There is one thing that unites girls all over the world. Girls of different skin colours, languages, social, educational, or religious backgrounds cannot mask one fact—they are not heard. They speak, but few listen. In some countries, a girl’s voice is rendered less powerful, or even silent, by law. And in other countries, these voices are simply ignored. The intentions behind silencing girls do not matter—the outcome is the same. A police officer not trained to detect forced marriage and rape allows torment to continue, torment willingly inflicted by someone knowingly sending the girl through hell. The intentions are different, the outcome is the same.
We need change to happen right here and right now. Girls need to be allowed to speak up, and others need to learn to listen. This takes effort on all sides, but these efforts are well worth it. Even those of us in the lucky position to have a society of listeners around us can support the cause by raising our voices alongside those who are not heard yet.
Listen up: speak up!
-Kristina Kraemer
Junior Editor
Girl News International