Right now, more than 62m girls around the world are out of school — a heartbreaking injustice¹ that deprives these girls of the chance to develop their potential. Too often, young women face insurmountable barriers to attend school: unaffordable school fees; early and forced marriage and pregnancy²; and societal beliefs that girls are simply less worthy³ of an education than boys.

现在全球有逾6200万名女孩失学，这种令人难过的不公平剥夺了这些女孩发展潜能的机会。年轻女孩往往面临不可逾越的障碍、阻挡她们走入学堂：负担不起学费；被迫早早结婚和怀孕，以及认为女孩受教育价值就是不如男孩的社会观念。

This is not just a moral issue — it is a serious public health issue: girls who attend secondary school marry and have children later, have lower rates of maternal⁴ and infant mortality and HIV/Aids, and are more likely to immunise their children. It is a national security issue, as education is one of the best weapons we have in the fight against violent extremism. And girls’ education is an urgent economic issue. Studies show that each additional year a girl attends school can increase her earning power by 10 to 20 per cent, and that sending more girls to secondary school can boost a country’s entire economy.

这不只是道德问题——它也是一个严重的公共健康问题：上过中学的女孩结婚和要小孩比较迟，孕产妇和婴儿死亡率、以及人类免疫缺陷病毒与艾滋病(HIV/Aids)感染率都较低，而且更有可能给她们的孩子接种疫苗。这是一个国家安全问题，因为教育是我们打击暴力极端主义的最佳武器之一。女孩教育还是一个紧迫的经济问题。研究表明，女孩每多上一年学，她们赚取收入的能力就会提高10%至20%，而且让更多的女孩上中学可以提振一国的整体经济。

But for me, this is not just about policy or economics. This is deeply personal, because I come to this issue not just as a first lady but as a mother.

但对我而言，这不仅关乎政策或经济。这是一个非常私人的问题，因为我不仅是以第一夫人的身份、还是以母亲的身份提出这个问题。

Every time I meet these girls on my travels abroad, I am blown away by their passion, intelligence and hunger to learn — and I cannot help but see my daughters in them. Like my own girls, each of these young women has the spark of something extraordinary inside. The only difference is that my girls have had the opportunity to develop their promise. So all of us who are parents and grandparents need to ask ourselves whether we would ever accept our own precious girls being pulled out of school and married off to grown men at the age of 12, becoming pregnant at 13, confined to a life of dependence⁵ and, often times, fear and abuse.

每次在海外旅行期间遇到这些失学女孩的时候，我都被她们的热情、聪慧和求学的渴望所打动——我也不由自主地由她们想到我女儿。与我自己的女儿一样，所有这些年轻女孩身上全都闪现着某种内在的特别的东西。唯一的不同在于，我的两个女儿有机会发展她们的潜能。因此所有为人父母和祖父母的人都有必要扪心自问，我们是否愿意让自己家的宝贝闺女在12岁失学并嫁给成年男性，在13岁怀孕，终生被局限于一种依附他人、往往还难以摆脱恐惧和虐待的生活。

That kind of life is unthinkable for the girls in our lives, so why would we accept this fate for any girl on this planet?

这种生活对生活在我们身边的女孩来说是不可想象的，那么我们为何能对这种命运降临到这个星球上的任何女孩头上坦然待之？

This week I will join Prime Minister David Cameron in London to begin to answer that question, and announce a series of new partnerships⁷ between the US and the UK to educate adolescent girls in developing countries around the world.

本周我将会在伦敦和英国首相戴维?卡梅伦(David Cameron)一起开始回答这个问题，并宣布美国与英国一系列新的合作计划，这些计划旨在为全世界发展中国家的少女提供教育机会。

The UK has long been a global leader for adolescent girls’ education worldwide. America has invested as well, launching an initiative earlier this year called Let Girls Learn, which includes efforts by US Peace Corps⁸ volunteers to help communities in developing countries find their own solutions, such as girls’ leadership camps and mentorship programmes.

英国长期以来一直是世界各地少女教育的全球领导者。美国也进行了投资，今年早些时候开启了一个名为“让女孩学习”(Let Girls Learn)的项目，其内容包括由美国和平队(US Peace Corps)的志愿者帮助发展中国家的社区找到自己的解决办法，比如女孩领导力训练营和导师计划。

Our new partnerships build on these efforts, bringing new focus to reach even more adolescent girls across the globe. Among them is an effort of up to $180m over five years in the Democratic Republic of Congo, which will benefit more than 750,000 girls.

我们新的合作项目建立在这些努力的基础之上，并把新的重点放在让世界各地的更多少女受益上面。其中一项努力包括在5年时间里在刚果民主共和国投资至多1.8亿美元，这将让逾75万名女孩受益。

In addition, our development agencies and two of our countries’ leading universities will collaborate⁹ on evidence-based research to determine the best ways to educate adolescent girls. And British and American partners will work together to support teacher training, girls’ leadership camps, and other community-based programmes in developing countries.

此外，我们的负责发展问题的机构和美英两国的两所知名大学，将合作开展循证研究、以确定教育少女的最佳方式。英美双方参与合作的人员将协同支持发展中国家的教师培训，女孩领导力训练营以及其他社区项目。

Combined, these efforts total nearly $200m — but, given the scope of this challenge, even that is nowhere near sufficient. Girls’ education is a global issue that requires a global solution. That’s why, in March, I travelled to Japan and stood with Akie Abe, the wife of Prime Minister Shinzo Abe, as we announced a similar partnership⁶ between the US and Japan to help girls worldwide attend school.

总体而言，这些投资价值近2亿美元，但鉴于这是一项巨大的挑战，即便是这样的投资也远远不够。女孩教育是一个需要提出全球解决方案的全球性问题。正因为此，今年3月我去了日本，和日本首相安倍晋三(Shinzo Abe)的夫人安倍昭惠(Akie Abe)站在一起，宣布了类似的美日合作项目、以帮助全世界的女孩上学。

I intend to use my remaining time as first lady — and beyond — to rally leaders across the globe to join us in this work. Because every girl, no matter where she lives.

我打算在自己担任美国第一夫人的剩余时间里（以及之后）召集世界各地的领导人加入我们的这项工作，因为每个女孩都应该有机会发展她自己的潜力，无论她生活在哪里。