Today, October 11th, marks the fourth annual International Day of the Girl, a special resolution proclaimed by the United Nations in 2011 to encourage an important worldwide conversation about advancing girls’ lives across the globe. To honor the day this year, Keisha Thompson, a 25-year-old British writer, singer and performer, wrote a poem called “Yet,” then these 13 girls from 8 countries brought her powerful words to life.
“Because you still haven’t seen the best of us yet.”
This inspiring video rendition of Keisha’s poem was commissioned by the child rights organization Plan International to mark International Day of the Girl. It features 13 adolescent girls from Brazil, Ethiopia, India, Liberia, Nicaragua, Rwanda, Thailand and Sierra Leone, each delivering the beautiful lines that Keisha penned. Their purpose… to “rally girls around the struggle to overcome discrimination, claim their rights and celebrate better futures.”
Keisha Thompson
Keisha, who has her own feminist solo show – I Wish I had a Moustache (staged in London and Manchester) – that explores beauty, gender anxieties and the taboo of body hair, told BBC Newsbeat, “As long as there’s somewhere in the world where girls are facing extreme oppression of their rights, then feminism has a long way to go still.” She added that education is one of the biggest issues facing girls today. “If someone’s denied that basic right of just learning then it limits them immediately.”
Yet
by Keisha Thompson
Because I am a girl you might think that you know me
You might think of a certain colour
Of a certain history
You might think of a certain fashion
Or a certain role in society
But so much is changing
All that is certain is you haven’t seen the best of me
Right now the number of female world leaders
Has doubled since 2005
Right now there are more of us standing as CEOs
Than the world has ever seen
Times are changing and you
Haven’t seen the best of us yet
But right now 65 million of us still have stolen dreams
Right now 65 million of us could be left behind
With no access to education
Trapped by narrow expectations
If you deny us the chance to learn now
You deny us our potential and our history
I am the strength of Malala and Maya Angelou
What makes you think I am not equal to you?
I can be the head of a family, a community, a company, a country
I can be a leader
Until my sisters are free then I am not free
Because justice shouldn’t feel like luck
Like we are short straws to be plucked
Justice should feel like everyone is standing up
Waiting for us to take the next step
Because you still haven’t seen the best of us yet