I'll begin today by sharing a poem written by my friend from Malawi, Eileen Piri. Eileen is only 13 years old, but when we were going through the collection of poetry that we wrote, I found her poem so interesting, so motivating. So I'll read it to you. She entitled her poem "I'll Marry When I Want." (Laughter)
Gustaríame comezar cun poema escrito por unha amiga de Malawi que se chama Eileen Piri. Eileen só ten 13 anos pero, mentres revisabamos a colección de poesía que escribimos, o seu poema pareceume moi interesante, verdadeiramente inspirador. Así que vóullelo ler. Titúlase "Penso casar cando queira". (Risos)
"I'll marry when I want. My mother can't force me to marry. My father cannot force me to marry. My uncle, my aunt, my brother or sister, cannot force me to marry. No one in the world can force me to marry. I'll marry when I want. Even if you beat me, even if you chase me away, even if you do anything bad to me, I'll marry when I want.
"Penso casar cando queira. Miña nai non pode casarme á forza. Meu pai non pode casarme á forza. Nin meu tío, nin miña tía, nin meu irmán, nin miña irmá, poden casarme á forza. Ninguén no mundo me pode casar á forza. Casarei cando eu queira. Aínda que batas en min, mesmo se corres tras min, fágasme o que me fagas, penso casar cando queira.
I'll marry when I want, but not before I am well educated, and not before I am all grown up.
Casarei cando eu queira, pero non antes de obter unha boa educación ou de rematar de medrar de todo.
I'll marry when I want."
Penso casar cando queira."
This poem might seem odd, written by a 13-year-old girl, but where I and Eileen come from, this poem, which I have just read to you, is a warrior's cry.
Este poema pode resultar algo raro vindo dunha rapaciña de 13 anos, pero de aló de onde nós vimos o poema que lles acabo de ler é todo un grito de guerra.
I am from Malawi. Malawi is one of the poorest countries, very poor, where gender equality is questionable.
Son de Malawi, un dos países máis pobres do mundo, realmente pobre, onde a igualdade de xénero é cuestionable.
Growing up in that country, I couldn't make my own choices in life. I couldn't even explore personal opportunities in life.
Ó criarme nese país. non puiden decidir sobre a miña vida. Non se me permitía nin sequera considerar as oportunidades que se me presentaban.
I will tell you a story of two different girls, two beautiful girls. These girls grew up under the same roof. They were eating the same food. Sometimes, they would share clothes, and even shoes. But their lives ended up differently, in two different paths. The other girl is my little sister. My little sister was only 11 years old when she got pregnant. It's a hurtful thing. Not only did it hurt her, even me. I was going through a hard time as well.
Voulles contar a historia de dúas rapazas moi diferentes, dúas nenas fermosas, que medraron baixo o mesmo teito. Comían os mesmos pratos. Ás veces, compartían roupa e ata calzado. Mais as súas vidas remataron seguindo dous camiños ben distintos. A outra rapaza é miña irmá pequena. Só tiña 11 anos cando quedou embarazada. Que cousa tan dolorosa! Non só lle doeu a ela: tamén a min. Eu tampouco o estaba a ter fácil.
As it is in my culture, once you reach puberty stage, you are supposed to go to initiation camps. In these initiation camps, you are taught how to sexually please a man. There is this special day, which they call "Very Special Day" where a man who is hired by the community comes to the camp and sleeps with the little girls. Imagine the trauma that these young girls go through every day. Most girls end up pregnant. They even contract HIV and AIDS and other sexually transmitted diseases.
Como é tradición na miña cultura, ó acadar a puberdade unha debe marchar a un campamento de iniciación. Nestes campamentos apréndenche a satisfacer sexualmente os homes. Hai un día especial, chámanlle o "Día moi especial", no que un home contratado pola comunidade vén ó campamento e se deita coas meniñas. Imaxinen o trauma co que estas rapazas teñen que lidar cada día. A maior parte delas quedan embarazadas. Tamén contraen o VIH e a SIDA, e outras enfermidades de transmisión sexual.
For my little sister, she ended up being pregnant. Today, she's only 16 years old and she has three children. Her first marriage did not survive, nor did her second marriage.
A miña irmá tocoulle embarazo. Hoxe ten 16 anos e xa leva 3 bebés. O seu primeiro matrimonio non durou, tampouco o segundo.
On the other side, there is this girl. She's amazing. (Laughter) (Applause) I call her amazing because she is. She's very fabulous. That girl is me. (Laughter) When I was 13 years old, I was told, you are grown up, you have now reached of age, you're supposed to go to the initiation camp. I was like, "What? I'm not going to go to the initiation camps." You know what the women said to me? "You are a stupid girl. Stubborn. You do not respect the traditions of our society, of our community."
E logo está estoutra rapaza, que é incrible. (Risos) (Aplausos) E digo que é incrible porque o é. É unha rapaza marabillosa. Esa rapaza son eu. (Risos) Cando tiña 13 anos dixéronme que xa era grande, que xa tiña idade de ir ó campamento de iniciación e que debía ir. Eu dixen: "Que? Non penso ir ós campamentos de iniciación". Saben que me dixo aquela muller? "Que rapaza tan parva e teimuda! Non respectas as tradicións da nosa sociedade, da nosa comunidade."
I said no because I knew where I was going. I knew what I wanted in life. I had a lot of dreams as a young girl. I wanted to get well educated, to find a decent job in the future. I was imagining myself as a lawyer, seated on that big chair. Those were the imaginations that were going through my mind every day. And I knew that one day, I would contribute something, a little something to my community. But every day after refusing, women would tell me, "Look at you, you're all grown up. Your little sister has a baby. What about you?" That was the music that I was hearing every day, and that is the music that girls hear every day when they don't do something that the community needs them to do.
Eu díxenlle que non porque sabía o que me agardaba. Sabía o que quería na vida. Xa de nova tiña soños. Quería acadar unha boa formación para máis adiante atopar un traballo decente. Imaxinábame de avogada, sentada nunha cadeira de oficina desas. Iso era ó que aspiraba, o que me pasaba pola cabeza tódolos días. Sabía que algún día tería algo que achegar, por pouco que fora, á miña comunidade. Pero, dende que rexeitara o campamento, as mulleres non paraban de dicirme "Mira para aí, túa irmá pequena xa ten un bebé. E ti, que xa es adulta, que?" Esa era a cantarela que tiña que aturar día tras día e a cantarela que as rapazas aturan tódolos días cando deciden non facer algo que a comunidade precisa que fagan.
When I compared the two stories between me and my sister, I said, "Why can't I do something? Why can't I change something that has happened for a long time in our community?"
Cando comparei as dúas historias, a de miña irmá e a miña, pregunteime: "Por que non podo facer nada? Por que non podo mudar algo que leva pasando tanto tempo na nosa comunidade?"
That was when I called other girls just like my sister, who have children, who have been in class but they have forgotten how to read and write. I said, "Come on, we can remind each other how to read and write again, how to hold the pen, how to read, to hold the book." It was a great time I had with them. Nor did I just learn a little about them, but they were able to tell me their personal stories, what they were facing every day as young mothers. That was when I was like, 'Why can't we take all these things that are happening to us and present them and tell our mothers, our traditional leaders, that these are the wrong things?" It was a scary thing to do, because these traditional leaders, they are already accustomed to the things that have been there for ages. A hard thing to change, but a good thing to try.
Aí foi cando decidín chamar outras rapazas coma miña irmá, rapazas con fillos que foran á escola pero que xa non lembraban como se lía e escribía. Díxenlles: "Veña, podemos lembrar mutuamente como se le e escribe outra vez, como se agarra o bolígrafo, como se le, como se suxeita o libro". Foi unha época estupenda. Non só aprendín un pouquiño sobre elas, senón que me chegaron a contar as súas historias persoais, polo que estaban pasando como nais adolescentes. Entón pensei: "Por que non collemos todo isto que nos está a pasar e presentámolo, e dicímoslles ás nosas nais e ós líderes relixiosos que estas cousas están mal?" Tiñamos medo de facelo porque os líderes da nosa comunidade xa están afeitos ás cousas que levan séculos pasando. Non sería doado cambialas pero pagaba a pena intentalo.
So we tried. It was very hard, but we pushed. And I'm here to say that in my community, it was the first community after girls pushed so hard to our traditional leader, and our leader stood up for us and said no girl has to be married before the age of 18. (Applause)
E así o fixemos. Foi moi difícil, pero insistimos. E hoxe estou aquí para contar que a miña foi a primeira comunidade na que as rapazas presionaron tanto o noso líder relixioso que este rematou por apoiarnos e declarar que ningunha rapaza tiña que casar ata acadar os 18 anos de idade. (Aplauso)
In my community, that was the first time a community, they had to call the bylaws, the first bylaw that protected girls in our community.
A miña comunidade foi a primeira en cambiar o regulamento, en crear unha lei que protexe as rapazas da comunidade.
We did not stop there. We forged ahead. We were determined to fight for girls not just in my community, but even in other communities. When the child marriage bill was being presented in February, we were there at the Parliament house. Every day, when the members of Parliament were entering, we were telling them, "Would you please support the bill?" And we don't have much technology like here, but we have our small phones. So we said, "Why can't we get their numbers and text them?" So we did that. It was a good thing. (Applause) So when the bill passed, we texted them back, "Thank you for supporting the bill." (Laughter) And when the bill was signed by the president, making it into law, it was a plus. Now, in Malawi, 18 is the legal marriage age, from 15 to 18. (Applause)
Mais non paramos aí. Seguimos adiante. Estabamos decididas a loitar polas mozas doutras comunidades, non só da nosa. En febreiro, cando se presentou o proxecto de lei sobre o matrimonio infantil, nós estabamos no parlamento. Tódolos días, mentres entraban os membros do parlamento, nós iámoslles dicindo: "Por favor, apoie o proxecto de lei!" Non contamos con tanta tecnoloxía coma aquí, pero tiñamos os nosos teléfonos móbiles, así que pensamos: "Por que non conseguimos os seus números e lles escribimos?" E fixémolo. Saiu ben. (Aplauso) Así que, cando se aprobou o proxecto, volvémoslles escribir: "Grazas por apoiaren o proxecto de lei". (Risos) E, cando o presidente firmou o proxecto e promulgou a lei, obtivemos outro éxito. Agora a idade legal para casar en Malawi é 18. Pasamos dos 15 ós 18 anos. (Aplauso)
It's a good thing to know that the bill passed, but let me tell you this: There are countries where 18 is the legal marriage age, but don't we hear cries of women and girls every day? Every day, girls' lives are being wasted away. This is high time for leaders to honor their commitment. In honoring this commitment, it means keeping girls' issues at heart every time. We don't have to be subjected as second, but they have to know that women, as we are in this room, we are not just women, we are not just girls, we are extraordinary. We can do more.
Alégrame que se aprobase a lei, pero eu pregúntolles unha cousa: hai países onde a idade legal para casar son os 18 anos, e aínda así, non ouvimos choros de mulleres e nenas a diario? Tódolos días se botan a perder vidas de rapazas. Vai sendo hora de que os líderes cumpran a súa palabra. Cumprir a súa palabra significa pensar nos problemas das rapazas todo o tempo. Non temos que ser cidadás de segunda. Teñen que saber que as mulleres como as que estamos nesta sala non somos simples mulleres, non somos simples rapazas: somos extraordinarias. Podemos facer máis.
And another thing for Malawi, and not just Malawi but other countries: The laws which are there, you know how a law is not a law until it is enforced? The law which has just recently passed and the laws that in other countries have been there, they need to be publicized at the local level, at the community level, where girls' issues are very striking. Girls face issues, difficult issues, at the community level every day. So if these young girls know that there are laws that protect them, they will be able to stand up and defend themselves because they will know that there is a law that protects them.
Outro asunto preocupante en Malawi, e non só en Malawi, senón noutros países, é que as leis, ben se sabe que unha lei non é lei ata que non se fai cumprir, non si? Esta lei que se acaba de aprobar e as deste tipo noutros países precisan ser divulgadas a nivel local, ó nivel das comunidades, onde as rapazas sofren estes problemas. As mozas teñen que enfrontarse diariamente a estas dificultades nas súas comunidades. Pero, se saben que hai leis que as protexen, poderán dicir que non e defenderse soas, sabendo que hai unha lei que as apoia.
And another thing I would say is that girls' voices and women's voices are beautiful, they are there, but we cannot do this alone. Male advocates, they have to jump in, to step in and work together. It's a collective work. What we need is what girls elsewhere need: good education, and above all, not to marry whilst 11.
Outra cousa que quería dicir é que a voz das mozas e das mulleres é fermosa e está aí, pero non podemos facer isto soas. Precisamos homes aliados que se involucren e estean dispostos a traballar connosco. Require un esforzo colectivo. O que precisamos é o que precisan o resto de mozas: unha boa educación e, sobre todo, non ter que casar con 11 anos.
And furthermore, I know that together, we can transform the legal, the cultural and political framework that denies girls of their rights. I am standing here today and declaring that we can end child marriage in a generation. This is the moment where a girl and a girl, and millions of girls worldwide, will be able to say, "I will marry when I want."
É máis, sei que xuntos podemos mudar o marco legal, político e cultural que lles nega ás rapazas os seus dereitos. Hoxe estou aquí para declarar que podemos acabar co matrimonio infantil nunha xeración. É hora de que millóns de rapazas no mundo sexan quen de dicir: "Penso casar cando queira".
(Applause)
(Aplauso)
Thank you. (Applause)
Grazas. (Aplauso)