Rajasthan Rising: "We´re not begging, it´s our right" say India's girls

UNICEF estimates that annually, "at least 1.5 million girls under 18 get married in India, which makes it home to the largest number of child brides in the world - accounting for a third of the global total". A new movement called Rajasthan Rising has been started by a (now) 18-year-old called Priyanka Bairwa. The focus is on gender equality at school level to tackle the issues of caste, marginalisation, and girls being married off at a young age instead of continuing their education. “I launched the campaign because I knew thousands of other girls were facing similar problems, being pulled out of school and forced into early marriage," says Bairwa in a report published by The Guardian (https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/2021/jul/13/the-indian-girls-movement-fighting-child-marriage). "Education is supposed to be free until grade 8 [age 14] but never is. Schools impose ‘development’ fees. Scholarships promised to students from marginalised communities never arrive on time." This 40-second campaign is a trailer for a documentary on the topic. What do you think of it? Does it encourage you to keep an eye out for the documentary, or does it trigger increased awareness? Do you like the style of the footage in itself?

Keywords: Rajasthan Rising, child marriage in India, child brides, Priyanka Bairwa, planned marriages, women's rights, girls education India, Indian families, gender equality India, Silver Line Productions India