Today is the #DayoftheGirl, and Michelle Obama is celebrating the power of girls everywhere by launching her new international initiative Global Girls Alliance. The organization spearheaded by the former First Lady aims to support around 1,500 groups focused on girl’s education around the globe, according to the Washington Post.
“When you educate a girl, you educate a family, a community, a country,” Obama said during her Thursday appearance on the Today Show. “If we care about climate change, if we care about poverty, then we have to care about education.”
The GGA will provide money to on-the-ground groups around the world, as well as offer training, networking, and other means of support. This is yet another way Obama is staying busy and making the world a better place long after her tenure in the White House. Her new memoir Becoming hits shelves next month, and she leads the voting campaign When We All Vote to boost turnout in the 2018 midterms.
During her appearance on the Today Show, Obama also opened up about her thoughts the #MeToo movement a year after the Weinstein accusations shook Hollywood. “I’m surprised at how much has changed and how much has not changed, and I think that’s where the fire is coming from,” she said. “Enough is enough. The world is a sadly dangerous place for women and girls…and I think young women are tired of it.”
She notes not only the slow progress, but recognizes the backlash from men like Louis C.K., Trump, and Brett Kavanaugh, saying that despite the pushback, women need to continue to move forward. “Change is not a direct, smooth path—there’s going to be bumps and resistance. There has been a status quo...and that is changing and there’s going to be a little discomfort. It’s up to women out there to say, ‘Sorry you feel uncomfortable, but I’m paving the way for the next generation.'”
