Meet Hadiqa Bashir.
For the past seven years, this teenager from Pakistan’s Swat Valley, ruled by the Taliban regime until just a few years ago, has made it her mission to stop child marriage. She goes door to door, speaking to mothers, fathers, uncles, aunts and grandparents about the negative impacts of early and forced marriage, and urging girls to finish their education. So far she's been able to break off 15 weddings and convince five of the 25 imams in the region to talk about the problem.
For her, the fight is personal. When she was 11 years old, her grandmother wanted to get her married, in line with local tradition, to a local taxi driver. “My family thought it was a good match. But I fought against her decision and even threatened them with legal consequences. It was a hard time but I had to do it." She then formed a group called Girls United For Human Rights, and is now preparing for a career as a lawyer, to tackle a persistent problem in a country with no federal law against child marriage.
Until then, she has other ways to make their voices heard. Sometimes, she performs skits in different localities to help people understand the issue and at other times she takes on the religious leaders and legislators. When an imam refused to speak with a girl, she sent a boy from her organization in her place. “It’s a patriarchal society here. I try to spread awareness wherever I can, especially to parents, but it’s not easy. But I will not stop what I've started, because it's personal. It's about my sisters."
