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First Ladies Of U.S., Pakistan Promote Education For Girls


Michelle Obama in March.
Michelle Obama in March.

Michelle Obama announced a U.S. pledge of $70 million to help educate 200,000 adolescent girls in Pakistan on October 22.

She said the money will help build more than a dozen schools, rehabilitate hundreds of facilities, and provide training and scholarships to help Pakistani girls "fulfill their promise" to become the next generation of doctors, teachers, and entrepreneurs.

"These girls are all of our girls," Obama said. "I have passion for this issue because I cannot look into the eyes of young women and not see myself and not see my own daughters."

Obama was accompanied by the Pakistani prime minister's wife, Kalsoom Nawaz Sharif, and his daughter, Maryam Nawaz Sharif, who praised the first lady's global effort to educate girls.

Sharif said Obama has inspired millions of girls around the world, and her daughters, Malia and Sasha, "could not have a better role model."

"We shall not rest until every girl is learning and in school. We shall not rest until every mother is confident that her daughter will have a better life than what she had," Sharif said.

Based on reporting by AP
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