“ I feel threatened by the people on the way to school. We are scared of going to school from home alone. When we go to school in the morning, we feel unsafe. When there are few people in the lanes, we are afraid of the people standing there. The people include men of different ages who stare at us. We feel relatively safe when there are more people in the lanes, especially when familiar people are around us.” — Sadia, aged 16, from Pakistan via Teach for Pakistan
“ Every day we experience war; there is enormous instability. The conflict explains why we experience so many attacks, and girls are raped so frequently.” — A girl, aged 16-19 from the Democratic Republic of the Congo via the Girl Effect
“ Even if the girl is not at fault, she still gets the blame.” — A girl, aged 16-19 from India via The Girl Effect
“ Our environment is not suitable for girls to step out alone, A girl in my village was going to school and a gang of boys kidnapped her. It was even more disturbing when she was found. People in our society talked ill about the girl saying that had she been careful, no one would have touched her. This led to many parents taking their daughters out of school. It is unfortunate. Only illiterate people do such things. I avoid going to vulnerable places alone. We should not blame a girl or stop her from going to school if something happens to her. We should instead focus on fixing the community. We should provide awareness to people, telling them there are girls in all houses and we need to respect girls. Everyone should be more empathetic.” — Rimsha, aged 14, from Pakistan via Teach for Pakistan
“I was given to my husband when I was little and I don’t even remember when I was given because I was so little. It’s my husband who brought me up.” — Kanas, aged 18 at the time of the interview, from Ethiopia via Too Young to Wed
“I want to be able to stand on my own two feet (not to be dependent). Please let me be home for some years before marrying me off.” — A girl, aged 16-19, from India via the Girl Effect
“ Being a survivor of assault, I know the depths of depression, pain, heartache, shame and self-loathing. The embarrassment and self-hate. With the love from my friends and family, I am here…standing…” — Akira, from the U.S. via V-Girls
For more on the organizations referenced here: girleffect.org; girlsnotbrides.org; girlscouts.org; v-girls.ning.com; & tooyoungtowed.org togetherforgirls.org 15