By Brooke | Director, Girl Determined
Greetings to all of you incredible supporters of girls' rights,
I am reaching out to thank you sincerely for your contribution to Girl Determined. We are delighted to count you as one of our amazing groups of supporters, partners and collaborators.
I just got back from a trip to the northern part of Burma where I was able to meet and converse with many girls from our programs. In one of the communities through our Girl-led Campaigns Program, the girls put together a campaign to bring awareness to the issue of domestic violence. Their slogan was, “Work together to end violence in the home.” This is an extremely taboo subject and it was refreshing that they tackled such a big issue. The girls there, about 70 of them, half of whom are Buddhist nuns, developed a skit and acted out their skit for the whole school as well as for the community. Throughout the skit it became clear that they had been defining ‘violence in the home’ a bit differently than we are used to. They were really talking about violence committed against girls in their homes - by brothers, fathers, mothers, aunties and all. The skit’s three storylines, they later explained, were derived from their own experiences of being pressured to dance in festivals in order to snag a rich husband or being beaten with a stick for not completing the house chores.
It was heart wrenching and heart warming at the same time. Wrenching because of what they had faced. Warming because of their open and honest account and their fearlessness to share in our group. Their campaign was just the beginning of a long and ongoing conversation but opened up the potential for real change in their homes and communities. Needless to say, it was a great trip up north and your contribution has helped to push these critical conversations forward.
Please share this and other stories with your friends and family. Girls are driving change and need our conitnuing committment.
With thanks,
brooke
Photo credit: Andrew Stanbridge
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