The Fight for Girls Education Goes Beyond Nigeria

NEW YORK - May 8, 2014 - PRLog -- More than 65 million girls around the world are currently not in school.  To address this, girls and their allies continue to fight for their right to a quality education.  Despite advancements in educational policies that are being made, the threat of an educated girl continues to result in horrific outcomes - in Pakistan, 14 year old Malala Yousafzai was shot in the head by the Taliban for advocating for women and girls education and in Nigeria, nearly 300 girls in a boarding school were abducted by the terrorist group, Boko Haram, and forcefully married and sold.

The fight for girls' education is a critical one.  While the world rightfully hones in on the atroctrous acts currently happening in Nigeria to keep girls from going to school, we must remember there are positive stories and outcomes of girls around the world fighting for their education.

PODER is a new short film by Emmy-winning filmmaker, Lisa Russell, that tells the real-life story of two indigenous girls in Guatemala and their fight for a girls right to her education.  In the small town of Concepción Chiquirichapa (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Concepci%C3%B3n_Chiquirichapa), where only 10% of Mayan girls complete their education, two girl leaders - Elba (aged 14) and Emelin (aged 11) - embarked on a journey to convince their elected officials to make access to girls education a reality.  What resulted was remarkable.  Despite incredible obstacles, they were able to convince their local Mayor to work with them and create new policies that would provide $250,000 USD towards girls education and healthcare.  He also created a new Office for Women and Children to create a more girl-friendly community.

While the horrific news of the abducated girls in Nigeria by Boko Haram circulates, we must also recognize other girls around the world who are part of the global fight.  Their story of perserverence could send a strong message to other girls and to those who are trying to stand in the way of their education.

The girl leaders and the filmmaker are available for interviews.  The link to the full 16-minute film is listed below and available for online distribution.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WNHSlprdhB8




For more information, please visit www.poderthefilm.com or contact filmmaker, Lisa Russell at lisa@governessfilms.com.