U.S. first lady Michelle Obama was joined by Hollywood star Meryl Streep in Morocco's Marrakesh on Tuesday on a six-day tour to try to promote girls' education More than a third of Morocco's population of 34 million is illiterate - one of the highest rates in North Africa "Girls who are not being educated around the world impact my life in Washington, DC in the United States of America," Michelle Obama told a dozen girls from different towns "Because if we are empowering and providing the skills and the resources to half of our population then we're not realising our full potential as a society, as mankind"