Seventeen-year-old Dipali is the only girl in her village in northeastern Bangladesh who knows how to repair mobile phones. Forced to drop out of school when her parents couldn’t afford to pay the fees, Dipali returned to learning with the help of an innovative alternative education program: Skills4Girls.
The UNICEF-supported program helps girls complete their education and acquire marketable 21st-century job skills that open doors to employment. Programs like this reduce early child marriage and empower girls to make decisions about their own lives.
Every girl has the right to a quality education and the right to make decisions about her own life
Skills4Girls is designed to equip girls around the world to become entrepreneurs and changemakers, capable of addressing issues in their community and serving as role models for the next generation of girls.
Dipali’s father is proud of his daughter’s skill set and newfound independence. He’s hoping she’ll have her own shop one day. “Other families say, ‘A girl is learning to work. Why shouldn’t my daughter learn too?'” says Dipali. “That’s why I’m learning [skills for] this trade, so that girls can see me and are also able to work.”
Equipped with the right resources and opportunities, the world’s 600 million adolescent girls can become the largest generation of female leaders the world has ever seen. Your contribution will support UNICEF’s work to unlock their talents, skills and potential. Please donate.
Top photo: In northeastern Bangladesh, 17-year-old Dipali had to drop out of school when her parents couldn’t afford to pay the fees. She learned leadership and entrepreneurial skills — including how to repair cellphones — through the UNICEF-supported Skills4Girls program. © UNICEF. Video edited by Tong Su for UNICEF USA.