In India, a woman is raped every 22 minutes: Freida Pinto

The discrimination of girls is a failing policy in any nation. In India, a woman is raped every 22 minutes. You might remember the story of Jyoti Singh, who was raped violently and tortured to death in a bus in New Delhi in 2012. Her assailants claimed they were teaching her a lesson for being a woman out at 8 P.M. And that's the one you know about. The vast majority of attacks"in India and all over the world"go unreported. In a single year, an estimated 150 million girls around the world are victims of sexual violence. And here in America, one in five college women will be sexually assaulted during her time on college campus.

The good news is, these are not facts we are prepared to take sitting down. How can we ever forget the profound expression of hope and solidarity in the weeks after the Delhi gang-rape as protesters, mostly young students, stormed the streets. Courts convened and laws and policies were scrutinized.   The tremors of these united voices reverberated around the world and countries like the United Kingdom, United States, and Australia joined in the protests.

This is a loud and clear shift in consciousness. The world is full of good people who want these injustices to stop.

But the only way you can truly change things is via a simple truth called education. As Justice Leila Seth explains in the documentary India's Daughter, which premiered recently on the BBC and tells the story of Jyoti Singh, "Education gives a girl self-worth and also teaches young men the value of the woman."

Education will enable the people of India to change how we perceive girls; to dig deep and work toward raising the value of the girl.  And in a few months time, Girl Rising will officially launch in India, broadcasting stories about girls who became empowered through education far and wide. 

So you see, progress is being made. The people of India are demanding justice for our women and girls. The commander-in-chief of the world's most powerful military is pledging his country's resources. And stories of change, like those in Girl Rising, are being heard throughout the land.