By Claire Frank

Women have it pretty good in America. Sure, it could be better (cough, wage inequality, cough), but at least we don’t have to worry about being sold into marriage or sex slavery like girls in India.

According to The Girl Store, “in some parts of India, the Indian girl grows up in a society where boys are idolized and girls are mourned.” Boys are educated while girls are lucky if they even make it to 10th grade; only 3 out of 10 girls in India who begin education in grade 1 will finish grade 10.

It’s a horrible situation. Thankfully, there are movements working to change these statistics and help the girls in India.

One of these organizations is The Girl Store. Founded in 1996 by Anand Mahindra, Managing Director of Mahindra & Mahindra Ltd. (an Indian Automobile company), the Girl Store works with the Mahindra Foundation USA by collecting donations to support the education of underprivileged Indian girls through Project Nanhi Kali.

The organization is based out of New York City, but most people get involved through its website.

The Girl Store’s website features gifs and the stories of the exact girls Project Nanhi Kali helps. Next to the gifs are four items which people can purchase for the girls, such as uniforms, bookbags, textbooks, pencils, and footwear. Each purchase also provides the girl with a tutor, and once the four items are purchased, the girl is sent off to school.

The website claims to have helped over 75,000 girls in India since its foundation and hopes to help 5,000,000. Although this is a lofty goal and probably unlikely, it is still a great cause and deserves more attention.

The Girl Store’s Website: http://www.the-girl-store.org/