I was in Bangladesh just last month, visiting a number of BRAC programs. One that I visited was an adolescent program in Kushtia, a small town five hours outside the capital city. My parents are from Kushtia, hence the reason for my visiting a BRAC program there. My Irish-American wife came too.
I had some time to speak to the girls in the program. I asked them what are some of the things they learned. One girl was very quick in responding. I regret to say that I don't remember her name, but let's say her name is Runa. She said that under-aged marriages are bad, and that girls should not be married before 18. Runa then went on to describe a recent case where she had to deal with this issue.
There was a another girl in Runa's village who was about to get married off by her mother. This girl was not even close to being 18. Runa told me that she and her friends marched to the home of this girl's mother, explained to the mother that underaged marriages are bad, and persuaded her to cancel the marriage.
I was absolutely stunned when Runa told me this story. It's Girl Effect at work, thanks to BRAC's Adolescent Program in Kushtia. Confident girls like Runa can change entire societies in countries outside Bangladesh where we operate, like Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc.
I had some time to speak to the girls in the program. I asked them what are some of the things they learned. One girl was very quick in responding. I regret to say that I don't remember her name, but let's say her name is Runa. She said that under-aged marriages are bad, and that girls should not be married before 18. Runa then went on to describe a recent case where she had to deal with this issue.
There was a another girl in Runa's village who was about to get married off by her mother. This girl was not even close to being 18. Runa told me that she and her friends marched to the home of this girl's mother, explained to the mother that underaged marriages are bad, and persuaded her to cancel the marriage.
I was absolutely stunned when Runa told me this story. It's Girl Effect at work, thanks to BRAC's Adolescent Program in Kushtia. Confident girls like Runa can change entire societies in countries outside Bangladesh where we operate, like Afghanistan, Pakistan, etc.
1 comments:
Interesting! The Education for Marginalized Children in Kenya Girls' Forum has motivated similar actions. You can read more here: http://youthinkblog.worldbank.org/development-simple-way-changes-girls-lives.
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