The 'A Quiet Place' star says her daughters are lucky enough to be able to pursue their dreams as she talks about girls' education at Variety's Power of Women event in New York.

• Apr 16, 2018

AceShowbiz - Emily Blunt learns something new every day from her two daughters. The actress delivered a powerful speech about women's equality at Variety's Power of Women event in New York, and revealed the topic of girls' education "moves and matters" to her greatly.

After recounting daily conversations with her four-year-old daughter Hazel, whom she shares with husband John Krasinski, Blunt said she was stunned when the youngster talked about transport in New York. "The other night... she said, 'Do you know how to get to Harlem? You take the A train, it's the quickest way,' " Blunt joked.

The 35-year-old added of Hazel and the couple's one-year-old daughter Violet, "They yearn to learn, they crave it. They are lucky enough - and as was I and as were most girls that I knew growing up - that your dreams were never going to fall on deaf ears, and that your thoughts and voice mattered and could make a difference."

Blunt then praised the work of the Malala Fund, the nonprofit funded by Malala Yousafzai, who was shot by the Taliban in 2012 for going to school in Pakistan. "When the bullets rained down on these girls, the world stopped in their tracks and they listened to Malala, but most importantly, so did millions of girls around the world put in the same position. This courageous, eloquent, and inspiring girl became their light," she said of Malala.

And the "A Quiet Place" star urged lawmakers across the world to take action to help young girls denied an education. "There are over 130 million girls missing out on an education because they have to work or they are married by the age 12 or they lack access to school facilities or have to care for younger siblings," she explained.

Blunt powerfully concluded her speech, "If women are given a voice, they use it. When they are handed the purse stings, the communities thrive. When they are given a job, they flourish. They organise better. They galvanise more passionately and they are more likely to encourage peace where peace should be the priority."