Noha is 14. She’s about to marry a man twice her age. And she’s just one of 10 million girls who’ll be married either too young, or against their will this year – some as young as five years old. This can end their chance of going to school and shorten their lives by leaving them more vulnerable to violence, HIV and death in childbirth.
Today I received an email from a charity called Plan UK. I don’t usually like getting emails from people plugging a cause; inevitably they want me to give them money, or they’re championing a cause I just can’t get behind. But for some reason I opened this one, and read it in its entirety.
The email asked for my support in their new Because I Am A Girl campaign. So off I went to their website to find out more about the campaign, and what I read shocked me. I grew up in an all-white, British, broadly Christian household. The thought that I might be forced into a marriage I hadn’t chosen, let alone at such a young age, would never even have crossed my mind. I grew up privileged in the knowledge that if I were to get married, it would be at a time I felt I was ready, and with a person I had chosen for myself.
One girl is married off every three-and-a-half seconds worldwide. We think forcing girls to marry young is wrong. Please help put a stop to this. said the email I received. I can’t imagine what goes through the minds of girls in this situation. I simply cannot put myself in their shoes. But I can try to understand how frustrated, terrified, vulnerable and helpless they must feel. For that reason I am supporting Plan UK’s Because I Am A Girl campaign, and writing about it here to try to help raise awareness.
So I’ll quote from the email about what you can do to help:
Help us spread the word about our #TaketheVOW action on Twitter – we’re hoping you take your vow before millions of girls in the developing world are forced to take theirs.
* Take your vow at www.becauseiamagirl.org/vow
* Please use our Twibbon, Facebook and blog badges to show your support!
* Use #takethevow to tell friends about the vow and urge them to take theirs!
* You can also ‘Like’ the campaign on Facebook.
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