Photo courtesy of Project Everyone
Did you know that 130 million girls around the world are not in school – often times just because they are a girl?
In case you didn’t, today singer Beyoncé Knowles-Carter shared a powerful video of young girls, ages 5-11, dancing and singing along to her protest song “Freedom” for International Day of the Girl. It includes shocking facts about the challenges that girls face.
As a part of Project Everyone’s campaign called #FreedomForGirls, the video brings attention to child marriage, violence against girls, female genital mutilation and more. This year, filmmaker MJ Delaney, who teamed up with Project Everyone to recreate Spice Girls’ hit “Wannabe” last year to promote gender equality, was going for a complete different tone.
“Happy, smiley joy doesn’t really cut the mustard now,” Delaney said. “A lot has happened globally, and I wanted to do something defiant and angry and demanding.”
Watch these young girls demand a brighter future for girls everywhere.
Chime for Change and Global Goals co-produced the video and UNICEF and the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation backed it. For more information on groups that are working to make gender equality a reality around the world, visit the Global Goals website.