Why we need to fight for girls' rights
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00:00Hello, I'm Annette Young, and welcome to the 51 Percent, a show about women who are reshaping
00:15our world. And also welcome to the very first show of 2025, where we'll be focusing on that
00:23often forgotten issue, that being girls' rights. And we begin in Pakistan, where girls as young
00:29as 13 are being married off to much older men. Sometimes the reason is an unexpected
00:34one, climate change. The country being on the front line as floods become more frequent
00:40and more and more families lose their land or their income. Peter O'Brien takes us to
00:46the village of Dadu Sin in the south.
00:51Najma is one of Pakistan's so-called monsoon brides. She'd just turned 14 when her parents
00:58informed her of her marriage. In exchange for a dowry of 250,000 rupees, about 860 euros.
01:07The floods destroyed our homes. All our animals died. My family told me we had nothing left,
01:13so they married me off. My husband gave my parents 250,000 rupees for the marriage, but
01:21he had taken out a loan that we have no way to repay.
01:26According to UNICEF, Pakistan ranks sixth globally for early child marriages. With increasingly
01:33extreme monsoons, more and more families are left without land, and have no choice but
01:38to marry off their daughters, often very young, to secure a dowry. This money is then used
01:43to feed the rest of the family.
01:46We now marry them young because, after the floods, we had nothing left. Poverty increased,
01:52houses collapsed, and there was nothing. That's why we thought if we marry them, it will reduce
01:57our burden.
02:01Pakistani law prohibits the marriage of girls and boys under 18. But in rural areas, the
02:06practice persists. Nationwide, one in six girls is married during childhood.
02:15When we look at the numbers, we see the impact of climate change and flooding. This year
02:21there were 45 marriages in this village alone, among just 250 families. 15 of those marriages
02:30took place in the last three months.
02:33In 2022, one third of Pakistan was flooded. Precious crops were destroyed in a country
02:40where agriculture accounts for a quarter of GDP. It was a catastrophe for countless Pakistanis
02:46already living below the poverty line, and for millions of young girls forced to live
02:51a life they never chose.
02:55And joining me now from the long way in Malawi is Memory Banda, the founder of Foundation
03:00for Girls' Leadership. Memory, thank you so much for your time. We've just seen there
03:04a report on child marriage in Pakistan. Now, you grew up in Malawi and saw girls around
03:09you being married off at a very young age. So what impact does it have not only on them,
03:15but also on their communities?
03:18Thank you so much. Indeed, the story of Pakistan that we have just seen is not so much different
03:24from the case of Malawi. We have a ramming figures of girls being married off every day,
03:31girls dropping out of school. And mind you, we're not just talking about girls. We're
03:35talking about the future of almost 50 percent. You know, they are being denied their rights
03:41to education. And this has a big impact on them as young girls. They're dropping out
03:47of school. And at the same time, we are talking about issues of psychotherapy issues where
03:54now they are traumatized. They go through sexual violence when they are in these marriages.
04:02And at the same time, they are exposed to so many other economic barriers. They can't
04:09stand on their own. They are not economically liberated. And, you know, the cycle of poverty
04:15keeps on going. And I'm not surprised that Malawi is one of the poorest countries in
04:22the world because we are losing almost each and every year, almost 50 percent of the population.
04:29We are losing that through child marriage.
04:32In many countries where there is child marriage memory, there's also female genital mutilation.
04:39While laws have been introduced in a number of African nations, the practice is still
04:44widespread in many parts of Africa. So relying simply on laws doesn't work, does it, Memory?
04:52No, it doesn't. It doesn't. As you like to say, we have roles and policies in place,
04:58but you still see a lot of female genital mutilation still happening in different
05:06parts of Africa. Actually, it raises more questions whether roles are enough. And in my
05:14case, roles alone are not enough. We need to ensure that we popularize these roles. We ensure that we
05:22raise awareness at community level so that they actually understand that female genital mutilation
05:28is actually against human rights. It's actually against the rights of girls themselves. You know,
05:34they have their own rights to their body autonomy. And once these girls go through
05:41female genital mutilation, it means we are actually denying their rights. We are actually
05:47violating their rights. Memory, let's take a pause there and
05:50head to Senegal, where the case of a nine-year-old girl pregnant as a result of being raped by her
05:56Koran teacher has sparked outrage, particularly from human rights groups. In Senegal, victims of
06:02rape and incest are required to carry their pregnancies to term. The only exception is if
06:08the abortion can save the mother's life. But in practice, this requires very strict conditions.
06:14Caitlin Kelly has more. At a reception center in Pekin,
06:19a suburb of Dakar, the Association of Senegalese Jurists provide legal support to women in need.
06:26Very often, victims of sexual violence or rape come to us for assistance.
06:32These lawyers are representing the nine-year-old girl who became pregnant
06:36as a result of being raped by her Koran teacher. In Jalle Fadiouth, 100 kilometers south of Dakar,
06:42the child is expected to deliver via a caesarean section in February,
06:45though not without risks, say the association. The case has mobilized activists in Senegal
06:51on the right to abortion for the victims of rape and incest.
06:55We're still in favor of punishing illegal abortion. Now, we want to see a mechanism put in
07:01place so that victims of rape and incest can have an abortion, because that's a fundamental right.
07:08A nine-year-old girl forced to become pregnant is very traumatic.
07:13Senegal ratified the Maputo Protocol 20 years ago, which recognizes access to medicalized
07:18abortion as a fundamental right for women in cases of rape and incest.
07:24Rights groups are calling on authorities to honor this commitment.
07:32We're optimistic that the government will step up. All we need is an implementing decree so
07:38that a new, much more binding law can be passed as soon as possible with the new assembly.
07:44The government did not respond to France 24's request for an interview.
07:49A recent report by the International Federation for Human Rights revealed that abortion and
07:54infancy are the second most common reasons why women and girls are jailed in the country.
08:00Watching that report with me is Memory Banda, the founder of the Foundation for Girls Leadership
08:05in Malawi. A horrific tale there, Memory, about sexual violence directed towards girls. And as
08:12we heard there, abortion and infanticide are one of the most common reasons for the imprisonment
08:18of women and girls in Senegal. Again, how do we change community mindsets so that it's accepted
08:26that girls' rights are paramount? Yeah, this is really horrific. And just to think about it,
08:35each and every day, girls' rights, women's rights are being denied globally. And it's really of
08:44much concern. And hearing this case right now, it takes me back to Malawi, where we actually
08:51have the very same problem, where victims of rape are usually too often not supported. And we also
09:00have the outstanding bill that still sits in the parliament, where we have had numerous debates on
09:09it. And it hasn't even been passed up to date, if women who go through rape, who go through this
09:16horrific situation, if they can go through abortion. And so really, it's something that is
09:26of great concern. And these girls that are going through this, at the same time, it means that
09:35they are actually being denied their rights. And we are also talking about the border autonomy
09:41right here, where these girls do not have a say about their own bodily being. Somebody is actually
09:49dictating on what has to happen to their bodies. And this is so wrong. And I feel that it's hard
09:56time that African countries, we have to really think through this, shift our thinking, shift
10:04our rules in ensuring that every girl, every woman is actually protected everywhere.
10:10Memory Banda, we're going to have to leave it there. Thank you so much for your time.
10:14Thank you so much, Annette. It was a pleasure being here today.
10:17And that's it for this edition. So until our next show, bye for now.