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www.insideHALTON.com | OAKVILLE BEAVER | Friday, March 4, 2016 | 10 World uniting against oppression continued from p.4 for failing to protect them from rape. Armstrong interviewed one of these girls, an 11-year-old named Emily, who had been raped by her grandfather because the man held the widespread belief in sub-Saharan Africa that raping a youth child could cure HIV/AIDS. He told her he would kill her if she talked. Girl, 11, raped by grandfather, speaks out She talked anyway. "It was six days since she had been raped when I met her. She was still complaining of stomach pains, she couldn't sleep and she said to me in her native Swahili, `It hurts to go to the bathroom. The thugs in power tell me this is none of my business. That this is cultural. It is not cultural. It is criminal. It is everybody's business," said Armstrong. "Emily said to me, `These men will learn they can't do this to small girls.' The empowerment she had in her voice when she was telling me her story, I think came from her decision to be part of a bunch of girls who had decided to sue." Emily and these girls marched on a Kenyan courthouse, apparently frightening the police to such an extent they closed the gates on them. The girls eventually got inside and ultimately won their case. Armstrong credited social media and, in particular Facebook, with prompting this shift in the status of women, noting it has allowed women and girls from around the world to speak to each other, learn, share ideas and challenge long-held beliefs about how they should live. Besides individual women and girls refusing to accept marginalization or violence, Armstrong noted society is also increasingly unwilling to stay silent. A Taliban attack on Malala Yousafzai, a Pakistani girl who survived being shot in the head in 2012 for advocating for education for women in her native Swat Valley, drew international condemnation. The abduction of those 200 schoolgirls by Boko Haram resulted in U.S. President Barack Obama making history by sending surveillance equipment and strategic advisers to Nigeria to aid in the search effort. "No government, no military had ever gone anywhere to rescue girls," said Armstrong. "His message was clear. Girls count and education is paramount." Armstrong closed her speech by calling on mothers to unite with their daughters for change and for men to also join in this struggle. She said the inclusion of men in enhancing women's rights was something she saw when speaking with women's rights groups in Afghanistan and Egypt. When Armstrong had asked about the presence of men in these groups, she said she received the same answer. 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