Aberash Bekele with Truth Aid
Nov 2, 2015 — When Yeri was 16 years old, her father died and she was taken out of school and forced into an arranged marriage. She soon had three children. When her first husband died, Yeri was forced to marry his brother, a common practice in her village in Burkina Faso. “I was so unhappy,” she says. Soon, Yeri found out about Global Fund for Women grantee partner Association for the Advancement of Women in Gaoua, where she learned about women’s human rights for the first time. She found the support she needed to get out of her forced marriage – repaying her dowry to become free.
Now, Yeri has become a bold force for change in her community, teaching women to read and write, and develop agricultural skills. She also works tirelessly with the group that supported her, focusing on ending harmful traditions like child marriage and female genital mutilation (FGM). Yeri is passionate about this work because she feels that these practices denied her essential human rights, and caused her to miss her youth. She is #determined to change that for the next generation.
The group that helped Yeri escape her forced marriage is just one of the many women-led, grassroots groups Global Fund for Women partners with around the world. As a global champion for the human rights of women and girls, Global Fund for Women uses its powerful networks to find, fund, and amplify the courageous work of women who are building social movements and challenging the status quo.
Global Fund for Women is working toward a world where every woman and girl is strong, safe, powerful, and heard. No exceptions.
Read more about Yuri’s story, and how you can participate in the #Determined movement here: http://bit.ly/1OekKiW
Join the movement. Be a champion for women’s human rights with Global Fund for Women.
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