Florida Reps. Lois Frankel (D) and Michael Waltz (R) have reintroduced the Keeping Girls in School Act. The bill will require an updated strategy to strengthen the United States’ investment in capacities, skills and the futures of adolescent girls on a global scale.
The legislation will direct the United States Agency for International Development (USAID) to address any barriers that adolescent girls across the globe face in order to access a quality secondary education in countries that have high drop-out rates for female students in relation to male peers. The Act will authorize international development projects that will respond to any new barriers that have emerged over the last year, which include “inequitable access to digital resources, in addition to preexisting barriers that prevent girls from staying enrolled in school and completing their education.”
In statements provided by the lawmakers, both praised the legislation and commented. on why the effort drew bipartisan support.
Rep. Waltz shared that “as a Green Beret who has operated all over the world, I have seen firsthand that in societies where women thrive, extremism doesn’t.” “Adolescent girls are disproportionately at risk of dropping out of school than boys,” he added. As a result, “the Keeping Girls in School Act will help ensure girls can safely access the proper education they deserve” because “girls’ education is essential to our national security and this legislation will help make the United States and the world safer places.”
Rep. Frankel detailed that “when girls are educated their futures are brighter,” so “this means greater prosperity and security for their families, communities, and the world.”
She further explained that “11 million girls are at risk of never returning to school around the world right now, which means there are 11 million reasons that we need to care about this issue.”
The lawmakers hope to “tackle the barriers keeping girls out of school and help build a more peaceful, prosperous, and equitable world” as Frankel noted.
