LU to show film on importance of educating girls

"Girl Rising" - a film showing the story of nine girls from various parts of the world who change lives through education - will be shown at 6:30 p.m. Monday in Lincoln University's Scruggs University Center Ballroom.

LU is showing the film in cooperation with the United Way of Central Missouri.

Doors to the ballroom will open at 6 p.m.

Admission is free with a valid LU student ID, and $5 for all others.

A panel discussion will follow the screening.

According to the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization, some 66 million girls are not receiving education around the globe.

Instead of classrooms, many of these girls will be found in arranged marriages, domestic slavery and/or sex trafficking.

The "10x10 Campaign" works to bring awareness to the issue through screenings of "Girl Rising" and other events, while also empowering girls.

Organizers say much of the audience takes access to education for granted - but the global problem is very real.

"While getting into an institution of higher education may seem like a tough road to travel, this is a choice which the young women here at Lincoln University - and those in our surrounding community - are afforded," Tammy Nobles, LU's Student Activities director, said in a news release. "In this space in time, it seems unfathomable that there are parts of the world where education doesn't reach girls.

"But it is a reality - a reality we must understand and work to change."