If you are have 20 minutes....no, 21 minutes to spare, have a look at the following National Geographic video. Some comments on Youtube were brutal and harsh on these people, especially the men and religion but I agree with the photographer and writer about how complex the situation is.
It is almost impossible to disrupt the marriage without shaming the family. And that is because they do not see, or rather, they do not have the opportunity to see beyond merely being 'marrying off'. I would even venture out to say that, perhaps, it could be their only life mission.
To get married. Every other girl has gone through it, otherwise, they risk being raped and shamed for the rest of their lives.
The video is haunting but it is a reminder to the rest of us that we are lucky enough to be seeing and understanding what we do and have today. Education. Freedom to choose who we get to spend the rest of our lives with. Opportunities to pursue our dreams. A chance to be happy. The right to say 'no' to becoming a parent.
While creating inroads towards a better future for these young children is a seemingly uphill battle, considering the culture that they live in, we should not give up hope that one day, these people will get to see what the rest of the world has become and it is time to retire parts of this culture.
The feature on the last girl gives me hope.
Love,
Marsha
It is almost impossible to disrupt the marriage without shaming the family. And that is because they do not see, or rather, they do not have the opportunity to see beyond merely being 'marrying off'. I would even venture out to say that, perhaps, it could be their only life mission.
To get married. Every other girl has gone through it, otherwise, they risk being raped and shamed for the rest of their lives.
The video is haunting but it is a reminder to the rest of us that we are lucky enough to be seeing and understanding what we do and have today. Education. Freedom to choose who we get to spend the rest of our lives with. Opportunities to pursue our dreams. A chance to be happy. The right to say 'no' to becoming a parent.
While creating inroads towards a better future for these young children is a seemingly uphill battle, considering the culture that they live in, we should not give up hope that one day, these people will get to see what the rest of the world has become and it is time to retire parts of this culture.
The feature on the last girl gives me hope.
Love,
Marsha
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