Girl Rising is a documentary film directed  by Academy Award winner Richard E. Robbins. It follows the lives of nine girls throughout the world who each face different conflicts. Girl Rising is also the name of an organization that empowers girls throughout the world, documenting extraordinary girls and the power of education. On November 20, Joe Sicilian and a group of Curtis students  showed clips from this movie in the library at 3:30.

A group of ten students went on a trip to the United Nations where they were shown a preview of Girl Rising. They then decided that every student in Curtis should be given the chance to see the movie too. Bridget Mulvey, a sophomore in Curtis who attended the trip, said, “Girl Rising gave us the opportunity to understand what girls go through all around the world and how lucky we are.”

The event started off with a discussion  about the movie and the struggles many girls go through. One clip was shown from the film was the story of Ruksana.  She  lives in India and had to move away  from her village to the city for a good education. Ruksana faces financial issues and has trouble adjusting to the city environment.  Her parents encouraged her to stay in school and to continue drawing. Girl Rising helped provide Ruksana with supplies and money for her education.

When the preview was over, the speakers asked the audience questions based on the clip to allow students to voice their thoughts. Lauren Shavzin said, “Girl Rising is about giving every girl the chance to educate themselves and take control of their own lives. Many girls are starting to take control and hopefully more will join the movement.”

Nafiul Bahri, a junior, has seen some of these incidents first hand when he visited Bangladesh. There he saw with his own eyes how girls were being treated. He said,“I saw how a lot of girls did not get the opportunities that boys get because of their gender. I want everybody to be happy. At the end of the day, all I want to see is smiles and people being happy and free.”

Joe Sicilian gave his parting words as, “Excellent day, but the work has just begun.” The group will continue to push for gender equality and make more people aware of the struggles girls face all over the world.