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00:00I'm not going to thank my mom because I'm actually going to talk about her.
00:04So that's later for you, mom, not yet.
00:08So standing up here today, I'm thinking about my two great-grandmothers.
00:15So one got married at the age of 13 and the other got married at 14.
00:20Neither of them finished secondary school because they had to do household chores and
00:24help with the family.
00:26That was the expectation for many girls in rural India.
00:31Things were a little bit better for my grandmother and my mother, but they were also expected
00:35to skip college and get married, which they both did at the age of 20.
00:41That didn't stop my incredible mom, Reko's here tonight, from creating an extraordinary
00:54life.
00:55She and my dad, immigrants to America, built successful businesses together.
00:59She also went on to build a Hindu temple and open a domestic violence shelter here in Los
01:05Angeles.
01:11But she did it all in spite of her circumstances, not because of them.
01:16And even though my family moved to America when I was nine, I too had to push against
01:21traditional Indian gender expectations.
01:25As Jay said, I failed because I'm not a doctor.
01:28I think it turned out fine, so don't worry.
01:31The point is, though, my daughters are the first women in my family to have the freedom
01:38to forge their own path.
01:40I know they don't take it for granted.
01:43They understand, as does my son, that they stand on a lot of people's shoulders, including
01:50my mothers and great-grandmothers.
01:53And they know plenty of women aren't so lucky.
01:56Around the world, millions of little girls are born with the same brilliance and potential
02:01as little boys.
02:03But as they grow up, they learn that their future is more limited, mostly because they
02:07just don't have the same access to education.
02:11In many countries, girls are expected to spend more time than boys caring for younger siblings,
02:17feeding livestock, or walking miles to fetch clean water, which doesn't leave time for school.
02:24In other places, families just can't afford to give their daughters an education.
02:29Right now, 122 million girls are still out of school.
02:35Room to Read's girl education program is working to change that.
02:40Because keeping girls in school is the best way to empower them and give them a choice
02:45for their own future.
02:48Data shows that girls who finish secondary school have smaller and healthier families,
02:53lower HIV infection rates, higher wages, and are more likely to educate their own children.
03:00And that, to me, is a really powerful thing.
03:03That means that stops some kind of cycle, right, eventually.
03:07So a few years ago, my daughter Rami and I visited Room to Read schools in Tanzania and
03:12Cambodia.
03:13The community of girls was amazing, but we were especially impressed by the adults supporting
03:19them called social mobilizers.
03:22These local women, employed by Room to Read, support the girls from 6th to 12th grade.
03:28They're part mentor, part big sister, and part social worker.
03:33They help girls become advocates for themselves and discover their own power.
03:39Because they're part of the community, they also build trust with parents and community
03:43elders.
03:45Because prioritizing an education isn't about rejecting your community or your culture.
03:52It's about strengthening your community and your culture.
03:55And when women have financial influence, each dollar goes back into the village or the family,
04:01which makes society stronger.
04:05So I can't go back in time and give my great-grandmothers the freedom to live their own lives and chase
04:12their own dreams.
04:13I sometimes do wonder what those dreams were.
04:17But what I can do, and what we all can do, is make sure girls growing up today can discover
04:21their voices and have more control over their lives.
04:26That's what Room to Read is doing, and I am so grateful to Variety for giving Amy, Carol,
04:33Zoe, and me a platform to celebrate and support the causes we care about.
04:39We tell stories to entertain people, and these stories help people feel seen and heard.
04:47By honoring us tonight, you're doing the same thing, making sure these amazing organizations
04:53get the recognition they deserve.
04:55So thank you to everyone at Variety for this lovely honor, especially Michelle, Ramin,
05:02and Cynthia, who I've known since we started in the business together.
05:06A big thank you to my friend, Jay Shetty.
05:11Let's hike.
05:12I mean for real, not LA hike, like real hike.
05:16Thanks to my family and community for the strong foundation.
05:19Thank you to my mom, who models all that is good in the world.
05:23And to Doug, Rami, Sophia, and Enzo, you are my whole heart and then some.
05:28Thank you so much.