The number of Iraqi students enrolled in primary education has dramatically declined between 2004-2008, with female students becoming increasingly under represented. There is little importance placed on girls’ education, and 75% who enroll drop out during, or at the end of, primary school with no succession to higher grade levels. Iraqi families hesitate to retain girls’ education due to concerns about safety, family poverty, a reluctance to allow adolescent girls to continue to attend school, the distance from home to school, early marriage, and the need to help at home.

Furthermore, girls in Iraq are not greeted with welcoming learning environments. They are threatened by teachers who beat and insult them in the classroom, and teachers show them little support in the learning process. Many girls describe their schools as dirty, poorly maintained, and uncomfortable. Safety is a major concern as military conflict is rampant, and these young women fear going to school because of their added fear against abduction and rape.

These young women of Iraq deserve better. They need a safe space for learning, where they can build confidence to be self-sufficient. In addition to our "Change is in the Air" campaign benefiting Iraqi youth, we are also planning to launch a Girls Club in Iraq in partnership with the Sponsor Iraqi Children Foundation.

We invite you all to start a movement to bring a Girls Club in your City. Do you have a place where you think a Girls Club should be launched?