools were segregated…and you were quiet. You were accepting it. Same thing with men right now. If you don’t say anything, you are, by your silence—it’s acceptance. I’m not going to be silent.”
By now, you are probably wondering how you can get involved. Well, He For She is an organization and a movement for gender equality that is encouraging men to get involved. At He For She they believe that everyone should be working to end gender equality, not just half of the population. To get involved with He For She, you can check out their website at http://www.heforshe.org/. On their website they have an action kit and a place for you to donate. Also, at the bottom of their site there is a place for you to click “I agree” where you can join the movement.
Actually, Emma Watson recently gave a speech to the United Nations about He for She. Her speech was extremely moving and she spoke extremely passionately. I thought she was amazing and to watch her speech you can go to:
If we all take a stand, then gender inequality will be a thing of the past!
Thanks for joining me on my journey to change the world!
-Diviya
Girls Not Brides and Child Marriage Event
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to attend an interactive q and a on the issue of child marriage at Plan Canada. There were a few special guests that came to answer some questions from youth like me. The special guests were Princess Mabel, Amina Hanga, and Dr. Ashok Dyalchand.
Princess Mabel is the chair of an organization called “Girls Not Brides,” which focuses on lowering the amount of child marriages in the developing world. Amina Hanga is the Executive Secretary of the Isa Wali Empowerment Initiative in Nigeria, and finally Dr. Ashok Dyalchand is the Director of the Institute for Health Management Pachod in India.
Some of the people who attended were able to ask a question to the special guests. My question was “In which country does child marriage occur the most and why?” The answer was actually Niger because of cultural traditions.
The whole day was really inspiring and eye-opening about the issue of child marriage. Princess Mabel and the other special guests spoke extremely well and were very approachable.
I had such an amazing experience and I definitely learned a lot!
Thanks for joining me on my journey to change the world!
–Diviya
Video Of The Week!
The Dove Self Esteem Fund is a movement to help young girls improve their self-confidence. This is a really inspiring talk by their global director Meaghan Ramsey about having confidence in your appearance and loving yourself for who you are, not how you look.
Sign This Petition To Promote Girls Education And End Child Marriage!
Recently I signed this petition to help end child marriage and promote girls education! There are so many girls in the developing world who are being married in their teens, and one way to end this is to put more girls in school. To help girls get an education, you can sign this petition too at: http://www.thepetitionsite.com/takeaction/265/705/624/?z00m=22200486&redirectID=1489180616
Malala Yousafzai Wins The Nobel Peace Prize!
Yesterday an amazing thing happened-Malala Yousafzai won the Nobel Peace Prize with Kailash Satyarthi. She is the youngest recipient and the first Pakistani to ever win and I think she totally deserves it.
At school in Birmingham, England, Malala was notified that she had won the Nobel Peace Prize. However, being the studious girl she is, she decided to finish the school day first. Malala said that she felt “really honoured” to win this prestigious award.
Malala received the award for leading her “heroic struggle” in giving girls access to education. The other recipient was Kailash Satyarthi who won the award for following Ghandi’s belief and leading peaceful protests to end child slavery.
To learn more about Malala and her organization you can go to: http://www.malala.org/
Here is a a video of Malala accepting her award:
Malala is such an inspiration to both me and millions of girls around the world!
Thanks for joining me on my journey to change the world!
Wordless Wednesday-We Day Photo Gallery!
This past Thursday I had the most amazing experience at We Day!
The excitement started off with a pre-reception dinner the night before We Day that my family and I got invited to. There I met a few speakers and performers, and what was really special for me was that I got to meet my hero Spencer West. If you’ve been reading my blog, you probably know that Spencer is a guy who had a genetic disease, and had to have his legs amputated at the age of 5. Despite having no legs, Spencer managed to climb Mount Kilimanjaro! It was so cool for me to talk to him for a few minutes, and get his autograph.
After, I also met some inspiring youth including Hannah Alper, Vishal Vijay, and Sydney Brouillard-Coyle.
You probably know that over the summer I fundraised for the Kisaruni All Girls Secondary School, and one of the girls from that very school was at the event! It was really awesome to be able to see who the money I raised is going to.
Later, Craig Kielburger spoke about We Day and about the Governor General Awards that some people at the reception recieved. Also, Hannah Alper spoke about finding your spark, and the band Neverest performed a few songs.
The next morning, after getting up really early at 5:30 we went down to the ACC to go to the FanZone where Etalk was interviewing some of the speakers and performers. Spencer West, Craig and Marc, R5, and Shawn Desman were just a few of the people who were interviewed.
Then we went into the ACC and we were brought to our seats in the third row! Having seats really close to the stage made the experience even better because we could see everything that was happening on stage.
All the speakers and performers were amazing and made me, and everyone else in the audience want to make a positive impact in our world.
Some of the performers included Hedley, Kardinal Offishal, Kendrick Lamar, Neverest, and Lights. One performance that stood out for me was Hedley, because they really got the audience excited.
Almost all of the speakers spoke about empowerment because that is what this year’s theme is. They spoke about economic, social, technological, and educational empowerment.
Some of the speakers included Natalie Panek, Chris Hadfield, Ashley Murphy, and Katie Couric. One of the speakers that stood out for me was Natalie Panek because she talked about how girls and women should be more involved with science.
Craig and Marc Kielburger spoke so amazingly because they got everyone excited about taking action. The passion that they spoke with was unbelievable to hear. They spoke about empowerment, taking action, We 365, and much more.
But the best part of We Day was just feeling the energy of 20,000 youth all passionate about changing the world! Not everyone always understands my passion, so it was pretty cool to be in a room where everyone believed in the same things I do.
The cool thing for me was that Liz Trinnear and Ed Robertson gave me a shout out during We Day! Here is the video of me getting a shout out:
I really had such an amazing experience at We Day and I feel so empowered to make a difference in our world!
Thanks for joining me on my journey to change the world!
-Diviya
The Results Of My Fundraiser!
If you are an avid reader of my blog, you probably know that over the summer I did a fundraiser for Free The Children. I had so much fun doing my fundraiser called “Donations For Girls Education,” and I was really pleased with the results!
I did my fundraiser through a Free The Children website which helps you do your own personal online fundraiser. It allows you to send emails to your potential sponsors, track how much money you have earned, and send out thank you emails. Plus, it gives out tax receipts. To create your own online fundraiser you can go to:https://secure.e2rm.com/registrant/LoginRegister.aspx?eventid=15156&langpref=en-CA&Referrer=http%3a%2f%2fwww.freethechildren.com%2fdonate%2fwaystogive.php%3ftype%3dfundraising%26width%3d%26height%3d405.
My goal was to raise $1500 for the Kisaruni All Girls Secondary School in Kenya and I ended up surpassing my goal by $890! I raised $2390!
Also, for every person who donated I made a card, and if the donation was $50 or more, I would send them a handmade pendant. I ended up making almost 40 cards!
I think that this will make a big difference in the lives of the girls at the school.
Thank you so much to everyone who donated, and for helping me to improve the lives of the girls at the Kisaruni All Girls Secondary School!
Thanks for joining me on my journey to change the world!
-Diviya
Video of the Week-Emma Watson’s Speech To The UN!
From frizzy-haired Hermione Granger to “He for She” spokeswoman, Emma Watson is a composed speaker who spoke up for girls’ rights last week. Emma spoke to the UN about feminism, girls’ rights, and about how both genders need to start speaking up for girls’ rights. I really think her speech is extremely inspiring for both girls and boys.
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