The critically acclaimed documentary film “Girl Rising” is coming to Moscow, courtesy of the University of Idaho Women’s Center and other campus and community organizations.
The film, which features the stories of nine girls from nine countries around the world, will play at 7:30 p.m. Sept. 3, at the Kenworthy Performing Arts Centre in Moscow.
The event is part of the annual City of Moscow’s Inclusive Communities Week 2013, said Lysa Salsbury, Women’s Center director.
Last year’s theme of the week focused on immigration, while this year the week is centered around gender equality.
“The money raised from selling tickets goes to an organization called 10×10, which is a global action campaign to help fund initiatives around the world that raise money to educate girls and young women,” Salsbury said.
In October 2012, the story of Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani schoolgirl who survived an attempted assassination by the Taliban while standing up for her right to have an education spread around the world.
Since then, organizations such as 10×10 have been committed to making a difference for gender equality when it comes to education, and part of that has been invested in the making of “Girl Rising.”
In the film, nine renowned actresses narrate the stories of nine girls from Afghanistan, Haiti, Sierra Leone, Ethiopia, Peru, Egypt, Nepal, India and Cambodia.
“‘Girl Rising’ is a powerful film being distributed nationwide about the value of education for girls,” Colleen Kulesza, interim program coordinator at the Women’s Center, said. “It addresses the stories of nine girls in nine different countries and how education changed their lives.”
Research shows that education makes a significant difference in a girl’s life no matter the country, Kulesza said. Educated girls and young women stay in school longer, make better money, have children later in life and get married later in life.
“So many women in this world are not educated; they don’t get to finish school,” she said. “Boys go to school more often than girls, all over the world, and it’s a huge inequity. Only 70 percent of the world’s women are literate.”
Salsbury said the film aligns perfectly with the Women’s Center’s mission to promote, educate and advocate for gender equality.
“I also think it is really timely because as our new and returning students are coming back to school and starting a brand new journey of learning and discovery. I think it’s really important for them to hear about the lives of girls and women who live in countries where education is not a priority, and where their struggle for basic education is much tougher than the ready access that we in the developing world already have to education,” she said. “I think it will really strike a chord with students and maybe help them to better appreciate the opportunity that they are being given to have a higher education and maybe inspire them to get involved in different ways to help promote women’s education around the world.”
The film features narrations from Meryl Streep, Anne Hathaway, Kerry Washington, Liam Neeson, Cate Blanchett, Priyanka Chopra, Salma Hayek, Chloë Grace Moretz, Selena Gomez, Freida Pinto and Alicia Keys.
General admission to the event is $10. Admission for seniors and students with a valid ID is $3. To purchase tickets in advance with a credit card, visit http://gathr.us/screening/4510. Tickets will also be available for purchase by cash or check only at the door.
“Girl Rising” is on a limited distribution track through an organization called Gathr.
Inclusive Communities Week 2013 events are co-sponsored by the University of Idaho Women’s Center, LGBTQA Office, Office of Human Rights, Access, & Inclusion, and the Martin Institute. The Latah County Human Rights Task Force, the City of Moscow’s Human Rights Commission, Alternatives to Violence of the Palouse and the Purple Paisley Quilters of the Unitarian Universalist Church of the Palouse are also sponsors of the event.
Emily Vaartstra can be reached at [email protected]