Melinda Gates is a harbinger of social empowerment and has been actively involved in several efforts to make the world a better place. Lately, the co-chair of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation joined forces with former First Lady Michelle Obama to fight another big social injustice. Interestingly, she received full applause and support for this from her equestrian daughter, Jennifer Gates.
Teaming up with a human rights lawyer, Melinda Gates, and Michelle Obama have brought three big humanitarian bodies together. Jennifer Gates took to social media to re-echo the message shared by her mom via a post as the women volunteer and stand up for unprivileged young girls.
Michelle Obama, Melinda Gates, and Amal Clooney on the pitiful state of forced young brides
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Jennifer Gates shared an Instagram story with her fans that had a post by her mom attached to it. The post carried a video where Gates, Michelle Obama, and human rights lawyer Amal Clooney talked about their work against child marriage of young girls in Africa.
Melinda Gates said, “A girl is not the property of anybody else. Child marriage is something that still happens quite often. That is just not acceptable for a young child, a girl, to marry an older man.” Gates also said that these young girls are pulled out of school, forcing them into perpetual financial inequality.
Clooney further elaborated on the circumstances of girls saying, “We’ve met girls who were forced into marriage when they were as young as 12 and who have, you know, three kids by the time they’re 18.” Michelle Obama mentioned that the trio is interacting with all the girls in such situations and sitting down with them.
Clooney mentioned that helping these girls is quite a challenge, especially since no laws protect underage or forced marriage of girls in over 40 African nations.’
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A systemic battle against child marriage in African nations
To undo this social injustice, the three women have decided to get education, healthcare, and legal aid for girls. Michelle Obama and her co-founded Obama Foundation will focus on the education sector of these girls, while the Clooney Foundation will take care of legal problems.
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Melinda Gates and her Pivotal Ventures Foundation will cater to the healthcare and wellness needs of the girls under their project’s umbrella. Gates admitted that it is a very difficult problem to solve. However, with Michelle Obama and Amal Clooney on her side, she believes that she can see its fruits within her lifetime. What are your thoughts on this? Speak your mind in the comments.
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