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Memory Banda Considers Her Sister's Path in Her Talk on Child Marriage
Riley von Niessen — May 24, 2017 — Keynote Trends
Memory Banda, an activist for girls' rights, explains throughout her talk on child marriage how she and her sister lived vastly different lives due to the fact that she refused to go to the traditional "initiation camp" that saw her sister get pregnant at the age of 11.
When Memory's family tired to get her to go to the initiation camp, which teaches girls who are going through puberty how to sexually satisfy a man, she told them that she simply could not be forced to go. She told her family that she would not be married until she decided it was the right time, which she insisted was after she had received an education that would allow her to better make such pivotal life decisions.
In her society within Malawi, Memory's choices made her an outsider, and she was not respected by many of the other women there for her desire to get an education and find a career that made her feel fulfilled in her life. Throughout her talk on child marriage, Memory explores the pressures women face due to severe inequality, as well as the stories she's been told from those in community.
Due to her actions, Memory has been able to push her traditional leader to not pressure girls to be married before the age of 18, and even campaigned for a bill that changed the legal age of marriage in the area.
When Memory's family tired to get her to go to the initiation camp, which teaches girls who are going through puberty how to sexually satisfy a man, she told them that she simply could not be forced to go. She told her family that she would not be married until she decided it was the right time, which she insisted was after she had received an education that would allow her to better make such pivotal life decisions.
In her society within Malawi, Memory's choices made her an outsider, and she was not respected by many of the other women there for her desire to get an education and find a career that made her feel fulfilled in her life. Throughout her talk on child marriage, Memory explores the pressures women face due to severe inequality, as well as the stories she's been told from those in community.
Due to her actions, Memory has been able to push her traditional leader to not pressure girls to be married before the age of 18, and even campaigned for a bill that changed the legal age of marriage in the area.
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