I'M Only A Child. Wanda Montanelli
people are key change-makers.
"During the global meeting – Lakshmi specified – youth activists shared examples of how their work has led to concrete changes in the lives of girls. It was clear that if we want to end child marriage, we have to empower youth and youth-led organisations and ensure they have the agency to make decisions about their present and future". And it is precisely the commitment of girls who have suffered and experienced child marriage that is one of the drivers of the global project, because, according to Lakshmi Sundaram, they "are amongst the most powerful advocates in efforts to end child marriage, but they need appropriate support to share their stories safely and effectively. They must also be involved in designing policies and programmes to address the issue.
This is why it’s critical that the global movement to end child marriage Girls Not Brides doesn’t just focus on prevention – we have to address the needs of married girls in a holistic manner. To this end we must address gender inequality – stated Lakshmi – it must be at the heart of everything we do, since such discrimination is the fundamental cause of child marriage. And it is important to involve men and boys who can be a key part of the solution to the problem. (…) However, we need to have the courage to discuss some of these difficult topics – including sexuality, social norms and power and race dynamics – openly and respectfully. We’re not going to make progress on ending child marriage if we’re not willing to take these conversations beyond the Global Meeting”. 7
Memory Banda: I’ll marry when I want
Memory’s story is called “A warrior’s cry against child marriage”.
I'll tell it to you because it’s very engaging and also fun to listen to. The video is posted on YouTube (with translations into 38 languages). Just enter the name Memory Banda into the search engine to find it.
I write "fun" because this girl really is a force of nature. She is able to describe with firmness, a sense of humour and courage the enormous problem of a marriage which they wanted to make her accept at all costs.
Her story takes place in Malawi, a country in East Africa. Read what the girl says:
“When I was 13 years old, I was told: ‘You are grown up, you have now reached the age when you're supposed to go to the initiation camp’. I was like: ‘What? I'm not going to go to the initiation camp’.
You know what the women said to me? ‘You are a stupid girl. Stubborn. You do not respect the traditions of our society, of our community’. (…)”
This teenager’s positive energy is exceptional, for not only did she manage to avoid her own marriage, but she fought to have laws passed, to interest public opinion and the institutions of her country. She’s organised sit-ins with her friends to get in touch with the relevant authorities to deal with the unfortunate problem of child brides.
Memory tells her story directly to a meeting:
This is her public speech:
“I'll begin today by sharing a poem written by my friend from Malawi, Eileen Piri. Eileen is only 13 years old, but when we were going through the collection of poetry that we wrote, I found her poem so interesting, so motivating. So I'll read it to you. She entitled her poem ‘I’ll marry when I want’.
I’ll marry when I want
‘I’ll marry when I want.
My mother can't force me to marry.
My father cannot force me to marry.
My uncle, my aunt, my brother or sister,
cannot force me to marry.
No one in the world can force me to marry.
I'll marry when I want.
Even if you beat me,
even if you chase me away,
even if you do anything bad to me,
I'll marry when I want.
I’ll marry when I want,
but not before
I am well educated,
and not before I am all grown up.
I’ll marry when I want’.
This poem might seem odd, written by a 13-year-old girl, but where I and Eileen come from, this
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