speech on women's education day

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Remarks By The First Lady At Let Girls Learn Event Celebrating International Women’s Day

Union Market Washington, D.C.

12:18 P.M. EST

MRS. OBAMA:  Wow!  (Applause.)  Thank you so much.  Hey.  You guys good?  All right, rest yourselves.  We’ve got a lot to do.  

Hi, everyone.  It is a pleasure to be here with all of you on this International Women’s Day as we mark the first anniversary of Let Girls Learn.  And today, we want to celebrate all of the wonderful progress we’ve made and the momentum we’re seeing around girls’ education across the globe.

But before we get started, I just wanted to briefly express my sadness over the passing of former First Lady Nancy Reagan.  Mrs. Reagan was a woman of incredible strength and grace, and she was a passionate advocate for so many important issues.  Through the example she set, both during her time in the White House and beyond, Mrs. Reagan reminded us of the importance of women’s leadership at every level of our society.

And on a personal note, Mrs. Reagan also understood the value of mentoring.  She warmly and willingly offered advice and encouragement to me as I settled into my role as First Lady.  And I am so grateful for her kindness and generosity to me and my family over the years, and I hope that our continued work to educate girls worldwide is a fitting tribute to her legacy.  (Applause.)  

So back to the business at hand.  I have to start by thanking Ambassador Power –- another strong woman leader, as you heard -- for that wonderful, kind, generous introduction, but more importantly, for her extraordinary work to promote human dignity, human rights across the globe.  We are lucky to have someone like her in this administration, and the President and I are very lucky to have her as a friend.  (Applause.)      I also want to recognize our outstanding Ambassador for Global Women’s Issues, Cathy Russell, and her -- yes -- (applause) -- and her entire team at the State Department for hosting this event and for their tremendous work on girls’ education and so many other critical issues.  I’m thankful to have them as partners in this effort.

But most of all, I want to thank all of you for your tremendous leadership on behalf of girls around the world.  Some of you have been with us since the day we launched Let Girls Learn, some of you have been working on girls’ education for decades, and some of you are students who will be leading the way on this issue in years to come.  And I’m so proud that you all are here.  Give yourselves a round of applause.  Our young people!  (Applause.)  

And I know that each of us here today has a story like Samantha shared about how we first got engaged in this issue –- the moment our heart first broke or we felt that first flare of outrage when we realized that 62 million girls worldwide –- girls who are just as smart and hard-working as we are -– aren’t getting the opportunities that we sometimes take for granted.  

For me, it was the drumbeat of horrifying stories:  Malala Yousafzai shot in the head by terrorists just for speaking the simple truth that girls should to go school.  More than 200 Nigerian girls kidnapped from their school dormitory by a terrorist group determined to keep them from getting an education –- grown men trying to snuff out the aspirations of young girls.  Little girls being brutally assaulted on their way to school, being forced to marry and bear children when they’re barely even teenagers.  Girls in every corner of the globe facing grave danger simply because they were full and equal human beings -- that’s what they decided -- worthy of developing their boundless potential.  

And the more I traveled and met with girls and learned from experts about this issue, the more I realized that the barriers to girls’ education isn’t just resources.  It’s not just about access to scholarships or transportation or school bathrooms.  It’s also about attitudes and beliefs -– the belief that girls simply aren’t worthy of an education; that women should have no role outside the home; that their bodies aren’t their own, their minds don’t really matter, and their voices simply shouldn’t be heard.

And like many of you, as a woman, I take all of this personally.  While I’m thankful that I’ve never faced anything like the horrors that many of these girls endure, like most women, I know how it feels to be overlooked, to be underestimated, to have someone only half listen to your ideas at a meeting -- to see them turn to the man next to you, the man you supervise, and assume he’s in charge -- or to experience those whistles and taunts as you walk down the street.

And I’ve seen how these issues play out not just on a personal level, but on a national level in our laws and policies. You see, in my lifetime -– and I’m not that old -– it was perfectly legal for employers to discriminate against women.  In my lifetime, women were not legally allowed to make fundamental decisions about their bodies –- and practically speaking, many still can’t.  In my lifetime, domestic violence was seen as a private matter between a man and his wife rather than as the horrific crime that it is.  

And today, it is so easy to take for granted all the progress we’ve made on these kinds of issues.  But the fact is that right now, today, so many of these rights are under threat from all sides, always at risk of being rolled back if we let our guard down for a single minute.  

These issues aren’t settled.  These freedoms that we take for granted aren’t guaranteed in stone.  And they certainly didn’t just come down to us as a gift from the heavens.  No, these rights were secured through long, hard battles waged by women and men who marched, and protested, and made their voices heard in courtrooms and boardrooms and voting booths and the halls of Congress.

And make no mistake about it, education was central to every last one of those efforts.  The ability to read, write, and analyze; the confidence to stand up and demand justice and equality; the qualifications and connections to get your foot in that door and take your seat at that table -- all of that starts with education.  And trust me, girls around the world, they understand this.  They feel it in their bones, and they will do whatever it takes to get that education.  

I’ve seen it time and time again –- girls in Senegal studying at rickety desks in bare concrete classrooms raising their hands so hard they’re almost falling out of their chairs.  Girls in Cambodia who wake up hours before dawn, ride their bikes for miles just to get to school.  Bangladeshi immigrant girls in the United Kingdom who study for hours every night and proudly wear their head scarves everywhere they go, resolutely ignoring those who would demean their religion.  

These girls risk everything -– the rejection of their communities, the violation of their bodies -– everything, just to go to school each day.  And then here I show up with a hoard of international reporters shoving microphones in their faces -- these girls don’t blink.  They stand up.  They look straight into those cameras and they proudly explain who they want to be –- doctors and teachers, forces for change in their countries.

You see, they know that education is their only path to self-sufficiency.  It is their only chance to shape their own fate rather than having the limits of their lives dictated to them by others.  And I’m passionate about this because I truly see myself in these girls -– in their hunger, in their burning determination to rise above their circumstances and reach for something more.  And I know that many of you do, too.

And let’s be clear, this issue isn’t just personal to women.  I have met countless men who learn about the plight of girls around the world, and they look into the eyes of their daughters and wives and mothers -– women they deeply respect and love -– and this issue becomes personal for them, too.  So it’s not surprising that over the past year since we launched Let Girls Learn, we have been overwhelmed by the response we’ve received.  

This issue is truly resonating as folks in every sector are stepping up to take action on behalf of these girls around the world.  From day one, the U.S. government has been leading the way with State, USAID, the Millennium Challenge Corporation, investing hundreds of millions of dollars.  They’re providing scholarships for girls in Liberia and the Democratic Republic of Congo.  They’re doing leadership training for girls in Afghanistan.  They’re building school bathrooms for girls in El Salvador.  They’re taking on female genital mutilation in Guinea, forced child marriage in Bangladesh.  

Let Girls Learn also has a strong partner in the American Peace Corps.  Volunteers are now running more than 100 girls’ education projects in 22 countries -– girls’ mentorship programs, girls’ leadership camps, and so much more.  

And through Let Girls Learn, dozens of major companies and organizations have come forward to support this work, including Lyft, Jet Blue, Proctor & Gamble, Johnson & Johnson, Starwood Hotels -- I could go on and on -- Alex and Ani.  I’ve got my bracelets on.  (Laughter.)  They’re donating hundreds of thousands of dollars.  They’re creating new products –- backpacks and charm bracelets and T-Shirts -– to raise money and awareness.  They’re promoting Let Girls Learn in their advertisements, their in-flight magazines, their hotel room videos.  They’re doing it all.  The Girl Scouts are getting in on the action as well by creating a Global Action badge that girls can earn by learning about girls’ education.  

And it’s not just corporations and organizations who are getting engaged on this issue.  Folks of all ages and all walks of life are stepping up, as well.  More than 1,600 people in nearly all 50 states have donated money to Let Girls Learn Peace Corps projects.  Our #62MillionGirls hashtag was the number-one hashtag in the U.S., with people across the country talking about the power of education.  And we’ll be launching the next phase of this social media campaign next week at South by Southwest.

And we haven’t just inspired folks here in the United States.  Our hashtag was the number-three hashtag globally, with girls around the world tweeting their support for Let Girls Learn.  And countries like Japan, the UK, South Korea have joined this effort as well, investing more than half a billion dollars in girls’ education.  And at this year’s U.N. General Assembly, nearly 200 countries agreed to make adolescent girls’ education a top priority in the new Global Goals.  

And today, just 12 months after we launched Let Girls Learn, we’re seeing the impact of these efforts all around the world.  We see it in the story of a girl named Fiker from Ethiopia who, at the age of 13, found out that her parents were planning to marry her off to a man she’d never met.  But Fiker had learned about the dangers of early marriage from a USAID program she was involved in, so she refused to go through with the marriage.  She went on to graduate first in her entire sixth-grade class.

We see the impact of our work in the story of a young woman named Nourhan in Egypt.  When Nourhan got accepted to a girls’ science and technology boarding school supported by USAID, of course she was hesitant to leave home.  But she took the plunge, and today, she’s an avid coder.  And when speaking about her plans for the future, she says, “I dream of being the youngest Nobel Prize winner for Nuclear Physics.”

And we’re seeing the impact of our efforts not just on girls worldwide, but on young people right here at home.  Kids across the U.S. are learning about these girls and they’re embracing this issue as their own.  Students at a middle school in California raised $1,500 for Let Girls Learn by selling popsicles and hot chocolate.  At a school in Wisconsin, students raised $594 from their friends and families.  As part of their campaign, they created signs to raise awareness, and one of these signs said that “33 million fewer girls than boys are in primary school worldwide.”  They said, “We’re in this together.  Together we [can] make a difference.”  

See, even young kids get it.  We’re in this together.  Because these girls are our girls.  They are us.  They each have the spark of something extraordinary inside of them just like our daughters –- and our sons -– and their fate is very much our responsibility.  

And in the coming months, we’re going to be expanding our call to action to support these girls.  We are going to be engaging even more people -– moms and dads, faith and youth organizations, and young people like so many of you.  Because there is so much that students like you can do to make a real difference on girls’ education.

You can study this issue and organize your classmates to take action.  You can study or volunteer abroad and be on the front lines educating girls.  After you graduate from college, you can even join the Peace Corps and run your own girls’ education project.  Or if you get out there and get a job, like your parents may want you to -- (laughter) -- you can get your company involved in Let Girls Learn.  That’s how Lyft got involved, from one of our fellow young people who worked in this administration and now works at Lyft.  That kind of commitment that companies are announcing today, you can be a part of making it happen.

Every single one of us has a role to play on this issue.  And you can start today by going to LetGirlsLearn.gov and find out how to get involved right now.  No contribution is too small, as you can see, because in the end, that’s how we’re going to solve this problem –- one girl, one school, one village at a time, with folks like all of you -- particularly our young people -- leading the way.

And no, it will not be easy.  And it will not be quick.  But make no mistake about it, we can do this.  If we can make this kind of project -- progress in just a year -- in just a year -- if we keep putting in this effort and this investment that these girls deserve, we can get this done.  I know we are all up to the task.  I know we are.  I see it in your eyes.  I know you feel that burning sensation, that sense of unfairness.  Turn that into action.  Turn that passion into something real.  Those girls will be so grateful, because they are all of us.  They are my daughters, and they are you.

So I want to close by thanking all of you once again for everything you have done in this year, and everything we will continue to do together.  And I do look forward to continuing our work together in the months and years to come.  And I cannot wait to see all the doors we will open, all the fortunes we -- and futures we transform for girls across the globe.

So you guys ready to get to work?  (Applause.)  You think we can get this done?  (Applause.)  All right.  Thank you all so much.  God bless.  (Applause.) 

END  12:37 P.M.

Four Top Speeches on Girls’ Education

Despite major headway, particularly in global poverty alleviation, there are still significant social and cultural barriers to education for girls around the world. Modern third-wave feminism and contemporary feminist jurisprudence itself continue to prioritize the elimination of gender-based discrimination in all facets along with its focus on intersectionality.

As girls’ education remains one of the most prevalent social issues of today, the following are some of the top speeches on girls’ education that prove to be inspiring and revolutionary not only in their content and scope but also their context and timelessness.

• ‘What Educated Women Do’ by Indira Gandhi:  This particular speech was rendered by former Prime Minister of India Indira Gandhi before her death and it remains one of the most influential speeches on girls’ education , especially as it draws attention to the issues faced in South Asia. Not only does she use anecdotes and experiences from her own life to describe India’s tough social landscape but she also outlines the hardships and conditions for women and children in the country and the continued presence of outdated and oppressing social constructs in society. According to Gandhi, education is paramount to ensuring India’s continued growth and development in the future. Furthermore, she believed that educated women in India can boost the country’s image on the world stage as well.
• “Islam Forbids Injustice Against People, Nations and Women,” by Benazir Bhutto:  The speech given by Pakistan’s former Prime Minister before her death is especially noteworthy for its radical opposition to politics and society in the country. Bhutto’s position in Pakistan’s political arena was largely dominated by her political activism to end discrimination and inequality . She singled out conservatism and patriarchy in society as being some of the primary causes of discrimination. Moreover, Bhutto’s unraveling of society was especially historic at that juncture as she called into question the religious misinterpretation of Islamic teachings and the propagation of obscurantism that contributes to it. She distinguished between social taboos and Islamic religious teachings to highlight the social injustices adversely impacting women in her country.
• ‘Let Girls Learn’ by Michelle Obama in London: Of all the empowering speeches Michelle Obama has given through her tenure as the former First Lady of the United States, a rather remarkable one remains her address on the occasion of her campaign for ‘Let Girls Learn,’ which is an organization that revitalizes the importance of girl’s education across the world. Established in 2015  by the Obamas in collaboration with USAID, Let Girls Learn aims to reach more than 62 million girls globally by increasing existing education programs and securing private-sector commitments. These initiatives will help increase access to education and crumble existing barriers. In her speech, she struck a chord as she passionately advocated for girls’ education as she  addressed girls in a school in Mulberry , a borough that is known to be among London’s poorest. On this visit, Michelle Obama collaborated with the U.K. government and secured $200 million in funding to support girls’ education in conflict-ridden zones in countries like Liberia, the Democratic Republic of Congo and Sierra Leone.
• UN Address by Malala Yousafzai: Not only did this speech cement Malala Yousafzai’s influence globally but it also alerted the world to the deficiencies and lack of girl’s education in many countries. She drew from the context in Pakistan and her horrific experiences as a child. In her poignant speech, she spoke about practices like child labor, exploitation and other social injustices befalling women. She also emphasized the strong potential that female education could have on the world, particularly in crises like war, conflict and poverty. One of the most striking aspects of her speech is her direct address to world leaders as she urged international discourse on peace and security to center around the protection of women and girls and securing their rights. The last words of her speech, ‘Education first,’ still remain the key pillar for all her initiatives, particularly the work being undertaken by the Malala Foundation.

These four incredible women have been an inspiration to women and girls around the world. They have tirelessly fought for equality for women and an equal chance at education. These four women delivered the four top speeches on girls’ education.

– Shivani Ekkanath Photo: Pixabay

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Speech on Girl’s Education for Students and Children

3 minutes speech on girl’s education.

A very warm welcome to all the teachers and students present in the auditorium. I am here to deliver a speech on girl’s education. Education is very necessary for every child whether boy or girl. It helps a person study new things with skill and learn about the facts of the world. Education plays an important role in the protection of women’s rights. It also helps to prevent discrimination based on gender. Education increases productivity in their work. An educated woman has skills, information, talent and self-confidence that make her a better mother, employee, and resident of the country. Women constitute almost half of our population. Men and women are like two aspects of a coin.  Thus, they need equal opportunities to contribute to the development of the country. Both cannot survive without each other.

Source: en.wikipedia.org

It is depressing that some communities still differentiate against the education of the girl child. Education is the key factor for girl’s empowerment, prosperity, development, and welfare. There are continuous inequality and liability of girls in all sectors economic, education, social, political, health care, nutrition, right and legal, etc.

The rise of girl’s education was mainly done by king Ram Mohan Roy and Ishwar Chandra Vidyasagar during British rule in India. He paid attention to the education of women. Some leaders of the scheduled caste community like Jyotiba Phule and Babasaheb Ambedkar had initiated many initiatives to provide education to the women of India.

At the same time, as a result, the female literacy rate has increased since 1947. Many factors are responsible for less education of women in the society like poverty, distance, insecurity, negative behaviors, child marriage, child labor, religious factors, etc.

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In developing countries, poverty is one of the major problems. Though education is free, the cost of sending children to school is very high. It includes school uniforms, books, etc which is very high for families living below the poverty line. Even if they cannot afford a daily meal, educational expenditure is very distant. This is the reason parents like to keep their daughters at home.

Child  M arriage

In Indian society, cases of child marriage are still present. A girl is forced to marry early and is often taken out of school at a very young age. People generally think that girls learn only domestic tasks. His contribution to household chores is more valuable than his education.

In this way, they give all the time to the family and no time to educate themself. But the educated wife will reduce the burden of her husband’s by sharing a job. The educated wife will educate her children about their rights and moral values.

I would like to conclude by saying that parents need to educate the girls about the qualities and benefits of education. Girl’s education is essential for the future of the country because women are the first teachers of their children.

Uneducated women cannot contribute to family management and fail to take care of children. This is not only the responsibility of the government but also the responsibility of the people around us.

The best part is that our prime minister has made a very goods initiative for the education of girls through the ‘Beti Bachao Beti Padhao’ campaign in the villages. For the development of our country, we need to educate all the girls. Because it is a fact that girls have achieved more success than boys in less time.

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Speeches > Eva Witesman > Women and Education: “A Future Only God Could See for You”

Women and Education: “A Future Only God Could See for You”

Eva witesman.

Associate Professor, BYU Marriott School of Business

June 27, 2017

Women’s stories are powerful, and they haven’t always been told. So I am going to tell you a little bit of mine.

It is wonderful to be here. This is not an opportunity I would have imagined for myself. It is truly a future only God could see for me. I am grateful for a Father in Heaven who knows me—who knows my potential and who wants me to become like Him. I can’t wait to someday see like He does—to know everything and to see the future and not just the past. But for now I will stand like a little girl on my Father’s feet, holding His hands and trusting Him as He guides me through the dance of this life. As His daughter, I hope someday to grow up to be just like Him. I am trying to become more like Him now by learning as much as I can and by working to refine the spiritual gifts He has given me.

Daughters of God

Revelation given in the book of Joel speaks of the role of women in the latter days when it says that, in preparation for the Second Coming of Christ,

I will pour out my spirit upon all flesh; and your sons and your daughters shall prophesy, .  . .  

. . . and upon the handmaids in those days will I pour out my spirit . [ Joel 2:28–29 ]

Your daughters shall prophesy! In these last days we are meant to seek and receive spiritual revelation by the power of the Holy Ghost. Like Rebekah, Hannah, Elisabeth, and Mary, women are meant to receive direct spiritual revelation through the gifts of the Spirit. Like Miriam (see Exodus 15:20 ), Deborah (see Judges 4:4 ), Huldah (see 2 Kings 22:14 ; 2 Chronicles 34:22 ), and Anna (see Luke 2:36 ), we can develop the spiritual gift of prophecy and refine our ability to communicate with our Father in Heaven in ways that affect our own spiritual development and have a positive impact on the world around us. 1

These spiritual gifts bring us closer to the image of God, in which we were created. Through her choice to partake of the tree of knowledge in the Garden of Eden, Mother Eve made it possible for each of us to exercise our agency in a world filled with choices, thereby providing a way for us to spiritually develop. I do not think it was an accident that by knowledge she opened a pathway that would allow us to become more like God. I believe this sets an eternal pattern. “The glory of God is intelligence” ( D&C 93:36 ), and we must likewise enhance our own inherent intelligence in order to become like Him and receive His ­spiritual gifts.

How do we reach this divine potential? How do we strengthen these spiritual gifts that have been foretold? Eliza R. Snow wrote, “Let them seek for wisdom instead of power and they will have all the power they have wisdom to exercise.” 2

An Expansive View

When God prepares a leader for the gift of prophecy, He expands their view; He does not narrow it. He provides context for the leader’s personal prophetic development through lessons on the vast science and history of the earth and of the people on it.

To Moses He gave a vision of

the earth, yea, even all of it; and there was not a particle of it which he did not behold.   .   .   .

And he beheld also the inhabitants thereof, and there was not a soul which he beheld not;   .   .   .

And he beheld many lands; and each land was called earth, and there were inhabitants on the face thereof. [ Moses 1:27–29 ]

To the brother of Jared He gave a vision of “all the inhabitants of the earth which had been, and also all that would be . . . , even unto the ends of the earth” ( Ether 3:25 ).

And to all the Nephite women, men, and ­children visited by Christ,

he did expound all things, even from the beginning until the time that he should come in his glory.   .  . .

And many of them saw and heard unspeakable things, which are not lawful to be written. [ 3 Nephi 26:3, 18 ]

Formal higher education provides an opportunity to see more as God sees—not through a narrow and shrinking echo chamber but with “the depth of the riches both of . . . wisdom and knowledge” ( Romans 11:33 ), with all things continually before Him (see D&C 130:7 ), “for he has all power, all wisdom, and all understanding; he comprehendeth all things” ( Alma 26:35 ).

This vastness of knowledge must be earned through hard work and by leveraging a greater perspective than our own. Like Eve, we must have our eyes opened not only to new information but to new ways of thinking about that information. If we seek discernment through the Holy Ghost as we engage in this process, we will be brought to new ways of valuing, understanding, and perceiving truth.

Education Is a Commandment

Multiple prophets and apostles have made it explicitly clear that “for members of the Church, education is not merely a good idea—it’s a commandment.” 3 Speaking specifically to women, President Gordon B. Hinckley said, “You must get all of the education that you possibly can.” 4 And Elder Dallin H. Oaks said, “We make no distinction between young men and young women in our conviction about the importance of an education and in our commitment to providing that education.” 5

The Lord made clear that “all things unto me are spiritual, and not at any time have I given unto you a law which was temporal” ( D&C 29:34 ). This means that the commandment to pursue education—no matter how temporally useful—is really about the development of our spirits and our spiritual gifts. We are commanded to receive education, and this is a spiritual—not merely a temporal—commandment.

Prophetic counsel to women has repeated the benefits of education in case we are called upon to become so-called breadwinners in our households. This is wise counsel, and I have seen its place in the lives of close friends and family members time and time again. But this counsel adds, “precept upon precept” ( 2 Nephi 28:30 ), to a deeper truth about the education of women: our pursuit of knowledge has its own spiritual value regardless of whether we ever enter the paid labor force.

President Russell M. Nelson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said:

Your mind is precious! It is sacred. Therefore, the education of one’s mind is also sacred. Indeed, education is a religious responsibility.   .  . .

. . . In light of this celestial perspective, if you .  . . cut short your education, you would not only disregard a divine decree but also abbreviate your own eternal potential. 6

Our learning is of value not only if we become mothers or workers, church leaders or community activists. We are of value because of our divine heritage and because of what will one day be our divine inheritance. Our value is not merely instrumental. It is intrinsic. And our learning is not merely instrumental. It is essential.

Education: “On Holy Ground”

I love this powerful quote from President J. Reuben Clark Jr.:

[We] who [invade] the domain of knowledge must approach it as Moses came to the burning bush; [we stand] on holy ground; [we] would acquire things sacred; [we seek] to make [our] own the attributes of deity. .  . . We must come to this quest of truth—in all regions of human knowledge whatsoever, not only in reverence, but with a spirit of worship.

.   .   . Our knowledge is to be coterminous with the universe and is to reach out and to comprehend the laws and the workings of the vast deeps of the eternities. All domains of all knowledge belong to us. In no other way could the great law of eternal progression be satisfied. 7

“A Future Only God Could See for You”

President Henry B. Eyring said, “Part of the tragedy you must avoid is to discover too late that you missed an opportunity to prepare for a future only God could see for you.” 8

That sentiment is so important that I would like to repeat it: “Part of the tragedy you must avoid is to discover too late that you missed an opportunity to prepare for a future only God could see for you.”  

That could have happened to me. Women’s stories are powerful, and they haven’t always been told. So I am going to tell you a little bit of mine.

After graduating from college, I worked for a couple of years at a local nonprofit organization, where I was inspired by the skills of a new manager. I decided to pursue a master’s degree so that I could gain the kinds of skills he had used to improve our organization.

Between the time I was accepted to the program and the time I was to attend, we learned that I was pregnant with our first child. Pregnancy is always a challenge, but due to some medical complications, pregnancies are particularly difficult for me. I was sicker than I had ever been in my life. I could only stand up for a few minutes at a time, and I was virtually no help as my husband, family, and friends packed up our little apartment and sent my husband to Indiana, where I was to attend graduate school.

By this time I had been prescribed temporary bedrest and was unable to travel. I called my program in tears and asked if they would be willing to hold my spot, even though I would miss the first weeks of school.

When I finally arrived to begin my master’s program, the heaviest question in my heart was whether I should be pursuing the degree at all. After all, I was now anticipating motherhood. And though I did not yet understand the gravity of what that meant, caring for our unborn daughter was already the most physically, mentally, and emotionally challenging experience of my life.

In my new ward I was promptly called to be an assistant nursery leader. I was new to the ward and new to the state, and nobody there knew me, including the counselor in the bishopric who set me apart for my new calling. We had never had a conversation.

He laid his hands upon my head and bestowed upon me all the usual authority, gifts, and admonitions attendant on a calling in nursery—that I would have the strength to carry out my calling and that I would love the little children. And then, speaking to my most hidden fears and my deepest questions, he told me, in the name of Christ, to pursue and complete my master’s degree, that this was the will of God.

Near the conclusion of my time working on my master’s degree, my husband received a good job offer in Washington, DC. I was preparing to be a stay-at-home mom to our then one-year-old daughter. We were making plans, scoping out neighborhoods, and undergoing background checks. I felt unsettled by the move, like something wasn’t quite right, and I wanted the confirmation of the Spirit to help soothe me. But the more I prayed, the more agitated I became. This was not a mere lack of an answer, which sometimes suggests that the Lord wants us to move forward and use our own agency. This was an active sense of dread.

So my husband and I prayed, fasted, and attended the temple to seek guidance about whether or not to take the job. As we were leaving the temple, we shared our independent messages from the Spirit and discovered that we had both received the same guidance: we needed to adopt a child. This was unexpected but exciting, and we began the long process that ultimately led us to welcome our second daughter.

The matter of our imminent move remained unresolved until the very last day of class in my master’s program. I was sitting in a darkened room as the professor projected slides about collaboration in the nonprofit sector. During that lecture I felt a tremendous and unmistakable outpouring of the Spirit, and a clear, quiet, and calm voice spoke to my mind, telling me I would return for a PhD. I was at peace. I knew what the Lord wanted and why I had been so uneasy about the move to Washington.

I didn’t tell my husband right away what my prompting had been—only that I’d had one and that I was at peace. We decided that when he had the same sense of peace, we could make a plan together based on our individual promptings.

Soon thereafter, he felt strongly that we should make a short-term move to Finland for an internship he had been offered. I had received the prompting about my education in May, and ­applications to the doctoral program weren’t due until January, so we took the internship.

From Finland I applied for the doctoral program. In Finland my husband started his ­business—the business that has made it possible for us to raise our children with at least one parent always in our home.

I finished the doctoral program in about three years and soon found myself—most ­unexpectedly—on the full-time faculty at BYU. In addition to food, clothing, and shelter, our work has afforded us freedom, family time, fulfillment, challenges, and a great deal of happiness. We now have four children, and they are—individually and collectively—the central joy of my life. This was a future only God could see for me.

I remember telling this story to my friend Kris, who shared that her own story was very similar to mine but had resulted in almost the exact opposite educational path. Kris had always hoped to pursue a PhD fairly directly after her undergraduate studies and had planned to do so. But when she inquired of the Lord, He led her in a different direction. The experience was powerful and clear, so Kris focused on raising her young children at home, trusting the Lord and His guidance. Together, Kris and I marveled that God’s voice could be so clear in each of our circumstances, and, trusting in His goodness, we wondered how His plans for her would continue to unfold.

Similarly, when I told my story to another friend, Debbie, she laughed, because for her God had made it clear that in her home it was to be—as she put it—all hands on deck at home, all the time, by her. Debbie deferred completion of her undergraduate degree and taught and nurtured her four children—sometimes homeschooling them to best address their unique individual needs—until her youngest child was five, when she was prompted to return to BYU to finish her bachelor’s degree in linguistics, with minors in Chinese and Japanese.

In a world that values education primarily as a means to increase our value in the workplace, nonlinear educational paths may sometimes be considered nontraditional, but they are not nonessential. As Kristen Oaks observed, “Women’s educational paths and experiences are often very different from men’s.” 9 As Latter-day Saints, we know that the pursuit of education is not merely about gaining marketable skills in an efficient and linear fashion but that education is a tool for gaining important spiritual growth and spiritual gifts that can be used in all facets of our lives.

When I reached out to Kris to ask if I could share her story, I learned that the Spirit has begun to open new vistas for her future. She shared that it can be difficult and overwhelming to try to see what the Lord has planned—especially when such revelation doesn’t come all at once. I don’t know what the Lord has in store for Kris, but I do know that it will be both challenging and beautiful.

When I contacted Debbie, she said that for her the Spirit seems to work by reawakening her own long-dormant dreams and goals when the time is right. She is now preparing to take the LSAT and hopes to become an attorney. “To every thing there is a season, and a time to every purpose under the heaven” ( Ecclesiastes 3:1 ).

“Potentials for Her Future Life”

Pakistani education advocate Ziauddin Yousafzai—whose daughter, Malala, joined his fight for the education of women in the face of Taliban rule—says that, for a woman,

enrollment in a school means recognition of her identity and her name. Admission in a school means that she has entered the world of dreams and aspirations where she can explore her potentials for her future life. 10

Our intellectual and spiritual growth through education is a righteous pursuit and represents our willingness to fulfill a commandment of God. Investments in our own development are worthwhile because we are daughters of God, and He wants us to reach our divine potential in every possible way. But it should also be acknowledged that it is virtually impossible for the influence of a Spirit-led education to end with only our own benefit.

In 1 Corinthians 13 we read:

And though I have the gift of prophecy, and understand all mysteries, and all knowledge; and though I have all faith, so that I could remove mountains, and have not charity, I am nothing. .  . .

Charity never faileth. [ 1 Corinthians 13:2, 8 ]

Elder and Sister Oaks wrote, “Our religious faith teaches us that we should seek learning by the Spirit and that we have a stewardship to use our knowledge for the benefit of mankind.” 11

We seek knowledge because it makes us more like God and brings us closer to Him, and His central trait is pure and benevolent love for all of humanity. The more we become like Him through knowledge and the more we hone our ability to hear Him testify of truth through the Spirit, the more these things will lead us to service in every aspect of our lives.

Women’s voices are needed in all echelons of human activity. President Spencer W. Kimball said:

We wish you to pursue and to achieve that education .  . . which will fit you for eternity as well as for full service in mortality. .  . .

. . . We do not desire the women of the Church to be uninformed or ineffective. 12

Elder Oaks said:

Our young women’s primary orientation toward motherhood is not inconsistent with their diligent pursuit of an education, even their efforts in courses of study that are vocationally related. .  . . A young woman’s education should prepare her for more than the responsibilities of motherhood. It should prepare her for the entire period of her life. 13

President Hinckley said:

You can include in the dream of the woman you would like to be a picture of one qualified to serve society and make a significant contribution to the world of which she will be a part. 14

President Hinckley also said:

Pursue educational programs which will lead to satisfying work and productive employment. .  . .

. . . Education will increase your appreciation and refine your talent. 15

And President Boyd K. Packer has taught:

We need women who are organized and women who can organize. We need women with executive ability who can plan and direct and administer; women who can teach, women who can speak out.

There is a great need for women who can receive inspiration to guide them personally in their teaching and in their leadership responsibilities. 16

To this, President Nelson added:

We .  . . need your strength, your conversion, your conviction, your ability to lead, your wisdom, and your voices. The kingdom of God is not and cannot be complete without .  . . women who can speak with the power and authority of God!   .   .   . 

. . . I plead with my sisters of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints to step forward! Take your rightful and needful place in your home, in your community, and in the kingdom of God—more than you ever have before. .  . . As you do so, the Holy Ghost will magnify your influence in an unprecedented way! 17

Sister Bonnie L. Oscarson said:

All women need to see themselves as essential ­participants in the work of the priesthood. .  . . The kingdom of God cannot function unless we rise up and fulfill our duties with faith. Sometimes we just need to have a greater vision of what is possible. 18

Sisters, never question the value of your education or wonder whether you will have an opportunity to learn and use the knowledge you have gained. God knows you, and even though you may not yet know His plans, He knows the end from the beginning. He is preparing and qualifying you for the work He wants you to do. He will continually guide you to ways in which your knowledge and skills can be of benefit to yourself, your family, your community, and His kingdom.

Preventing Friendly Fire

For the battles we face in this life, we need to allow God to arm us in His way, in His time, and with His spiritual gifts. But in preparation for these battles, our women are frequently wounded from friendly fire, even as we stand at the armory. President Kimball acknowledged this when he taught the brethren:

Sometimes we hear disturbing reports about how sisters are treated. .  . . It should not be, brethren. The women of this Church have work to do. .  . .

Our sisters do not wish to be indulged or to be treated condescendingly; they desire to be respected and revered as our sisters and our equals. I mention all these things, my brethren, not because the doctrines or the teachings of the Church regarding women are in any doubt, but because in some situations our behavior is of doubtful quality. 19

Virginia H. Pearce suggested that “when we feel that we must protect and defend ourselves . . . , our energy is used counterproductively and our learning and the learning of others is severely limited.” 20

Consider this experience: Once, in an elevator, I encountered a young woman who was pursuing a master’s degree. She hadn’t taken any of my classes, but I had seen her in the building and knew her to be a promising mentee of one of my colleagues. I asked her how she was doing.

Her response to me, a virtual stranger, was this: “I’m struggling today because my family thinks I have been led astray by the devil to pursue my education.”

I asked her if she herself was concerned that she was on the wrong path, as her family had suggested.

Between the first floor of my building and the seventh, this young woman bore testimony—and the Holy Ghost confirmed it to me—that the Spirit had guided her to pursue her studies and that she would continue to do what God asked of her.

Women frequently persevere in the face of insensitive comments on the part of those around them. We are prepared to soldier on through the attacks of the adversary, who seeks to deter the pursuit of our divine potential at every turn. We are often less prepared for the stinging and inappropriate attacks and judgments of our brothers in the gospel, fellow sisters, friends, spouses, and sometimes—as in the case of the woman in the elevator—even parents. I would be ungrateful if I stood here today and didn’t acknowledge the unyielding support of my parents, siblings, and mentors as I have walked my own path, as well as the love and companionship of my husband, who has walked his path beside mine. We are able to accomplish more good together than we ever could apart.

If God has directed—even commanded—a woman to pursue her education, who are any of us to turn her away or to add to her burden as she makes her way to the summit God has bid her to climb? If God is preparing the women of His Church to fulfill prophecy—both ancient and modern—about the role of women of the Church in these latter days, we should be celebrating and supporting the women in our lives as they prayerfully seek inspiration and use their agency and intelligence to grow spiritually and serve mightily.

Latter-day Saint women are courageous, particularly when they have been emboldened by the knowledge that Heavenly Father has a plan for each of us and that He will qualify us to do the work that lies before us. Once we know what God wants us to do, we are fully capable of following the counsel of President Hinckley to “sacrifice anything that is needed to be sacrificed to . . . train [our] minds and hands to become an influence for good as [we] go forward with [our] lives.” 21 We will seek every good gift in the service of our God. All we ask is that others not stand in our way as we pursue the Lord’s errand.

We hope instead that others will follow the example of Malala’s father, who said:

People ask me, what [is] special [about] my mentorship which has made Malala so bold and so courageous and so vocal and poised? I tell them, don’t ask me what I did. Ask me what I did not do. I did not clip her wings, and that’s all. 22

Brothers and sisters, I have a testimony of this gospel. God is real. He loves us, He knows us, and we have the potential to become like Him. I am grateful to be here in a place where I can pursue that goal, and I am thankful to be here with you today. I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, amen.

1. See Guide to the Scriptures, s.v. “prophetess,” scriptures.lds.org .

2. Eliza R. Snow, letter to Mary Elizabeth Lightner, 27 May 1869, Church History Library; quoted in Daughters in My Kingdom: The History and Work of Relief Society (Salt Lake City: The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, 2011), 45.

3. Dieter F. Uchtdorf, “ Two Principles for Any Economy ,” Ensign, November 2009; see also “ Education Is a Commandment ,” Prophets and Apostles, 27 July 2012, lds.org/prophets-and-apostles/unto-all-the-world/education-is-a-commandment .

4. Gordon B. Hinckley, “ Stay on the High Road ,” Ensign, May 2004.

5. Dallin H. Oaks, “ Women and Education ,” Ensign, March 1975.

6. Russell M. Nelson, “ Education: A Religious Responsibility ,” BYU–Idaho devotional address, 26 January 2010.

7. J. Reuben Clark Jr., “Charge to President Howard S. McDonald at His Inauguration as President of the Brigham Young University,” Improvement Era 49, no. 1 (January 1946): 15.

8. Henry B. Eyring, “ Education for Real Life ,” Ensign, October 2002.

9. Dallin H. Oaks and Kristen M. Oaks, “ Learning and Latter-day Saints ,” Ensign, April 2009.

10. Ziauddin Yousafzai, “ My Daughter, Malala ,” TED talk, March 2014, ted.com/talks/ziauddin_yousafzai_my_daughter_malala/transcript?language=en .

11. Dallin and Kristen Oaks, “ Learning and Latter-day Saints .”

12. Spencer W. Kimball, “ The Role of Righteous Women ,” Ensign , November 1979; emphasis in original.

13. Oaks, “ Women and Education .”

14. Gordon B. Hinckley, “ How Can I Become the Woman of Whom I Dream? ” Ensign, May 2001.

15. Gordon B. Hinckley, “ Ten Gifts from the Lord ,” Ensign, November 1985.

16. Boyd K. Packer, “The Relief Society,” Ensign, November 1978 .

17. Russell M. Nelson, “ A Plea to My Sisters ,” Ensign, November 2015.

18. Bonnie L. Oscarson, “ Rise Up in Strength, Sisters in Zion ,” Ensign, November 2016.

19.Spencer W. Kimball, “ Our Sisters in the Church ,” Ensign, November 1979.

20. Virginia H. Pearce, “ The Ordinary Classroom––a Powerful Place for Steady and Continued Growth ,” Ensign, November 1996.

21. Gordon B. Hinckley, “ First Presidency Message: A Prophet’s Counsel and Prayer for Youth ,” Ensign, January 2001.

22. Yousafzai, “ My daughter, Malala .”

© Brigham Young University. All rights reserved.

See the complete list of abbreviations here

Eva M. Witesman, associate professor in the BYU Marriott School of Business, delivered this devotional address on June 27, 2017.

Divine Potential

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Jul 13, 2020

Michelle Obama Speech Transcript on the Importance of Educating Girls & Gender Equality

Former U.S. First Lady Michelle Obama gave a virtual video speech on July 13 to the 2020 Girl Up Leadership Summit attendees. Read the full transcript of her video message here.

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Michelle Obama: ( 00:00 ) Hi, everyone. I wish we could be together sharing hugs and laughs in person, but I am so thankful that Girl Up has found a way to keep us connected and celebrate the power of girls all over the world.

Michelle Obama: ( 00:14 ) Over these past few months, there’s been so much uncertainty. You all are dealing with serious loss in your own families and abrupt changes to your daily lives, especially when it comes to your education. But you all have shown incredible resilience in difficult circumstances before. Your determination over so many years has already helped countless girls create a brighter future for themselves and their families. And this pandemic has only shown that your efforts are even more important right now.

Michelle Obama: ( 00:49 ) We know from past crises like Ebola, that the struggles that many girls already face are worsened in times like these: violence at home, child marriage and teen pregnancy, economic hardship, and caretaking responsibilities within families. Challenges like these are made even more stark in times of crisis; and that, of course, includes education.

Michelle Obama: ( 01:17 ) The Malala Fund predicts that when students are eventually allowed back into their classrooms, an additional 10 million girls of secondary school age could remain out of school. And we can’t let that happen. We can’t let these girls be forgotten during this crisis. The stakes are just too high. Because when we give girls the chance to learn, we give them the opportunity to fulfill their potential, build healthier families and contribute to their country’s economies for generations to come.

Michelle Obama: ( 01:52 ) That’s why we started the Girls Opportunity Alliance at the Obama Foundation. Because we believe that the millions of adolescent girls around the world who aren’t in school today can make a profound difference for their families, their communities, and our entire world; but, only if they have the opportunity and the education to get it done.

Michelle Obama: ( 02:19 ) I know that all of you believe that too. And that’s why we are excited to work hand-in-hand with each and every one of you. And you can start by joining me in spreading the word about global girls education with the hashtag #GirlsOpportunityAlliance.

Michelle Obama: ( 02:37 ) I’ve already seen your ability to create change all over the world. Girl Up clubs have stepped up in incredible, inspiring ways during the pandemic from making face masks for their communities in Mexico, to setting up online learning platforms in Malawi. With every action you take, you’re proving that you’re not just the leaders of tomorrow, you’re already the leaders of today.

Michelle Obama: ( 03:04 ) So thank you again. Thank you for everything you’re doing. I can’t wait to see how you’ll come together to change the world and help all girls fulfill their boundless promise. Have a great summit. See you.

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Writing A Women’s Day Speech: 7 Tips and Examples

Every year on March 8th, the world recognizes International Women’s Day. It’s a day for celebrating the economic, social, cultural, and political accomplishments of women and for celebrating Women’s Rights . In 1911, over a million people from Austria, Germany, Denmark, and Switzerland celebrated the first International Women’s Day . Today, in addition to celebrating women’s achievements, IWD is an opportunity to call for gender equality and justice. Speeches are held at events around the world. How do you write a good speech for International Women’s Day? Here are seven tips and examples:

Tip #1: Know your audience

Before writing a speech, you want to know who your audience is and what they care about. Without this information, you may write something that doesn’t resonate. It may not be bad, but it may miss the mark. As an example, if you don’t know recent college graduates make up most of your audience, you may write a speech that fails to take into account their youth, their goals (like starting a career), their knowledge and experience of history, and so on. Your audience’s age is just one piece of information about them. In a 2019 article on Ideas.Ted.com , Briar Goldberg describes how audiences can be broken into three types: expert, novice, and mixed. If you’re speaking to an expert audience, you’ll rely on more complex arguments and terminology than if you were speaking to a novice audience. With mixed audiences, appealing to emotions is often the best choice.

At the 2020 International Finance Corporation’s celebration event for International Women’s Day, the CEO Philippe Le Houérou spoke to his audience’s interests by focusing on economics, numbers, and ways IFC is addressing gender inequality, saying :

“At IFC, we have developed a comprehensive approach to reducing gender inequality. We create partnerships to encourage the hiring of women and improve their working conditions. We help expand access to financial services for women. We invest in innovative technologies that expand choices for female consumers and employment. And we work with partners to provide business skills and leadership training to women entrepreneurs.”

Tip #2: Write a strong opening

A strong opening engages the listener and gives them a general roadmap of your speech. Depending on your speech’s context and audience, you can experiment with opening styles. If you’re speaking to a general audience, an anecdote is a great way to capture your listener’s attention and get them emotionally invested. If your audience consists of experts or academics, it might be best to keep your introduction as brief as possible (many speeches begin with thank yous), so you can spend more time on the speech’s main points.

Consider then-UN Women Deputy Executive Director Lakshmi Puri’s 2013 speech to the mostly-expert audience of the Open Society Foundation. Her topic was on the importance of girls’ education. After thanking the audience, she opened with strong, clear language to emphasize the speech’s main message:

“Your Excellencies, fellow panelists, ladies and gentlemen. I am honoured to be participating in this very important side event on the right to education in the post-2015 agenda. I sincerely thank the International Council for Adult Education, the Global Campaign for Education and all of the convening organizations for inviting me to speak today. UN Women considers that education is one of the greatest game-changers for women and girls around the world. It is both an enabler and force multiplier for women’s economic, political and social empowerment and gender equality.”

Tip #3: Include statistics to support your claims

When you’re writing a speech about issues like gender equality in education, healthcare, or the workplace, you want to give the audience specific information about the issue. Without key statistics , the audience won’t know how serious an issue is or what progress is being made. It isn’t enough to say that “many” girls don’t receive equal education compared to boys or that things are “improving.” What are the actual numbers? Sharing statistics also shows you did your research, which gives your words credibility.

You can also include data to show what specific organizations are doing and how they’re impacting gender equality. That’s what Michelle Obama did in her 2016 speech at the Let Girls Learn event that celebrated Women’s Day. She sprinkled facts through her speech on how Let Girls Learn was making a difference. Here’s an example:

“Folks of all ages and all walks of life are stepping up, as well. More than 1,600 people in nearly all 50 states have donated money to Let Girls Learn Peace Corps projects. Our #62MillionGirls hashtag was the number-one hashtag in the U.S., with people across the country talking about the power of education. And we’ll be launching the next phase of this social media campaign next week at South by Southwest.”

Tip #4: Strike the right tone

How do you want to present yourself? What kinds of emotions do you want to stir in your audience? These types of questions help you identify the appropriate tone for your speech. This is another reason why knowing your audience matters. When you’re speaking to a group of seasoned experts in a formal setting, your tone will likely sound more analytical and logical. If you were speaking in a more casual environment to a group unfamiliar with your subject, you’ll probably want to adopt a more personal, conversational style. If you want to provoke emotions in your listeners and get them to care, stories are very effective. If your goal is to inform and educate, it’s wise to rely on facts and stats.

Tracee Ellis Ross’ 2018 TED Talk on women’s anger is a great example of a speech with a tone that fits the speech’s context. She’s speaking to a mixed-gender audience in a non-academic setting. Because the topic she’s covering is personal, she uses a conversational, almost intimate style that switches between the first and second person. She addresses both the women and men in the audience, but keeps the women centered. Here’s an example toward the end of the speech:

“Our culture is shifting, and it’s time. So my fellow women and our gentle men, as we are here together within this particular window of this large-scale movement towards women’s equality, and as we envision a future that does not yet exist, we both have different invitations.”

Tip #5: Pay attention to structure

At their most basic, speeches consist of an introduction, a body, and a conclusion. Each section serves an important purpose. The introduction establishes your credibility, the speech’s tone, and its goals. The body, which is the main part of the speech, fills in the points you want to cover using statistics, stories, or other forms of evidence. The conclusion wraps everything up and emphasizes what you want your audience to remember. Unlike something that’s written, your audience can’t look back to find their way if they get lost, so as you move through the three sections, you want things to be as clear and simple as possible.

In 2021, Srishti Baksh gave a TedTalk relating her 2,300-mile walk journey across India where she held driving workshops to empower women’s ability to move across the country. She uses a simple structure that opens with the story of the first time she went to a movie alone with her friends at age 14. She was assaulted in the theater. She then zooms out, describing how there are 600 million women in India, but women rarely go outside because they’re not safe. In the body of her speech, she zooms back in to talk about her walking journey, the women she met, the empowering and terrifying things she witnessed, and how she joined forces with another woman to create a movement that trains female drivers. She concludes with a clear message:

“By rethinking mobility for women, giving them a safe transport and safety outside of home, it is our hope to transform our culture. Apart from having a profound impact on the Indian economy, this is about something much bigger. As you all know, when we move, we can be seen. The more women see other women in public spaces, the more safe, independent and empowered each one of us will be. So. If we can learn how to walk, certainly we can learn how to fly.”

Tip #6: Use repetition to your advantage

How do you make sure your audience gets the point of your speech? How do you make your speech – which might be one of many speeches the audience sits through – memorable? Repetition. You want to repeat your main point throughout your speech. It’s a good idea to include it at least three times: in the introduction, the body, and the conclusion. There are other types of repetition that make your speech memorable, too. Repetition can include keywords, phrases, and even the sounds of words. Repetition looks different depending on what kind of speech you’re giving. If you’re giving an emotion-driven speech, frequent repetition of the same words/phrases adds to the emotional punch. For informational or educational speeches where powerful emotions aren’t necessarily appropriate, use different words/phrases to repeat the main point.

For an example of good repetition in a speech, let’s look at Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw’s 2016 Keynote at Women of the World . From a word search, it’s clear what the speech is about. Together, the words “intersectionality” and “intersectional” appear 42 times. Repetition is found within sentences and paragraphs, too:

“There are multiple forms of intersectionality . I could talk about a lot of them, but the kind of intersectionality that I most want to talk about is the intersectionality around politics – political intersectionality .”

“So the question we have to ask is, what can we each do about it? We’ve been saying the first thing you can do about it is say her name. Do not allow her death to happen in silence. Do not allow their children, their loved ones to grieve for them in silence. Do not allow , do not affirm the belief that their lives are insignificant.”

Tip #7: Ask rhetorical questions

Do you want to increase audience engagement? Ask rhetorical questions. When you ask a question, your audience is forced to think more deeply about your words. They’re more likely to listen more closely, as well, since the information that follows a question will provide more context. You can use rhetorical questions in a few ways. You can anticipate a question your audience might have, set up an important point, or even encourage an emotional response. Even though audience members won’t shout out an answer (unless you encourage them to do so), asking questions makes your speech feel more interactive and engaging.

Let’s look at a 2003 speech by Maxine Waters at the National Youth Summit. While it isn’t directly about women’s rights , it serves as a great example of how to use questions in a speech. Right from the beginning, it’s clear this speech is going to be interactive. She says good morning to the audience and then prompts them to answer her. Through the speech, Waters asks many questions (some rhetorical, some direct), all of which make the speech engaging even through a transcript:

“Who makes up this jury? [Waters is discussing a trial involving a White cop and a Black teenager that ended in a hung jury and mistrial] A lot of people were very, very concerned because there was only one black person on the jury. The city of Inglewood is majority minority, and majority African-American. How could this have happened? How could you get a jury with only one black, in a case where the defendants are African-American, in a city where it is majority minority and mostly black? How could this happen?”

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About the author, emmaline soken-huberty.

Emmaline Soken-Huberty is a freelance writer based in Portland, Oregon. She started to become interested in human rights while attending college, eventually getting a concentration in human rights and humanitarianism. LGBTQ+ rights, women’s rights, and climate change are of special concern to her. In her spare time, she can be found reading or enjoying Oregon’s natural beauty with her husband and dog.

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• Women Empowerment Speech

Women Empowerment Speech in English for Students

Women have been the ones who are doing so much work behind the scenes and are never credited for it. Our grandmothers, mothers and sisters play such an important and integral role in our lives and sadly they are reduced to just that and no one even values or appreciates them. Valuing them by empowering and paying heed to their voices is very important. And this can be done by putting them in positions of power where they get to make decisions. Only then will we see real change and there will be growth. In this article on women empowerment speech, we will delve into its meaning and importance. And different ways to deliver a women empowerment speech in English. It can be a long or a short speech on women's empowerment.

Long Speech on Women Empowerment  

This form of speech is helpful to understand the complexity of such a topic in detail with simple words especially, for students in grades 8-12 who can use this information for a 5-minute speech. 

Good Morning everyone, respected Principal, teachers and my dear friends, I am Xyz (mention your name) here today to speak about women empowerment. As we all know women are about half the popupation in the world. Even with such an acute understanding and knowledge, the sad reality prevails. In society and the world in which we live, women are often not given any part or role to play the decision-maker role in many professions. 

How do we expect the world to grow when the decision-makers in our patriarchal society are only men? And they are making decisions on behalf of women without even comprehending or even beginning to understand the struggles in a woman’s life.

Empowerment is a very wide term and to each his own. The general idea of empowerment however is to include others who are often neglected in the decision-making process. In this case, inclusion and acceptance of women in such roles is empowerment. We cannot all succeed if half of us are held back, can we?

Earlier the role of women in society as decided by men was to run a household, getting married at a young age and the problems like dowry and tolerating many forms of abuses in married life was a given. Now, in India, women are stepping outside homes to work and earn a living to support themselves and their families, unlike in ancient times. So even the rules and way of functioning in modern times must shift. 

Of course, this shift will not be overnight, any change is slow and gradual. The first step must be to acknowledge their contribution to the economic sphere and create more opportunities for them. Be it in any sector like corporate, IT, Edutech, culinary, law, banking, creative and performing arts. 

When opportunities are created for women in terms of education and profession in their field of interests without any restrictions or limitations, it is empowering. This gives all the girls and women the power to choose and decide what uplifts their status in society. It is high time that the limitations of gender roles are challenged and norms are broken.

Empowerment can be done in various ways, social empowerment is when women are represented as evolved and worthy beings in the media instead of in a regressive way. Economical empowerment comes about when they are treated as contributors in the same way as men are and paid accordingly without any discrimination.

The most crucial form being educational empowerment because education is truly a leveler and it brings all on equal footing. When one is educated it should not matter whether they are men or women as long as they get the jobs done. And that is why education should not be denied to girls which is still an unfortunate truth in many parts of India.

It is these educated girls who become women with self-confidence, intellect and conscience who excel in every field and can also become heads of the department and be decision-makers. Education is a great tool to empower women as it will bridge all other gaps in our society and we as a nation will prosper.  

Speech on Women Empowerment 

This form of a short speech on women empowerment in English can be useful for students in grades 4-7.

Good Morning to everyone present, I am Abc (mention your name) here to speak on a topical topic that is women empowerment. Discussions about women empowerment have been at the forefront in all spheres for the last few years. And this has been a concern because it has been ages that women have been living in this male-dominated patriarchal society. But now the struggles and problems are being vocalized. These points are further highlighted when women in a relatively better position than others are also echoing the same.

The struggles women face right from being a child is unimaginable. Little girls are denied education while their brothers don’t encounter such denial. The reason for this seems futile as their family presumes the role of women is in the kitchen and she should only take care of household works. And the lack of education is a huge hindrance that is curbing the growth of women in society. 

In towns and urban areas, girls get an education and secure good positions but even then they are treated unequally or inferior to their male counterparts. Women are paid far less than they deserve in comparison to their male colleagues for the same work just because of their gender.

To actually empower women, this discrimination should be put to an end. And gender roles as to what jobs should be done by whom should be an individual’s choice and not the society’s. The pressure and limitations put by society on women are appalling, to say the least. 

So let’s break free from these defined and limiting gender roles and start to live equal lives at home, so the next generation knows everyone is equal. Because it is tiring to hear that equality is still a dream in India, it is upon us to make it a reality.

10 Line Women Empowerment Speech 

This is to explain in very simple and understandable sentences that will be helpful for the students in grades 1-3.

Women empowerment is the need of the hour because it is high time we value and credit the women for their contribution and help them grow.

Women empowerment can be referred to as equality or free from discrimination.

There should not be a set notion that girls cannot play a certain sport like basketball because it’s a man’s game which is very regressive and wrong.

There are so many women who are reduced to just being fit to work in the kitchen and not outside homes.

These gender-defined roles are so narrow-minded and do not comply with modern times, where women are actually doing equally and better than men.

The pay gap because of gender is also problematic and in no way empowering anyone especially the women of the society.

We have to be broad-minded and accept women as our equals and not someone subversive.

If anything women are selfless by heart and wiser in nature and stronger because of the experiences they have.

When women are treated with respect and equality and paid deservedly they lift up economies.

Giving an education is the right start, it will make them independent and self-sufficient and an opinion to voice about their world views which are empowering. 

Examples of Great Speeches on Women Empowerment in History

History is filled with incredible speeches by women on women empowerment. Below are a few select speeches that helped in advancing the cause of women empowerment. These speeches can be loosely referred to when you write your own speeches for the English class. You can also learn about writing in English by clicking here . Below are three incredible speeches by women about women empowerment:

Virginia Woolf "A Room Of One's Own"

This speech has gone down in history as one of the greatest speeches about equal rights for women. Made in 1928, Woolf argues in this speech that women cannot achieve social and creative liberation until they are allowed equal access to education and financial independence. Woolf herself grew up without a formal education because her father did not believe in the need to educate women, however, she rebelled against his ideas and became one of the greatest writers of all time.

Rajkumari Amrit Kaur on Child Marriage

Rajkumari Amrit Kaur was born to Raja Harnam Singh in 1889 as the only girl of seven children. She was one of the leading members of the Civil Disobedience Movement in the Indian Freedom Struggle. Even before dedicating her life to achieving Indian independence, she was active in the social movement for the abolition of child marriages and the Purdah (or Pardah) System. She argued that the two systems were the biggest obstacles against women's education and fiercely fought for the abolition of the two.

Julia Gillard "The Misogyny Speech"

In 2012, the then Australian Prime Minister Julia Gillard openly shamed one of her political opponents for his misogynistic attacks against her. The speech that became known as The Misogyny Speech talked about the struggles women face in the workplace and the on-going fight against discrimination.

FAQs on Women Empowerment Speech

1. What is women empowerment?

Women Empowerment refers to the process of liberating women and providing them with the same rights that men have traditionally enjoyed. On a societal level, the aims of women empowerment include equal wages across genders, stricter punishments for crimes against women, and equal rights to education, work, healthcare, and shelter for women. While there are more aims, the ones mentioned above are generally considered the most important. Women empowerment has a history that spans more than a century and it is still an ongoing process.

2. How to write a good speech about women empowerment?

To write a good speech about women empowerment, you can begin by writing down a list of topics that you want to cover in your speech. This will help you organize your speech better and ensure that you have enough material to talk about. Next, when you are writing your speech, keep in mind that the main aim of a speech is to keep the audience engaged. Split your speech into an introduction, body, and conclusion. In the introduction and conclusion, keep it brief and explain what you are talking about in simple, concise terms. For the body of the speech, write one, simple chapter per topic. Explain what the topic is, how it relates to women empowerment, and what should be done to empower women. For example, if you're talking about equal wages for women, explain the history of women being paid less for the same jobs and then talk about how it benefits society to pay women equally.

3. Why is women empowerment important?

For many centuries, society has strictly divided certain roles into categories for men and women. For example, men have traditionally worked and earned money while women have traditionally taken care of the house and raised children. Over the years, the roles of men and their importance has steadily increased while the importance of women has decreased. This led to women being mistreated, considered inferior, and denied basic human rights. Women empowerment seeks to allow women the same rights as men and raise their status in society. It is an important movement because it seeks to abolish the gender inequality that is seen in many parts of society.

4. How do speeches help in advancing women empowerment and rights?

Speeches have long held an important role in civil rights movements. This has been seen in movements across the world such as movements for racial equality as well as in Indian movements like the movement for caste equality. Speeches have often been the rallying point for revolutionaries and many movements were successful largely because of successful speeches. For example, in the US, Martin Luther King Jr. made an impactful speech about equal rights for racial minorities. His speech eventually led to the end of segregation between the white and black communities in the US. In India, the speeches on equality by B.R. Ambedkar formed the basis of the Constitution of India. Similarly, great speeches on women empowerment could be the turning point in the fight for equality.

5. Where can I find more resources to learn about women empowerment and writing speeches?

You can look through the Vedantu website and app for more information about women empowerment or how to write speeches. This page contains examples of speeches about women empowerment. The speeches mentioned here include long speeches, short speeches, as well as a ten-sentence outline for a speech. You can refer to these notes when writing your own speeches. However, if you need more resources to learn how to write speeches, you can look up the basic structure of a speech by clicking here .

Speech: Transform education – transform gender equality

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Closing Remarks by Under-Secretary-General of the United Nations and Executive Director of UN Women, Sima Bahous, for Transforming Education Summit (TES) Leaders Day—Spotlight session “Advancing gender equality and girls’ and women’s empowerment in and through education”

[As delivered.]

We can all agree that education is a fundamental right. Yet, as we have heard here today, that right is not consistently afforded to all girls, and especially not to girls facing other challenges and crises. SDG 4 and SDG 5 must go hand-in-hand. The urgent ambition of this conference cannot be divorced from the urgent global context for gender equality.

Earlier this month UN Women published data that show—based on current rates of progress—that women and girls will not achieve full equality with men and boys for another 300 years. We hear every day of rollbacks and threats to the rights that women and girls believed were secure. I don’t think any one of us would want to wait 300 years. This is why UN Women, and its partners and allies across every sector of society, launched Generation Equality—an urgent acceleration agenda and a call to action for global gender equality. Education lies at the heart of that call to action. As we have heard so eloquently today, education is critical to building agency, equality, voice and power—yes, power—for the world’s women and girls, in all their diversity.  

As we heard Malala say, we need to ensure that we are not working in silos, with a short-term vision. We need to be bold. To achieve that, nothing less than transformation is necessary. As Minister Ndiaye of France said, an education policy needs to be feminist. That is not an option it is an obligation.  We must move beyond simply increasing the number of girls and women in education. We must transform the power relations and the harmful norms, stereotypes and biases that pervade—and degrade—our education systems.  We must create safe learning spaces, in person and online, that not only protect girls and women from gender-based violence but propel their creativity, potential and innovation. We must ensure that the education we offer girls and women truly equips them for the future. Currently women are only 35 per cent of those in STEM education. We must do better, or our world will not do better.

And while we make progress for girls, we must not forget about the millions of adult women who have already missed out on education. They need different educational support as well as access to childcare, safe public transport, training in life skills and decent paid work.

We gather at a time when global gender equality and women’s rights are in acute danger. Education is not only a critical tool to combat this, it is the means to fundamentally improve the lives of women, girls, families and whole communities. We must hold each other accountable for doing so and safeguard our progress.

That is why it is my pleasure to commend today’s Call to Action and Global Platform on Gender Equality and Girls’ and Women’s Education. Taken together, they offer a transformative agenda for action, policy change, financing and bold new partnerships to transform education through an explicit gender lens. A collaborative vision to dismantle gendered barriers and place gender considerations at the heart of education. When we transform education, we also transform the global trajectory of gender equality. The cause is urgent. We must seize the opportunity together. I thank you.

• 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development
• Executive Director
• Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
• Gender equality and women’s empowerment

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Speech on Women Empowerment for Students

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Speech on Women Empowerment: Women empowerment is a term that is used to encourage, inspire and praise women. It is an essential factor for achieving human development. Women empowerment means elevating the status of women in society. It helps in eradicating all the social evils from the society, including the elimination of violence against women and girls at every level, including family, community, nation and international activity; prevention of all forms of physical, sexual and psychological abuse; access to information, rights education and opportunities for legal protection.

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We have provided below number of unique speeches on Women Empowerment in India for the students. All the women empowerment speech are written using very simple and easy words. So, students you are at right place, go ahead.

Long and Short Speech on Women Empowerment

Women are a symbol of richness and strength. They have a vital role in society, and families rely on them for their everyday needs. Women take on various roles simultaneously, like being a mother, wife, housekeeper, chef, teacher, companion, and caretaker, while tending to everyone’s requirements.

An increasing number of women are receiving a good education. However, real women’s empowerment will happen when we get rid of gender inequality. We must provide women with the same opportunities, pay, and respect as men. We hope for a nation like that.

Women Empowerment Speech – Sample 1

Good Morning Ladies!

As we all are here to celebrate the 6 th anniversary of our NGO that helps women all over the country to stand on their own and make themselves proud, therefore we all should be very proud of the women who dedicate their lives to help other women like them and trying to make this country a better and safer place for females.

In India, majority of females are dominated by males as we have patriarchal society being followed since ages. The respect and place that a female deserves lacks in here at a very high scale. Women empowerment in such a country would only be possible if every female will pledge to support other women around her and get united. Even there are many government policies running all over the country but they will be only successful if we acknowledge other women about these beneficial schemes and make it accessible to them.

A female is capable of doing everything that a man do and even more than that because the reason behind our existence here is also a female.

On this context, I would like to wrap up my speech and hope that one day every woman in the country will be empowered in true means.

Also Read: Speech on International Women’s day

Women Empowerment Speech -Sample 2

Respected Principal, Teachers and My Dear Friends!

As this special assembly has been organized by our school to address the importance of women empowerment in our country, I would like to say a few words. A school is known to be a foundation stage of a child but there are many girl children across the country that do not have access to school even when it’s free of cost due to patriarchal society. Many crimes related to girls still haven’t decreased like rapes, foeticide, trafficking, domestic violence etc.

Women can excel and are excelling in every professional field and all they need is equal rights and freedom from the crimes against them. Most of the times, the fear of something wrong can happen keeps them back from taking a step forward in their lives and because of this fear, sometimes parents limit them from going outside.

The concept of women empowerment will be only applicable and successful in such a place when women will have equal rights as men in their real life instead of having them only in books. Women empowerment is all about taking inspiration from all the successful women all over the world and focus on empowering each other with unity.

Women Empowerment Speech – Sample 3

Good morning to all the Excellencies and my friends, as we all gathered here to celebrate this event, I would like to speech on the topic of women empowerment in India. Empowering women in India is very necessary to bring gender equality or we can say that gender equality is very necessary to empower women. Our country is still a developing country and economic status of our country is very bad because it is a male dominated country.

Men (means half power of the country) are walking alone and they forced women to do only household works. They do not know that women are the half power of this country and combining to male can form full power of the country. The day when full power of the country would start working, no other country would be more powerful than the India. Men are not know how powerful Indian women are.

It is very necessary for all Indian men to understand the power of women and let them go ahead to make themselves independent and power of the family and country. Gender equality is the first step to bring women empowerment in India. Men should not understand that women are made only to handle household chores or take responsibility of home and family. Instead, both (men and women) are responsible for everything of daily routine. Men too need to understand their responsibility of home and family and all other works women do so that women can get some time to think about themselves and their career.

There are so many laws for empowering women however none are effective and followed by people. There should be some effective and tight laws which can be followed by everyone. It is not the responsibility of our government only, it is the responsibility of each and every Indian. Every Indian need to change their mind towards women and strictly follow all the rules made for women empowerment.

Only rule can do nothing, it needs to understand the theme of rules, why rules are made, why women empowerment is so necessary for our country and other questions. It needs to think positively, it needs to change the way of our thinking about women. Women need to be given full freedom, it is their birth rights. Women too need to change their mindset that they are weak, anybody can cheat them or use them instead they need to think that they have same power like men and can do anything better than men.

They can be physically powerful also by learning yoga, martial arts, kung fu, karate, etc., as their safety measures. Women empowerment is the vital tool for advancing development in the country. It also would help in reducing poverty by improving health and productivity within families and communities as well as providing better chance to the next generation. There are many social issues making women backward in India such as gender based violence, reproductive health inequities, economic discrimination, harmful traditional practices, other pervasive and persistent forms of inequality.

Women are bearing enormous hardship from the ancient time in India. during and after humanitarian emergencies, especially armed conflicts. There are many private and government organisations and institutions supporting women empowerment, promoting policy making, promoting gender-sensitive data collection, improving women’s health awareness and expanding their independency in the life. Despite such supports and human rights, women are still dependent, poor, unhealthy and illiterate. We need to think the reasons behind and solve all on immediate basis.

Women Empowerment Speech – Sample 4

First of all I would like to say good morning to all my teachers and friends. I would like to say thank to my class teacher to give me this opportunity to speech in front of you at this great occasion. I would like to speech on women empowerment in India. As we gathered here to celebrate this occasion, I chose this topic to again raise this issue of gender inequality in front of you. The government and other private institutions are supporting women in the leadership positions in public sector.

Leadership of women in the public sector is the key of development in the nation. Representing women in public sector is only the matter of justice however it needs to bring forward all the perspectives to make of women empowerment effective. Women and men both have unique and different experiences so both are important to bring influence into the decision making process. Equalizing the rights of women and men in the society improves work quality and thus economic status of the nation.

Women empowerment is the key to strengthen their participation in the decision-making which is the most important key to socio-economic development. According to the data of research, it has been noted that empowering women acts as a potential which accelerates the economic growth and continue development. We should think about and need to discuss that how our cultural, traditional and social rules affect women leadership so that we all may break that. There is a social, cultural and home pressure on the women which acts as main issue to the gender equality. There is lots of pressure over women by the parents, society and they forced to be main caregiver and care taker of all family members. Such pressure in the society and home lowers down the career ambitions of women than men.

According to the research, it has been found during the discussion to women at higher positions that they cannot share and discuss their role or work at home with family members or husbands. They feel uncomfortable to share their feelings with them about their senior leadership position. According to the survey of top 50 women leaders throughout the Asia, there are three main challenges to the rise of women in leadership in Asia “Constraints of Family Life” (Best way to resolve constraints for family life for women is to understand importance of family values by the whole family) “Organizational Policies and Practices that Favour Men over Women”, and “Cultural Barriers”.

Women leadership is restricted by the various social, cultural and political norms which need to be understood and addressed. First of all we need to address all the social inequalities hindering women’s advancement in order to change women situation in the society as well as nation. I would like to encourage my colleagues and friends gathered here to discuss this issue in their family and community to explore all the barriers restricting women advancement in order to enhance the women’s leadership in every area like men. Men too with women need to engage in all social and cultural norms to encourage combined participation as well as create equitable environment in home, office and community.

Women Empowerment Speech- Samole 5

Good morning to all the respected personality and my dear friends. I would like to raise the issue of women empowerment through my speech in front of you as well as reach the message to a big crowd here about the real condition of women in the Indian society. As we all know that without women (our grandmother, mother, sister, friend, wife, etc) we cannot perform our daily routine. Women in the home are only responsible for preparing our food, washing our clothes, and other activities. It is a big question that why only women, why not men are responsible for the same.

Why we (men) are not responsible to prepare our food or wash our clothes or other works of daily routine. Why only women are given pressure in the family or society to get early in the morning, do all the household chores, keep fast and do puja for the wellness and prosperity of whole family. It is the matter of laugh that they are promoted for household responsibilities from childhood however they are demoted to do outside works and leadership like men. Why?

We have all the answers of each and every question however do not want to think and discuss because men want to dominate always over women in all areas excluding household responsibilities. My dear friends, as being youth and future of the country we (the new generation of the country) should decide our own bright future by meeting our hand to hand with women in all aspects of life. What happened till date happened, but now it is the time to awake because we all have already become so late and would be late forever if we sleep now ever for a little moment.

My dear friends, as we read in our history that women face many social challenges from the ancient time and they are forced to be in limit by in their family and society. People think that women are source of investing money and weakening the economic status of the family however they do not think that women are half power who can be full power by meeting with men.

Women too need to empower themselves by being strong from heart and think from mind. The way the face daily challenges of life, they should also face the social and family difficulties restricting their empowerment and advancement. They need to learn how to embrace their life with all challenges every day. Poor performance on the women empowerment in our country is because of the gender inequality. According to the statistics, it has been seen that sex ratio in many parts of country has dropped and become only 850 females per 1000 males.

According to the Global Human Development Report of 2013, our country has ranked number 132 among 148 countries all over the world for gender inequality index. Women belong to the schedule, scheduled tribes and minorities face high level exploitation, discrimination, and limited employment opportunities than the women of higher caste. Both gender equality and women empowerment are key strategy to bring transformational change in order to achieve development and high economic status of the nation.

Also Read: Slogans on Women Empowerment

Women Empowerment Speech – Sample 6

As we have gathered here for celebrating this great occasion, I would like to reach an important message of women empowerment in India to all of you through my speech. The aim of Women’s Development Project in India is to bring social and economic betterment of the women all around the country. The core mechanism of this programme was promoting women’s self-help group to make women empowerment effective. To really bring women empowerment there should be changes in the women’s mobility, social interaction, labour patterns, control over decision-making and access to and control over various resources.

Women need to more mobile and start interaction to range of officials. According to the statistics, it has been seen that most of the women started travelling to longer distances, interacting to staff of banks, development organizations, NGOs, etc. There should be changes in the labour patterns means if woman need to attend meetings, husband should look after the children and feed themselves. Husbands are given some tasks of daily routine at home and society. They should help properly a woman during her sickness in the same way she cares after them. Such activities may not bring high level effects to the women empowerment however men may learn to not to dominate over women. In this way women may adopt new productive roles in their life which may bring a huge change.

In many regions of the country where male-headed household system is followed, men are still managing all the financial activities even after being involvedness of women in the income-generating activities so that men can be beneficial to take loan. It has been surveyed that workload of most of the women has increased whom husbands have taken loan on their own name. Women need to have access to and control over all the resources in family and society. She needs to be involved in the intra-household decision-making which may bring slight improvement in women condition in the male-headed households. In India, it is very tough to bring changes about women in the traditional societies. It can be changed but take some time and regular effort.

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Women Empowerment Speech – Sample 7

Greetings Ladies and Gentlemen! Today we have gathered here to discuss a very significant issue of ‘women empowerment’ and its effect on the world as a whole. I take this opportunity to state my opinion and thoughts on the subject, and I am thankful to you all for your presence.

Everyone present here must have read or heard about women empowerment through print media, electronic media or through general discussions or seminars, as it is one of the today’s most talked and discussed social issue.

But before we discuss women empowerment, we must have a clear picture of what is women empowerment. Women empowerment means to support and promote women for their economical as well as social development. It has wide spread applications like-Opening new arenas of employment for women in private and government sectors, ensuring gender equality in employment, promotion and opportunities, raising their social status and improving their standard of living; among various others.

Now the question may arise- why women? Hadn’t the society been fair to women? The answer to that is- No! We are still lagging behind on that front despite moving fast towards the United Nations goal of sustainable development till 2030.

Women for centuries have been confined to the houses and are held primarily responsible for doing the house hold chorus. The situation of women remains same in every underdeveloped or developing nations of the world, barring few exceptions. Women in such societies are not allowed to socialize like the men and they are not allowed to work; pushing them more towards confinement. They are not allowed to make significant family decisions and are accustomed to being inferior to men. On the contrary, the situation is completely different in some developed nations, where women have achieved social and economical status at par with the men of the society.

Now comes the advantages of women empowerment. Why to do it? Why don’t we leave the women in their present state and let them develop gradually? Today the world is developing fast and we are about to achieve global sustainable development by 2030; one of the United Nation’s most ambitious projects. It would then be a mistake to neglect the condition of women in underdeveloped or still developing nations.

Like charity begins at home, so also does the development of a nation! A nation cannot achieve truest social and economic development if its women are neglected. It would be a mistake to do so and we will lag behind on many fronts like- health and hygiene, women education, infant mortality rate, socio-economic development etc.

Now the final question is what could be done? Well, you don’t need to be a policy maker to do your bit. Every person, irrespective of whether he is highly placed or low profile employee, could effectively do his bit for the cause, in his/her own capacity. Consider the women in your relations or those you know as equal to yourself; make sure that they are provided the opportunities of employment, education and socialization as you do. Things will definitely change one day but the change has to begun from our houses.

Moving on to the government; it should form new policies for improving women’s social and economical conditions by providing equal opportunities of employment and development. It should stress on developing socio-economic and educational development of women. The government should ensure gender equality and that the women are paid equal to the men.

Before concluding I would like to present a line by Mahatma Gandhi – “Be the change you want to see in the world”. Which means that despite all the policies that the government could frame; the punch line is that – The situation will only change if we change ourselves, if we change our thoughts and conduct towards the women of our home and society.

Thank you all for listening to me patiently and I hope that we all be able to bring the change we want to witness, together!

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Speech On Women Empowerment FAQs

How do you start a speech on women empowerment.

To start a speech on women empowerment, begin with a powerful quote or a thought-provoking story about women's achievements or challenges.

What are the 5 points of women empowerment?

The 5 key points of women empowerment include education, economic independence, gender equality, health, and leadership opportunities for women.

What is women empowerment short note?

Women empowerment, in a short note, means giving women the knowledge, skills, and opportunities they need to have control over their own lives and make choices for their well-being.

How do you start a speech on women's empowerment?

To begin a speech on women's empowerment, you can open with a relevant statistic, a personal experience, or a rhetorical question to engage your audience.

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5 Powerful speeches by women in the 21st century

This women's equality day, join us in celebrating some of the most powerful speeches by women..

We may only be two decades in, but the 21st century has seen monumental shifts regarding gender equality. Movements such as #metoo, global fights for abortion rights, and the Saudi Arabian women's driving ban are a few that have highlighted the issue.

When you think of great speeches in history, images of Winston Churchill, Martin Luther King, and Barack Obama may spring forth. Due to ingrained biases, women have always needed to 'speak louder to have their voices heard'. Women's Equality Day, often referred to as Gender Equality Day, commemorates when Secretary of State Bainbridge Colby signed the proclamation granting American women the right to vote . On this Women's Equality Day (26th August 2021), we celebrate powerful speeches by women on the world stage fighting for equal rights. 

Oprah Winfrey

While receiving an award for 'Outstanding Contributions to the World of Entertainment' at the 2018 Golden Globes, Oprah Winfrey gave one of the most moving speeches by a woman at the awards. 

As someone born into poverty to a single mother who overcame discrimination with race and gender to succeed, she gave a rousing speech addressing the evolution of women's equality. Even more fitting, she was the first black woman to have received that award.

Key points of interest

[00:05:20] 

'In 1944, Recy Taylor was a young wife and a mother. She was just walking home from a church service she attended in Abbeville, Alabama, when she was abducted by six armed white men raped and left blindfolded by the side of the road coming home from church. They threatened to kill her if she ever told anyone. But her story was reported to the NAACP, where a young worker by the name of Rosa Parks became the lead investigator on her case'

[00:08:21] 

'So I want all the girls watching here now to know that a new day is on the horizon. And when that new day finally dawns. It will be because of a lot of magnificent women, many of whom are right here in this room tonight, and some pretty phenomenal men fighting hard to make sure that they become the leaders who take us to the time when nobody ever has to say me too again.'

Read the entire transcript here .

Frances McDormand

Upon receiving her 2nd Oscar in 2018, Frances McDormand's speech received a standing ovation after highlighting the integral role women have in Hollywood - both in front of and behind the camera. 

The 'mic drop' moment was the mention of the ' inclusion rider .' An inclusion rider is a clause actors and filmmakers can insert into their contracts to ensure an appropriate level of diversity in a cast, from women to people of color, the LGBTQ+ community, and people with disabilities.

Key points of interest: 

[00:03:16] 

'And now I want to get some perspective. If I may be so honored to have all the female nominees in every category stand with me in this room tonight. [...] OK, look around, everybody, look around, ladies and gentlemen, because we all have stories to tell and projects we need financed'

[00:04:15] 

'I have two words to leave with you tonight. Ladies and gentlemen, Inclusion Rider.'

Read the whole speech here .

Emma Watson

From actress to activist, Emma Watson is an outspoken supporter of gender equality. In a passionate women's rights speech at the UN in 2014, she declared gender equality an issue for both males and females to advocate. She asserted that 'feminism' has almost become a dirty word and that it is down to the inadvertent feminists to strengthen the movement. 

She also talked about gender equality from a male perspective, highlighting mental health and gender stereotypes, demonstrating that men do not have gender equality either. 

Key points of interest:

[00:01:51] 

'The more I've spoken about feminism, the more I have realized that fighting for women's rights has too often become synonymous with man-hating. If there is one thing I know for certain. It is that this has to stop. For the record, feminism, by definition, is the belief that men and women should have equal rights and opportunities.'

[00:04:05] 

'I am from Britain. And I think it is right that I am paid the same as my male counterparts. I think it is right that I should be able to make decisions about my own body. I think. I think it is right that women be involved on my behalf in the policies and the decisions that will affect my life. I think it is right that socially I am afforded the same respect as men. But sadly, I can say that there is no one country in the world where all women can expect to receive these rights. No country in the world can yet say that they have achieved gender equality.'

[00:08:35] 

'If men don't have to be aggressive in order to be accepted, women won't feel compelled to be submissive. If men don't have to control, women won't have to be controlled. Both men and women should feel free to be sensitive, both men and women should feel free to be strong. It is time that we all perceive gender on a spectrum instead of two sets of opposing ideals.'

The entire transcript can be found here .

Malala Yousafzai

Malala Yousafzai is one of the leading women's rights activists globally and the youngest person (and first Pakistani) to receive the Nobel Peace Prize in 2014. In her acceptance speech, she delivered a heartfelt message advocating a women's right to education. She sheds light on women's rights from a unique cultural point of view.

[00:03:39] 

'I have found that people describe me in many different ways. Some people call me the girl who was shot by the Taliban and some the girl who fought for her rights. [...] As far as I know, I'm just a committed and even stubborn person who wants to see every child getting quality education. Who wants to see women having equal rights and who wants peace in every corner of the world.'

Read the transcript in Trint .

Greta Thunberg

The youngest on our list, Greta Thunberg, is a name synonymous with activism. This is more of an honorable mention as her speech at the UN Climate Action Summit in 2019 focused on climate change rather than gender equality. However, even at the age of 16, and speaking in her non-native tongue, Thunburg faced gender-based bias following the speech. There was online backlash due to her emotional tone and age, proving that women's rights have a long way to go before equality is reached. 

Key point of interest:

[00:00:54] 

'You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words, yet I'm one of the lucky ones. People are suffering. People are dying. Entire ecosystems are collapsing. We are in the beginning of a mass extinction and all you can talk about is the money and fairy tales of his time of economic growth. How dare you?'

The speech transcript is here for you to read .

What's next for women's equality?

Thanks to these speeches by women, the topic of gender equality remains at the forefront of the public's mind. Having said that, there is still some way to go in the case of equal pay and gender stereotypes and other global issues. However, these speeches have given women a platform in which to make their voices heard. 

Trint is an employer committed to equality for both genders with a number of initiatives like our Women in Tech and Diversity and Inclusion groups. We are committed to providing equal opportunities to our employees. 

We used Trint to transcribe the MP4 files of these speeches, try it out for yourself .

Your free trial awaits, learn more about trint for enterprise.

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How To Write A Speech On Women’s Day: Comprehensive Guide With Sample Speech

• Speech Writing

Celebrated for over a century now, Women’s Day has served as an active acknowledgment of the magnificent and fierce force of nature that women are. Observing it is one way of honoring all that they do and are. 

With gender parity becoming a progressively imperative area for our woke society, the Women’s day celebration has been commercialized and far-reaching. 

What that means is that people have started counting it as an event that can be used for raising charity for women-centric NGOs and other funds. That goes on to say that it attracts tonnes of people and involves a lot of public gatherings.

Whether it is a local community celebration, a small social gathering, or large press conferences and fundraisers, all these events have people who are eager to talk about a bunch of things revolving around women. 

While the spectrum for the topics you could talk about is very wide, this article will help you curate a speech that stands out and makes it a memorable one for the audience. 

What is the history of Women’s Day?

While it is not something you must necessarily include in your speech, it’s good to know the relevance and context of the occasion.

Marked every year on March 8th, the first ever Women’s Day was celebrated in 1911 and supported by over a million people. 

It came about as a long due response to the repressive tendencies of the society. An agitated reaction to the disparity in working conditions between men and women. Today, it calls for celebrating women in social, economic, political, and domestic spheres of life in personal and professional capacities. 

If you wish to know more about the history of Women’s Day in detail, here’s some timeline-based information you can find on the web: History of International Women’s Day

What can you talk about on Women’s Day?

Needless to say, the central topic you would need to focus on is women. However, the scope of things you could talk about related to women is far more extensive than you’d think. 

Historically, the gender dynamics in society have been known to be inherently skewed in one direction. The hegemonic patriarchal structure has alienated women to a subordinate position in personal and professional spaces.

Women till date, are treated like the ‘other’ or deviated from the norm that is male-centric. The injustices inflicted on women are agitating to even think about. 

So, you could choose to talk about the aforementioned injustices (because, believe me, there are many), or you could talk about the progress we have made so far in eradicating them. These are, however, the most common topics that are saturated on every Women’s Day.

You need your speech to stand out, and for that, you need to write something that adds new value instead of reiterating the same old ones.

The key to a good speech is to give the audience what they’re not getting to hear already.

That is not to say that we should stop talking about all that is wrong with gender dynamics, however, a good speech would bring to light the already existing conflicts in a new way. Here’s where you can get creative with your words. Read further to understand.

Having said that, International Women’s Day is not just about looking at the past. Apart from these things, you could also talk about the accomplishments women have made in praise of them. 

One REALLY relevant, unconventional, and new area you could focus on is body positivity and talking about gender identity. You could back up with statistics the number of women who struggle with body positivity, the numbers are alarming!

Besides, the LGBTQ+ community also has women or people who identify as women, this is a perfect opportunity to acknowledge and appreciate them.

There are so many strong women who defy the norm and rise through ranks. Women’s Day is also an occasion to celebrate women, more than anything.

Things to keep in mind while writing a Women’s Day speech

So, to give you a few practical examples, here’s a list of potential topics you could talk about:

1. Feminism in *name of your country* 

“Feminism is the radical notion that women are human beings.” ― Cheris Kramarae

Feminism is a hot topic in the 21st century. It is almost always spoken about on Women’s Day. It’s one of the most influential movements that our society has come up with. 

However, like any other radical movement, it has as many critics as supporters. The cultural interrogation of feminism differs from country to country, since it’s perceived differently.

You could do extensive research about what it is like to be a feminist in your own country. Your speech could comprise YOUR personal, subjective experience, your struggles, your achievements, etc. 

Reference: For example, check out Malala Yousafzai’s speech on how Feminism is not complicated

2. Educate a woman, educate a generation

Women and education is another very sensitive area on a global level. There are still countries that restrict women’s access to education to this date, even after the third wave of Feminism. 

This is why it is important to bring it up consistently every time, to start conversations, to bring this grave issue to the forefront. 

In this speech, you could give some really upsetting statistics about the percentage of women deprived of one of the most fundamental rights, and move on to paint a picture of a society where women are less educated, and predict the consequences it would have. 

Reference: Here’s Angelina Jolie addressing the 25th AU Summit 2015, another great example you could check out!

3. Empower & unite: a vision

This is a rather umbrella topic. Women are empowered by change. Any real difference requires a real change.

Just talking about equality does not warrant it.

A speech here can be made about what groundwork must one do in practical day-to-day life to bring about the desired change.

A vision has to be formed of the society that women feel accepted and welcomed in, and then steps to move towards it can be enlightened. 

For example, education policies can be enacted, NGOs can be formed, you can also mention the progress already made in these areas.

Reference: Here’s yet another strong global female figure, Meghan Markle’s UN Women speech on “Speak up for your values “

Writing the Speech: Main Guide

Well then, with some prompts and examples to lay the groundwork, let’s move on to the actual process of writing the speech on Women’s Day.

There are a few things that you need to keep in mind, the following includes some tips along with a step-by-step procedure.

• Target a core message you want to convey and build your speech around it, or better yet, design your speech in such a way that leads UP TO this core message.
• Organize your speech. (read further in the steps)
• While writing the speech, think of yourself as an audience member, shifting perspective from speaker to listener helps you eliminate boring things sometimes.
• Build a rough skeleton of your speech, what point would segue into what. Arrange the order of the subtopics.  
• Decide the duration of your speech in advance, it helps you narrow down to key points and cut down unnecessary jargon. It also helps if you set a timer during your practice.
• Reiteration is fine, but don’t repeat your points too many times. It gets boring for people sometimes. 
• If talking about radical notions like feminism, try not to go too hardcore since these topics attract extreme opinions and reactions. You don’t want things to get too heated.
• Make sure you don’t just talk about the mainstream “issues” of women. It could make your speech generic and repetitive, and hence, less impactful. Try to cover a bunch of areas, some a little optimistic perhaps.

Well, with those in mind, let’s move on to a step-by-step guide!

You must’ve heard a thousand times that structure is the most essential tool when writing or giving a speech, and that’s because it is. Any great speech has a very apparent beginning, middle, and end. 

With that being said, let’s get to this specific topic. While talking on Women’s Day, it is a good idea to begin by appreciating and acknowledging women of all kinds, and all that they do, how our lives are so much better with them in it.

Remember, this day is about *celebrating* women.

After this, the direction you take your speech in differs according to your core message. For example, if you want to talk about gender neutrality, you can move on to the disparities that sadly still exist in our society.

You can also talk about the urgency to change the general mindset about the “othering” of women. You can mention how if you’re not actively trying to bring about change, you’re passively contributing to an unfortunate reality.  

Try using strong words like “unfortunate”, “contribution”, “challenge” that evoke the audience.

And finally, and most importantly, always end on a positive note. Not just anything though, mention the progress that’s been made by people towards bringing about the change. 

For example, you could mention the Let Girls Learn initiative by Michelle Obama aimed at providing education to adolescent girls. 

Ending on a positive note brings a sense of hope.

Another very important thing you need to keep in mind is that while the guide might help you with constructing a speech, the words are going to be yours.

And to make sure that your words hook the audiences’ attention, you need to have some really impressive opening lines, because that is when their attention span is at its peak!

To help with just that, we have written a whole article about speech openers, you can check them out here: 15 Powerful Speech Opening Lines (And How to Create Your Own)

Additionally, you need to make sure that the end of your speech packs and ties the whole essence together. Here are 15 Powerful Speech Ending Lines (And Tips to Create Your Own)

#PURPOSE & #TONE

The purpose of a speech could be delivering the core message we spoke about, or it could be getting your audience to act on something. It’s the REASON for giving that particular speech.

As yourself, do you want to alert your audience? or do you want to challenge them? Do you want to educate them? Or just provide insights? Answering these questions for yourself will help you find the purpose.

The tone of your speech goes hand in hand with the purpose. For example, if your purpose is to ignite a passion towards women’s empowerment, then your tone would be definitive, assertive, and strong. It would involve saying phrases like “We MUST”, “We HAVE to”, etc.

Meanwhile, if it’s to just deliver facts in a non-aggressive way, then your tone would be soft-spoken with pauses for people to ponder. It is very important to align your tone with the purpose. 

As mentioned in the tips, you must decide upon the duration of time you want to speak. As it is, our attention spans are progressively shrinking. Hence, it is important to convey what you wish to within the shortest time frame possible.

Compress your data. Include facts, but only sprinkle them throughout like pepper. Don’t go overloaded with statistics. People withdraw the fastest when they hear numbers too much. 

Your speech should be moving, and while numbers help, let your own words do the magic instead of relying too much on numbers. 

Ideally, a good speech about an occasion like Women’s Day goes on till about 3-5 minutes. Unless you want to dive into a specific topic and dig deep. Again, it depends on the audience you’re catering to.

A group of social activists wouldn’t mind an hour-long speech, even. But kids, or maybe community meetings tend to lose focus faster if they’re not motivated about the subject as strongly. 

#CREATIVITY

Creativity is a massive spectrum. There are hundreds of aids you could use to enhance your speech, even make it a performance if you may. 

But a few examples that I can think of are using visual aids, making a PPT with colorful graphs and flowcharts to depict statistics instead of saying them. 

Some people have a strong visual memory, so you’d be making a stronger impact on them by showing them instead of telling them. Not to mention color attracts and even retains attention.

Other than that, you could show a short film, or even an ad campaign in the beginning to set the base strong, or create the mood. 

For example, here’s a Reebok campaign ad that their brand did in 2018 for a women empowerment initiative. You could show it to your audience in the beginning to build a context. Additionally, some ads leave a long-lasting impact.

With these tools, you’re all set to begin curating your speech. Remember to make it personal, adding anecdotes from your life or people you know it’s what makes your speech real, and hence, stand out.

Sample Speech

Before I begin my speech, I want us all to do a little imaginative exercise today. Ready? I want you all to close your eyes. Take a deep breath, and picture what I’m saying. Imagine being in a really long, dark hallway. You can see a door in some distance but you have to squint your eyes. There is light outside the door. Normally, you’d want to reach out to that door and walk out happily into the light. Now imagine your hands being tied, restricting your movement. And the pathway leading to the door is peppered with shattered glass. And the ceiling is also made of glass where you can look at your reflection and see someone tired of trying. Meanwhile, a whole group of people pass by you, look at you, judge you, objectify you, and swiftly move towards the door because their pathway is smooth. Open your eyes. Ladies and gentlemen, what you just imagined is what we call being a woman. Welcome to our world. Women. The pillars of our society, the nurturers of our progeny, the threads weaving our communities together. Women. To say that they are the physical manifestation of strength itself would be a gross understatement. Today, women around us are excelling in all spheres that mankind has designed, making this world a better place to live in, little by little. Be it a homemaker, a professionally devoted one, or any other kind, our mothers, sisters, teachers, aunts, daughters, and friends are rays of inspiration to us.

I look around today and see these absolutely wonderful women who are extremely loved. But that’s not all I see. I also see victims. Victims of heinous crimes like rapes, abuse, torture. But the victimization isn’t limited to just punishable offenses, there are women I see who fall prey to silent killers of joy. Victims of emotional abuse, women stuck in long miserable marriages too afraid to break out of it for the sake of putting up with ridiculous notions of society that undermine them. Other than that, can you believe it is estimated that 60 percent of chronically hungry people are women and girls? Women make up more than two-thirds of the world’s 796 million illiterate people. The list of appalling facts and figures goes on… Gaps between men and women exist in areas from pay ranges to decision making to accessibility in health services and education. The UN has made a LIST on their websites that is full of these shocking gaps. It is sad how long you have to scroll to reach the end.

We are living in the 21st century. There is not a single shred of doubt in the fact that a woman can become and conquer anything that she desires. History tells us, however, that this has been a result of an unbearably long journey of revolts and movements against a society that was designed to put women down, to undermine them. Where the only criteria to determine their worth was how pretty they are or how well they cook and clean. Patriarchy is so deeply rooted in the fabric of so many countries that there are still people who continue to follow those notions about women. And for them, I have one word: Ignorant. Yes, they are ignorant to the grave consequences of perpetuating gender parity, ignorant to the fact that women are just as human as men, ignorant to all the possibilities a woman if given, can emerge gloriously from. Let me reiterate to you people today, WOMEN BELONG TO THE WORLD, NOT INSIDE KITCHENS. The rise of women does NOT equate to the fall of men. And anyone who thinks so has my deepest sympathies for the blind ignorance. 

I’m sure you’ve heard of Sudha Murty, one of the well-renowned authors of India and a philanthropist. But she is still sometimes referred to as “the wife” of the founder of the Infosys Foundation, even though she herself is the chairperson of the same company. Something to know about this extraordinary woman is that she is now 70 years old, which means she graduated high school in a time when it was norm to treat women as secondary beings. In an age like that, she dared to dream to become an engineer. Her family wasn’t supportive of it, because then nobody would marry her, of course. But she went ahead and pursued it anyway. It is to be noted that she was the only woman among 599 engineering students. She then went on to smash the stereotypes and bag a job in TELCO, one of India’s biggest automobile firms, which again, she got because she stood up for herself and the discrimination against women. By the way, the educational authorities during her time were so indifferent that they didn’t even build ladies bathrooms in the institution. This led to Sudha to bring a real change and build over 16,000 toilets after Infosys happened. Today, she is looked upto for the courage she had to raise her voice and be the first woman for so many things, it is revolutionary to witness it. T he cloud isn’t entirely dark .Today, industries and organizations are taking active steps towards eradicating the orthodox mentality. There are women crushing and dominating the glass ceiling in all professional fields. Global organizations such as the UN are working towards women empowerment on a large scale, Feminism is in its third wave on an international scale. We are certainly moving towards a future where it’s not about men and women, it’s about being HUMANS, and that, considering everything, is a win.  To conclude with the remarkable words of Megan Markle, a wonderful representation of strong globally impactful women and the UN women’s advocate for political participation and leadership, “It isn’t enough to simply talk about equality, one must believe in it. And it isn’t enough to simply believe in it, one must work at it. let us work at it. Together, starting now”

Happy Women’s Day!

Every year, you may find people adopting a theme for advertisement campaigns or public speeches in order to focus on a particular area that women need to be celebrated in. It can serve as the necessary prompt for you to curate your speech.

Other than that, we hope this guide helped you coming up with a great speech on International Women’s day!

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Emily Blunt Speech: Women’s Education

Home / English Speeches / Emily Blunt Speech: Women’s Education

Learn English with Emily Blunt. She discussed how women are transforming the world during Variety’s Power of Women event in New York. Blunt implored lawmakers to take action to help young girls denied an education. Emily Olivia Leah Blunt is a British-American actress. She is the recipient of various accolades, including a Golden Globe Award and a Screen Actors Guild Award, in addition to nominations for two British Academy Film Awards. Enjoy our Speeches with subtitles, and keep your English learning journey.

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Emily Blunt Quote:

“If one girl with an education can change the world, imagine what 130 million can do.” Emily Blunt

Emily Blunt – FULL TRANSCRIPT:

“Thank you so much for this incredible honor. It’s just moves me and matters to me greatly. So, I really appreciate it. You know I asked my four-year-old Hazel every day about what she learns in school. I ask her every day and sometimes I met with you know she’s four. So, it’s like, ‘I played’. And I’m like, what else, you know tell me. You know it’s probably because she’s tired or perhaps because I ask her every day and she’s tired of me asking about her day.

But the other night it was like she threw me a bone as I was putting her to bed. She said, ‘Hey mummy, do you know how to get to Harlem?’ And I just sort of stared at her dumbly and I said, ‘How do you get to Harlem?’ She goes, ‘You take the A train, it’s the quickest way.’ And I was like, ‘What?’ You know and I said like, the Ella FitzGerald song. She goes, ‘Yeah, Ella FitzGerald.’ And I almost wept, because Ella is like my gem, you know and then I discovered that she was learning about the Harlem renaissance at four.

I’ve also been schooled on Lava caves, never heard of them before and the small bump on a baby owl’s beak that it kind of uses to crack against the shell to birth itself. I mean and then it falls off. I’m like how, this is stuff I’ve never heard of before. So, it’s sort of become apparent to me that I ask Hazel every day what she learned at school. Because well, I’m desperate to know cool stuff like that mainly. But to learn from her and I just sort of adore the look of delight in her eyes when she realizes she’s teaching me something I knew nothing about. She’s just being nourished and inspired at school in ways I clearly can’t keep up with.

I see in her and now in our youngest daughter too that they yearn to learn, they crave it in. And in return the world sort of lights up for them and invites them to absorb the infinite possibilities that are available to them. They are lucky enough and as was I and as were most girls that I knew growing up, that your dreams were not ever going to fall on deaf ears and that your thoughts and your voice mattered and could make a difference. I said this to the incredible Malala Yousufzai, when we met for the first time. And I was in fact rather overwhelmed to sit with her.

My husband John and I discovered this very deep connection to Malala’s cause for women’s education spurred on by the arrival of our two daughters. She and her extraordinary father agreed to meet with us in London. It’s a train ride away from where they now live in Birmingham in England. So, Malala is the name of a 19th century Afghan freedom fighter. It’s a soft sounding name that certainly packs a punch and how appropriate for the person who bears it. The most compassionate of hearts, but courage and will of steel.

Her name is sort of seared into our memories when news broke of the 15-year-old girl who was shot in the head by the Taliban on her school bus after hearing the demand, ‘Which one is Malala?’ And we wanted to know the same, who was she. This girl shot in the head for championing in girls’ education. Who was she? She along with her friends on that bus was determined to continue her education no matter the threat. And as schools were bombed and houses were raided, and teachers were killed. She was unbowed and untethered by the intolerable limitations that were placed on her freedom to be in the one place that she wanted to be in school.

When the bullets rained down on these girls, the world stopped in their tracks and they listened to Malala. But most importantly so did millions of girls around the world put in the same position. This courageous eloquent and inspiring girl became their light. There are over 130 million girls missing out on an education. Because they have to work, or they are married by the age of 12 or they lack access to school facilities or have to care for younger siblings. Denying them their fundamental right to an education. And the Malala fund is working tirelessly to ensure 12 years of school until they are 18 for every girl worldwide.

So, from empowering local leaders to shift the old-fashioned mindsets of early marriage in Pakistan and many other countries, creating learning programs for out-of-school married girls in Kenya. They give access to quality education for Syrian refugees, building schools in remote and rural areas. They are girl by girl transforming communities. The potential for socio-economic growth when the other half of the population is given the opportunity to learn and then to work is limitless.

Malala knows this and they are seeing it firsthand in the communities they have touched. That if women are given a voice, they are using it. When they are handed the purse strings, the communities thrive. When they are given a job, they flourish. They organize better, they galvanize more passionately, and they are more likely to encourage peace where peace should be the priority. I remember Malala’s father saying something to me that, I will never forget. He said, ‘Too many women die as if they have never been born.’ And I have never forgotten it.

John and I both feel we want to do as much as we can to help ensure that that statement doesn’t hold true in the future. I know that I will never meet anyone more inspiring than Malala in my lifetime. I mean she’s only the youngest ever Nobel peace prize laureate. I doubt anyone could top her really. She has set such a high bar, but her dream is that there will be others just like her. Because if one girl with an education can change the world , well we just have to imagine what 130 million can do. So, thank you so much. I’m so honored, thank you.”[/read]

Emily Blunt

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Speech on Women’s Day

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Ladies and gentlemen, distinguished guests, and all the incredible women present here today, I stand before you humbled by the opportunity to speak on a day that is much more than a date on the calendar. International Women’s Day is a celebration of strength, resilience, and the indomitable spirit of women around the globe. It is a day to honor the achievements of women, to acknowledge the progress made, and to recommit ourselves to the journey ahead towards gender equality.

The Journey of Women

The story of women’s journey towards equality is a tapestry woven with the threads of courage, sacrifice, and relentless struggle. From the suffragettes of the early 20th century to the women’s liberation movements of the 60s and 70s, to the #MeToo movement of today, women have fought tirelessly for their rights, for respect, and for recognition. Each step forward has been hard-won, each victory a testament to the resilience and strength of women everywhere.

Celebrating Achievements

Today, we celebrate not just the victories of the past but the achievements of women in the present. Women are leading nations, shaping economies, making scientific breakthroughs, and creating art that challenges and inspires. They are mothers, daughters, leaders, and visionaries. They are breaking the glass ceiling, challenging stereotypes, and showing the world that there is no limit to what women can achieve.

The Challenge Ahead

Yet, despite the progress, the journey is far from over. Gender inequality remains a pervasive issue, manifesting in wage gaps, underrepresentation in leadership roles, and systemic barriers that hinder women’s advancement. Violence against women, limited access to education and healthcare, and the undermining of women’s rights are realities that too many women face daily. Today, we recommit ourselves to the fight against these injustices, to standing in solidarity with women across the globe in their quest for equality, respect, and dignity.

A Call to Action

On this Women’s Day, let us make a pledge. A pledge to uplift and support the women around us, to challenge gender stereotypes and biases, and to work towards creating a world where every woman and girl has the opportunity to realize her full potential. Let us celebrate the achievements of women, not just today, but every day. Let us remember that the fight for gender equality is not just a women’s issue; it is a human issue, requiring the commitment and action of every one of us, regardless of gender.

In conclusion, let us draw inspiration from the women who have paved the way, from those who have dared to dream, and from those who continue to fight for a fairer, more equal world. Let us honor them by continuing their work, by standing up for justice and equality, and by celebrating the extraordinary contributions of women to our world. Together, we can create a future where International Women’s Day is not just a day of reflection but a celebration of true gender equality achieved. Thank you.

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