GirlDefendersPH

Juanday Esmael, (Maguindanao Alliance of Youth Advocates) MAYA president, fixes the Child Early and Forced Marriage info material before the session in Guindulungan, Maguindanao. MAYA is supported by the The Creating Spaces Project, which is funded by the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada and implemented by Oxfam Pilipinas, United Youth of the Philippines-Women (UnYPhil-Women), Al-Mujadilah Women’s Association (AMWA) and other partner organizations. (Photo: Princess Taroza/Oxfam)

The Future of BARMM: Students stand up against child marriage

Juanday and Farhana are childhood best friends who grew up in Guindulungan, Maguindanao. They were classmates from elementary until college, and both were student leaders. Since grade school, Juanday and Farhana witnessed early child and forced marriages and violence against women in their...

A portrait of Asma Lumenda, an active member of the “Girl Defenders” Alliance working to end child marriage in the Philippines, in Muti, Guindulungan, Maguindanao. The Girl Defenders Alliance is part of the Creating Spaces Project, which provides livelihood for young mothers. It is funded by the Government of Canada through Global Affairs Canada and implemented by Oxfam Pilipinas, United Youth of the Philippines-Women (UnYPhil-Women), Al-Mujadilah Women’s Association (AMWA) and other partner organizations.

Lifelong lessons of early marriage

Asma chose to be married at the age of 15, but her mother did not allow her. According to her, she decided to marry her current husband because of love.  "Early marriage is legal to us Muslims. However, I realized that it is difficult to marry and become a mother at an early age, especially if my...