Youth unite against rape culture and forced marriages at Auckland march
Saturday, 9 June 2018
Youth from across Auckland have marched together with the aim of putting a stop to rape culture and to highlight forced marriages in New Zealand.
About 70 people participated in a Future Without Violence Youth march on Saturday, starting at Britomart.
Among those who were present one individual, who chose to remain anonymous, stood out from the rest.
The young woman recalls being forced into marriage last year.
'My parents pressured me into marriage to the point where my father flew to New Zealand from overseas to try and force me to marry in person.'
She remembers feeling lost and completely defeated.
She believed that 'family is supposed to support you when you are feeling hurt and alone'.
But she did not have anyone.
As for her parents, she says 'you have to listen to them and make them happy, you have to sacrifice your entire life'.
The young lady remembers feeling like she would never know what it means to be happy again.
'If I had agreed to it, I would move from a psychologically abusive family to an abusive husband, having to deal with emotional and physical abuse as well as rape.
'I know that listening to your parents seems like the right thing to do. But it was wrong,' she adds.
Like most young women, she too wanted to fall in love the right way and with someone she wanted to spend the rest of her life with.
'I realised it was wrong when my parents were making the decision for me to spend the rest of my life with a complete stranger who was significantly older than me,' she says.
'I did not know him, I did not like him.'
There were no emotions between the two.
She says marriages in her family are not for love, they're for convenience.
'I was not prepared to give up my happiness for mere convenience,' she said.
At one stage, she decided to reach out. She contacted Shakti Youth who supported her and her decision against marrying a stranger.
Auckland Shakti Youth coordinator Emma Cho says 'while the #MeToo movement has sparked much-needed conversations around consent and rape culture, it has failed to address the issues faced by migrants and refugee youth'.
The young woman says there are multiple barriers for migrant and refugee youth to disclosing their experiences such as isolation, language barriers, honour-based violence and cultural stigma.
Cho adds despite what some people may believe, forced marriages do happen in Aotearoa.
'We want people to know that just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it isn't happening,' she says.
Year 12 Shakti Youth leader Ranisha Chand led the protest.
'We want to empower young girls of our age who are forced to marry when they are meant to focus on their future,' Chand said.
One of the youngest at the march was Year 11 student June. 'We want to show that youth have a voice which deserves to be heard,' she said.
Before the march proceeded towards Aotea Square, Shannyl Kumar of Shakti Youth reinforced the importance of culturally sensitive consent education in schools.