A few weeks ago in India I met a girl putting equality into action in her community. When Jyothi’s best friend’s parents wanted to marry off her friend’s sister under-age, Jyothi begged them not to. They said Jyothi was too young to get involved, so she spoke to her own parents and convinced them to help.
Together with her parents, Jyothi told her friend’s parents that getting married under-age is a crime (the legal age of marriage in India is 18). They explained that early marriage could damage her health. They succeeded in stopping the marriage and enabled Jyothi’s best friend’s sister to continue with her education.
Thanks to our partner VOICE4Girls, Jyothi knew that girls in India are often forced to leave school before they want to, to get married against their will and to have sex and get pregnant before they’re ready. Jyothi used the knowledge and the negotiation skills Voice had empowered her with to change her world for the better.
Voice4Girls educate adolescent girls about their bodies, their health and their human rights through activity-based residential camps. They show how staying in school can benefit the whole family.
Across the world, educated, empowered girls and women make better life choices, are healthier and safer, earn more money and prioritise their children’s health and education.
So this International Women’s Day, Sunday 8th March, we’re raising the voices of girls in India through our BBC Radio 4 Appeal.
Our presenter Konnie Huq (author, broadcaster and longest-serving female Blue Peter presenter) supports us: ‘Throughout my life I’ve championed the rights of women and girls and…I’ve seen how education can change lives’.
Scottish Love in Action (SLA) have likewise witnessed the power of education: for more than 20 years we have been speaking up for vulnerable girls and boys in India. With our partner grassroots NGOs, we inspire and encourage children and young people to escape the poverty trap and reach their fullest potential.
We and the partners we fund and support know that, as the IWD2020 motto has it, ‘an equal world is an enabled world’. An Indian girl with 10 years of education is 6 times less likely to be forced into an illegal early marriage than a girl with no education. She also has almost twice the earning power.
In the last three years, Scottish Love in Action has helped more than 6,000 girls learn from VOICE 4 Girls. To help more girls change their worlds, please follow us on social media and like and retweet our posts about our #R4Appeal on Twitter: @sla_news and Facebook and Instagram: @scottishloveinaction.
Listen live on BBC Radio 4 on International Women’s Day, Sunday 8th March at 7.54am and again at 21.25pm; repeated on Thursday 12th March at 15.27pm, or listen on catch-up via the BBC Sounds app.
We have also set up text donations (text BBCAPPEAL to 70450 to donate £12. Texts cost £12 plus a standard rate message). A donation of £12 will pay for 1 girl to take part in the VOICE4Girls programme and transform her life and her world forever.
You can also donate online at www.sla-india.org/product/bbcappeal/ or (from the 8th-14th March only) via the BBC at www.bbc.co.uk/appeal/radio4
Please note, names have been changed to protect confidentiality.
By Michelle Davitt, Chief Executive at SLA