New York - Arab Today
Michelle Obama tapped some big voices to help deliver her push to get girls educated across the world.
The US first lady went to Broadway on Monday to host a concert for the spouses of global heads of state that included performances from the female-centric shows “The Color Purple,” “Waitress,” “Wicked” and “Beautiful: The Carole King Musical.”
“More than 62 million girls around the world are counting on us to be their voice,” Obama said. “And I intend to continue speaking out on their behalf — not just for the rest of my time as first lady but for the rest of my life. And I hope that you all will join me.”
“When people hear stories of girls who aren’t in school, they want to help. And as spouses of world leaders, so many of us here in this room have a platform that we can use to tell these stories and bring people together to take action for these girls,” Obama said.
The event, emceed by TV talk show host Stephen Colbert, took advantage of the gathering of world leaders in New York for the opening of the 71st United Nations General Assembly.
Colbert joked that Michelle Obama is one of the most admired women in the world “despite her constantly telling everyone to eat their vegetables.” She hit the stage to a thundering ovation.
Remarks also were made by three girls from Jordan, Pakistan and Malawi about the work in their home countries still needed for adolescent girls, as well as songwriter Sara Bareilles, Jordan’s Queen Rania, and Gertrude Mutharika, the first lady of Malawi.
Source: Arab News