Written By: Ganga Pyakurel/Save the Children
16 years, Sonia is famous in her village for two things, one she is a vocal child advocate, and two, she advocates against child marriage through sports. “Girls and cricket! People used to be amused at first,” she recalls. She further mentions that the jibes and jokes in the beginning has changed to great admiration. “Boys used to tell us, go do the household chores, cricket is for boys. But once we started our own girls cricket team, and started bringing home trophies and prizes, their negative perception changed entirely.”
How did she begin her advocacy against child marriage? She explains, “Girls get married in our community at a very early age. Despite knowing its wrong, girls my age are forced to get married. But who will protest? But then, it was during one of the child club sessions that Save the Children and Sabal Nepal discussed that we start our own ‘all girls’ cricket team --- and that’s when we thought it would be a brilliant idea to use cricket to advocate against child marriage.”
"When we're playing cricket, we hit [the] ball away with our bat. Similarly...we can hit away the child marriage" says 16-year-old Ria*. Her new passion has become about so much more than just sport. Ria* initially faced resistance from her parents and community in Nepal for her dream to play cricket. Ria* explains, “When we started to play cricket, some older boys used to say, ‘You won't achieve anything by playing. Go home, cook and eat’...But now...We practice here, go to other places to play, and we come back winning.” Save the Children and its local partner, Sabal Nepal, formed the first girls' cricket team to combat child marriage. Ria* not only started playing cricket but also became the chairperson of her Child Club: a group of young campaigners set up by Save the Children. She began taking part in street dramas addressing the negative impact of child marriage and collecting data on the issue. Ria's* efforts not only changed her parents' views but also those of the community, leading to a reduction in child marriages. They have now declared their ward as child marriage free. "When we are playing cricket in the field, I feel happy...I feel strong" says Ria*, and it's this sense of empowerment she wants to pass on to other children. She believes in unity and working together to end child marriage, echoing her teachers' words: "we can't accomplish anything alone, but when we are united, nothing is impossible."
In 2017, Save the Children and partner organization, Sabal Nepal, established the first girls' cricket team to combat child marriage in Saptari. Using sports as a tool to build agency and voice, Save the Children also provides trainings on child rights, life-skills, and a space for adolescent’s girls to discuss issues that directly and indirectly impacts their lives. “Cricket helped us to open and discuss the challenges that we face. The biggest one being child marriage.” With a smile on her face she expresses, “In cricket, we hit the ball away with our bats. Similarly, we can hit away child marriage.”
Sonia and her friends started participating in local level cricket tournaments, “The more we started playing cricket, the more interest it garnered, especially from our peers.” Sonia and her friends started recruiting others girls in their cricket team, and also started conducted sessions on child marriage and its detrimental effects, violence against women and girls, and mental health. “During these sessions, we also discussed help seeking and reporting behaviour. Like reporting to the police.” These sessions supported them with building collective action. “The sessions supported us in realizing the power of our rights, and how together, we could fight against those who do not respect us, and our rights!”
-in-he-ch1875465.jpg/b0dg31h3y61rfu163b4w81pilq66csx4.jpg?g=0.5x0.33&w=960&format=webp&itok=MjbV7E-H "CH1875465_Ria, a child marriage activist, taking part in the Child Club (a child rights group) in he")
"When we're playing cricket, we hit [the] ball away with our bat. Similarly...we can hit away the child marriage" says 16-year-old Ria*. Her new passion has become about so much more than just sport. Ria* initially faced resistance from her parents and community in Nepal for her dream to play cricket. Ria* explains, “When we started to play cricket, some older boys used to say, ‘You won't achieve anything by playing. Go home, cook and eat’...But now...We practice here, go to other places to play, and we come back winning.” Save the Children and its local partner, Sabal Nepal, formed the first girls' cricket team to combat child marriage. Ria* not only started playing cricket but also became the chairperson of her Child Club: a group of young campaigners set up by Save the Children. She began taking part in street dramas addressing the negative impact of child marriage and collecting data on the issue. Ria's* efforts not only changed her parents' views but also those of the community, leading to a reduction in child marriages. They have now declared their ward as child marriage free. "When we are playing cricket in the field, I feel happy...I feel strong" says Ria*, and it's this sense of empowerment she wants to pass on to other children. She believes in unity and working together to end child marriage, echoing her teachers' words: "we can't accomplish anything alone, but when we are united, nothing is impossible."
Sonia’s ward recently got declared child marriage free, and she believes that child clubs helped a lot with this decision. “We staged dramas on child marriage, conducted door to door campaigns, played cricket, and now our ward has been declared as child marriage free!”
Has she realized any changes in her peers? Sonia shares, “Of course! They have become more empowered, as they have information related to their rights. They are more confident and negotiate with their family members, and have started demanding for their rights, such as education. Most importantly, they have started saying NO to child marriage.” As for Sonia’s parents, they know that their daughter has turned into a activist, and do not pressure her to get married. “They know that child marriage is wrong, and they support me and my dreams.”
"When we're playing cricket, we hit [the] ball away with our bat. Similarly...we can hit away the child marriage" says 16-year-old Ria*. Her new passion has become about so much more than just sport. Ria* initially faced resistance from her parents and community in Nepal for her dream to play cricket. Ria* explains, “When we started to play cricket, some older boys used to say, ‘You won't achieve anything by playing. Go home, cook and eat’...But now...We practice here, go to other places to play, and we come back winning.” Save the Children and its local partner, Sabal Nepal, formed the first girls' cricket team to combat child marriage. Ria* not only started playing cricket but also became the chairperson of her Child Club: a group of young campaigners set up by Save the Children. She began taking part in street dramas addressing the negative impact of child marriage and collecting data on the issue. Ria's* efforts not only changed her parents' views but also those of the community, leading to a reduction in child marriages. They have now declared their ward as child marriage free. "When we are playing cricket in the field, I feel happy...I feel strong" says Ria*, and it's this sense of empowerment she wants to pass on to other children. She believes in unity and working together to end child marriage, echoing her teachers' words: "we can't accomplish anything alone, but when we are united, nothing is impossible." Suzanne Lee / Save the Children
Will you continue playing cricket? “I love playing cricket, as cricket gave me a new life ---- I feel happy and strong when I play cricket,” shares, Sonia. “I wish every girl like me get a chance to dream and pursue their career. I wish that every girl has freedom from child marriage.”
"When we are playing cricket on the field, I feel happy and strong," says Sonia, and it is this sense of empowerment that she wants to pass on to other children. "I aspire to inspire the younger generation in the village through cricket. If every girl can pursue careers, hobbies, and dreams, child marriage will soon be eradicated," Sonia shares.
