First Lady Michelle Obama touched down in Morocco on Monday wearing an expensive designer dress during a trip highlighting girls’ education.
Obama arrived in Marrakesh wearing the black floral Proenza Schouler wrap dress, available for purchase online for $1,750, as part of a multi-day trip to promote the "Let Girls Learn" initiative with her daughters Sasha and Malia. The first lady’s trip to Morocco followed a visit to Liberia, one of the poorest countries in the world.
The cost of the dress is nearly five times Liberia’s gross national income per capita, or the average income of the country’s citizens, when converted into U.S. dollars. The price of the garment is roughly 60 percent of the average income of Morocco’s citizens.
Malia, Sasha & Michelle Obama were glowing as they arrived in Morocco https://t.co/6YP0C4CqYx pic.twitter.com/Ydz3KbDAwC
— HollywoodLife (@HollywoodLife) June 28, 2016
Obama penned a blog post on hellogiggles.com on Sunday highlighting her mission for the trip. In the post, the first lady lamented the economic barriers to education that persist for girls throughout the world.
"Sometimes the problem is resources. Unlike in the U.S., in many countries parents are required to pay school fees and cover the cost of books and uniforms, and a large number of families simply can’t afford to send their daughters to school," she wrote.
While in Morocco, Obama met with teenage girls to discuss the obstacles to education facing girls in the North African nation. She was joined by actresses Meryl Streep and Freida Pinto.
The White House announced new commitments to Liberia and Morocco through the "Let Girls Learn" initiative in timing with the first lady’s trip. The initiative was launched by President Obama and the first lady in March of last year to help adolescent girls throughout the globe attend school.
Michelle Obama is expected to attend a traditional iftar dinner in Morocco on Tuesday night with Princess Lalla Salma, the wife of King Mohammed VI, before departing the country. Her multi-day trip will also include a stop in Spain later this week before she and her daughters return home to the White House on Friday.