Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
D and forced riage before 15... agony of child brides
MEETING D MOTHER
o eat de.” lped esha mber how vulnerable we were then. I was enjoying school, thinking about what I wanted to do with my life, not worrying about being held hostage and told to prepare for marriage! Cynthia wants to do something with her life and has a very supportive family.
“With Actionaid’s presence, the COMBAT squads and the girls’ clubs the message is filtering through that this is wrong.”
Alesha, who has been with partner Azuka since 2012, is certainly a powerful role model. She goes on: “Women deserve to thrive and enjoy their lives. I am all about equality and justice. I think when you are in this industry you should use the platform responsibly. I believe we women can build each other up and I saw that with the girls’ clubs in Ghana.
“They put on a performance for me and it was the best moment. They were all singing about abduction and child marriage and staying away from bad boys. As a collective, they were a really powerful force, they were strong and had such confidence in them. That will filter through and the next generation will know more and understand girls’ rights. But it takes times to break those old stereotypes and injustices.”
Actionaid chief executive Girish Menon said: “We believe every girl should be free to complete their education, reach their potential and have their health and wellbeing protected. We’re working on many fronts to end this form of violence but there is still much to do.”
Alesha recently said she adores family life with Azuka and Azura. But she never feels guilty about being a working mum.
She says: “I don’t feel guilty because if she’s at home with Azuka or my mum she’s happy. And I’m going to work to do something I love and as she gets older that will hopefully inspire her.”
And Alesha’s charity work will also inspire her girl – especially her work with brave mums like Felicia.
You can support Actionaid at actionaid.org.uk/childmarriage