This International Women's Day, we will celebrate the rights and accomplishments of women and girls around the world. Central to the protection of all human rights is the protection of the right to education.

On International Women’s Day, 18 high school juniors and seniors will gather at an orientation in New York City for the UN Commission on the Status of Women. These young people are delegates from Girls Learn International (GLI) and are preparing to step into one of the world's most important forums for gender equality. Their presence at CSW70 is itself a statement: girls' voices belong in every room where decisions are made about their education and their lives. 


The 70th session of the Commission on the Status of Women runs from March 9 to 19 at UN Headquarters in New York, under the theme of ensuring and strengthening access to justice for all women and girls, including by promoting inclusive and equitable legal systems, eliminating discriminatory laws and practices, and addressing structural barriers.  

This year’s CSW theme is inseparable from the right to education. Around the world, structural barriers still deny girls access to school, especially in conflict and emergency situations. In Afghanistan, unjust laws deny girls the right to education all together. When girls cannot access education, they are shut out of economic opportunity, political participation, and the ability to advocate for their own rights.  

Girls Learn International is a recognized non-governmental organization in good standing with the UN Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), a status that allows them to participate in UN events, including the annual session of the Commission on the Status of Women.  

Every March, GLI sends a student delegation to join thousands of NGO representatives, UN member state officials, and advocates from around the globe. Participating in the GLI delegation is a remarkable opportunity to engage with global women's rights leaders and contribute to meaningful change. 

At a moment when U.S. investments in international education and gender equality face unprecedented pressure, the stakes for this work could not be higher. As GCE-US has emphasized, education is not simply one policy priority among many, it is the foundation upon which all other rights are built. When we fail girls' education, we fail justice itself. 

This International Women's Day, as our delegates prepare to enter the United Nations, we are reminded that the future of global women's rights depends on the young people who refuse to wait to be heard.

Girls Learn International is a member of the Global Campaign for Education-US coalition. Learn more about GLI at www.girlslearn.org.