“Ever since I can remember I’ve had this dream of changing the world for the better.”

Can you imagine if everyone in the world felt this way?

Zahra, another one of our amazing Speakers’ Bureau girls, says this dream was her motivation to join the Because I am a Girl movement and her commitment to raising awareness about girls’ rights. But, she says, this is only the “first stepping stone” towards her dream.  She also volunteers in her community at a retirement home and at the YMCA.

Zahra is a hands-on kind of girl – she loves drawing and painting, volley ball and cross country. And she brings this hands-on attitude to Speakers’ Bureau events. At the Because I am a Girl Fashion Show earlier this year, she did her share of inspiring the audience with the message that, “if we invest in girls, we invest in her whole community. And by investing in her community, our world is another step higher than it was before in making a better world for all.” But she also got inspired by the girls who put on the fashion show:

“Wow, those girls, they opened my eyes. They held a fashion show outside of school hours about the issues girls face all around the world. I can’t possibly find words to describe how amazed I was and how great these girls put this show together. They said that what encouraged them to do this fashion show was the message in one of our posters in the subways and how hard it had hit them. I was blown away by their enthusiasm and passion and I hope that they keep it up. :) “

So what’s Zahra’s message to you?

“For anyone whether boy or girl who wants to join and help to stop gender discrimination all around the world all they have to do is stand up, and stand for what they believe in. Stand up and be part of the greater future.”