About 10 years ago, a girl by the name of Sanita from Indonesia was almost married off by her parents when she was 13, due to the financial burden her family was facing, according to Huffington Post.
Knowing that her fate would be sealed if the child marriage goes on, she convinced her parents to call it off and let her stay in school. She eventually went on to become an activist who’s now fighting to stop child marriage!
Here’s her inspiring story.
“When I was young, my village was in a very remote area. We had a few books and no computers.”
“When I was 13 years old, my family tried to marry me off because they were unable to look after me; my dad was a carpenter and my mom sold groceries – we did not have much money.”
She then asked her parents, “How much am I worth?”
And proceeded to say, “If you stop the marriage and let me continue with my education, I will pay back all of the money that you spent on me. If you force me to marry, then nothing will come of me.”
“Eventually, my parents agreed to call off the marriage and let me stay in school. Now, I want to say to girls, ‘say no to marriage and be brave. The only solution for girls to avoid marriage is through an education’.”
A decade later, 22-year-old Sanita is now an activist fighting for girls’ rights and a role model in her community.
Source: Huffington Post
Source: Huffington Post
She said:
“I was almost a victim of child marriage, and I saw how other girls fell prey to these acts, so I thought, ‘life should not be like this for young people. I must do something’.”
Source: Huffington Post
“Before attending the Asian Youth Forum, I explained to my parents all of the things that I had been able to achieve as a result of my schooling.”
“I don’t think they realised, for example, that I paid for my university fees on my own, and that I was traveling to Japan to meet with members of the Asian Development Bank to promote girls’ rights. Because of my achievements, I think my parents now understand and truly believe that they made the right decision.”
“Perceptions have also changed in my community. People now ask my parents, ‘why are men not proposing to Sanita’?”
“She must have too much value,” they responded.
In 2016, Sanita came together with a team to form Youth Coalition for Girls. Needless to say, this noble effort aims to promote girls’ rights and gender equality. Just a year later, the coalition is set to expand to 11 provinces so that the organisation can reach out to more girls. Sanita is also currently the Vice President of Youth Coalition for Girls.
We certainly admire the courage displayed by Sanita in breaking the social norm of child marriage and fighting for what she thought was right. Kudos to you, Sanita!
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