In this community, Plan International has created child rights clubs to educate Diploma of IT and communities about the serious impact of forced marriage on the lives of girls. Girls who are forced into marriage are deprived of their childhood and often cut off from their families and friends. In addition, they are particularly vulnerable to sexually transmitted infections (such as HIV) because they cannot demand safe sex. There is also a close link between child marriage and sexual violence.
Gola now goes to secondary school to learn a Diploma of IT in Pibor. The school represents her an escape from this harsh reality that she does not want to bring herself to accept. But Gola is not the only one. “ My friends from school were also sold as wives,” she says. Gola and several of her friends participate in Plan International clubs.
During group meetings, they support each other and sensitize the community on the importance of protecting girls and sending them to school. Education is a powerful lever against child marriage, as girls who receive a quality education are less likely to be forced into marriage.
Even though Gola and thousands of other young girls have already been sold as wives, they are committed to ensuring that their daughters do not suffer the same fate as them. ” It may be too late for me, but with my friends, we are committed to ensuring that the whole community prefers to send girls to school rather than force them to marry, ” says Gola.
PAULINE, TWICE PREGNANT BY THE MAN WHO RAPED HER AT 16, WAS ABLE TO RETURN TO SCHOOL
Pauline, who lives in a remote village in Kenya, was taken out of school at age 13 because her parents could no longer pay. At 16, she became pregnant twice by a man who abused her. Without the means to support herself and her two children, she would not have been able to return to school for learning a diploma of information technology without the support of the NGO Plan International. Today, she is determined to continue her studies, with our help because, like Pauline, thousands of girls are victims. Early pregnancies keep them away from school.
OLD AS A WIFE AT 5 YEARS OLD
At age 5, Gola, a little girl from Pibor in eastern South Sudan, was sold as a bride. Now she is 15 and her future looks bleak. She knows that her childhood has been stolen from her but cannot oppose her parents’ decision. 10 years ago, Gola’s parents received 45 cows as a down payment from her suitor’s family. The deal was sealed. “ I was just a little girl when they gave me away,” Gola says. “I didn’t know what that meant, but now that I’m a bit older, they tell me that my husband will come to claim me soon. Can’t I change anything anymore, because it could cause a disagreement between my family and that of my future husband? »
In the Gola community, it is common for girls to be sold as wives, in exchange for cows. In this region, many families live from cattle breeding; cows are therefore a precious asset, considered a source of wealth and a symbol of social status. Any attempt to break marriage agreements can lead to clashes between families. It is for this reason that Gola is silent. She is closely watched by the village elders and cannot decide to marry someone else. Even date another boy at the risk of disliking the family of her future husband.
