ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Memory Banda - Activist
Memory Banda is a tireless leader for girls’ rights, in Malawi and around the world.

Why you should listen

Memory Banda is a tireless leader for girls' rights around the world. She is leading Malawi's fight to end child marriage through her work with Let Girls Lead and the Girl Empowerment Network of Malawi.

Only 18-years-old, Memory championed a succesful national campaign that culminated in landmark legislation that outlawed child marriage. Memory works with girl leaders to ensure that village chiefs ban child marriage, end sexual initiation practices, enable girls to finish school and live safe from violence in a country where more than half of girls are married as children.

Memory became an advocate for girls  after her younger sister was forced into marriage at the age of 11. She is now a college student in Malawi.

 

  

More profile about the speaker
Memory Banda | Speaker | TED.com
TEDWomen 2015

Memory Banda: A warrior’s cry against child marriage

Memory Banda: O berro dunha guerreira en contra do matrimonio infantil

Filmed:
1,355,672 views

A vida de Memory Banda tomou un camiño distinto ao da súa irmá. Cando a súa irmá acadou a súa puberdade foi enviada ao tradicional "campamento de iniciación" onde as mociñas son instruídas sobre "como satisfacer sexualmente a un home". Alí ficou preñada aos 11 anos. Banda, porén, negouse a ir. Mobilizou a outras e pediulle ao líder da comunidade que ditase unha lei que prohibise o matrimonio antes dos 18 anos. Agora elevou a súa petición ao nivel estatal... con resultados incríbeis para as mozas de todo Malawi
- Activist
Memory Banda is a tireless leader for girls’ rights, in Malawi and around the world. Full bio

Double-click the English transcript below to play the video.

00:13
I'll begin today
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Gustaríame comezar
00:14
by sharing a poem
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cun poema
00:16
written by my friend from Malawi,
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escrito por unha amiga de Malawi
00:20
Eileen Piri.
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que se chama Eileen Piri.
00:22
Eileen is only 13 years old,
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Eileen só ten 13 anos
00:25
but when we were going through
the collection of poetry that we wrote,
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pero, mentres revisabamos
a colección de poesía que escribimos,
00:31
I found her poem so interesting,
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o seu poema pareceume moi interesante,
00:34
so motivating.
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verdadeiramente inspirador.
00:36
So I'll read it to you.
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Así que vóullelo ler.
00:38
She entitled her poem
"I'll Marry When I Want."
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Titúlase "Penso casar cando queira".
00:42
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
00:45
"I'll marry when I want.
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"Penso casar cando queira.
00:47
My mother can't force me to marry.
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Miña nai non pode casarme á forza.
00:52
My father cannot force me to marry.
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Meu pai non pode casarme á forza.
00:57
My uncle, my aunt,
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Nin meu tío, nin miña tía,
01:00
my brother or sister,
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nin meu irmán, nin miña irmá,
01:02
cannot force me to marry.
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poden casarme á forza.
01:05
No one in the world
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Ninguén no mundo
01:08
can force me to marry.
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me pode casar á forza.
01:11
I'll marry when I want.
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Casarei cando eu queira.
01:14
Even if you beat me,
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Aínda que batas en min,
01:17
even if you chase me away,
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mesmo se corres tras min,
01:19
even if you do anything bad to me,
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fágasme o que me fagas,
01:22
I'll marry when I want.
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penso casar cando queira.
01:26
I'll marry when I want,
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Casarei cando eu queira,
01:29
but not before I am well educated,
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pero non antes de obter unha boa educación
01:33
and not before I am all grown up.
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ou de rematar de medrar de todo.
01:37
I'll marry when I want."
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Penso casar cando queira."
01:40
This poem might seem odd,
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Este poema pode resultar algo raro
01:43
written by a 13-year-old girl,
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vindo dunha rapaciña de 13 anos,
01:47
but where I and Eileen come from,
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pero de aló de onde nós vimos
01:52
this poem, which I have just read to you,
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o poema que lles acabo de ler
01:55
is a warrior's cry.
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é todo un grito de guerra.
01:59
I am from Malawi.
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Son de Malawi,
02:03
Malawi is one of the poorest countries,
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un dos países máis pobres do mundo,
02:07
very poor,
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realmente pobre,
02:09
where gender equality is questionable.
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onde a igualdade de xénero é cuestionable.
02:14
Growing up in that country,
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Ó criarme nese país.
02:16
I couldn't make my own choices in life.
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non puiden decidir sobre a miña vida.
02:20
I couldn't even explore
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Non se me permitía nin sequera considerar
02:22
personal opportunities in life.
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as oportunidades que se me presentaban.
02:25
I will tell you a story
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Voulles contar a historia
02:27
of two different girls,
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de dúas rapazas moi diferentes,
02:30
two beautiful girls.
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dúas nenas fermosas,
02:34
These girls grew up
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que medraron
02:36
under the same roof.
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baixo o mesmo teito.
02:38
They were eating the same food.
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Comían os mesmos pratos.
02:41
Sometimes, they would share clothes,
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Ás veces, compartían roupa
02:44
and even shoes.
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e ata calzado.
02:46
But their lives ended up differently,
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Mais as súas vidas remataron seguindo
02:51
in two different paths.
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dous camiños ben distintos.
02:55
The other girl is my little sister.
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A outra rapaza é miña irmá pequena.
02:58
My little sister was only 11 years old
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Só tiña 11 anos
03:03
when she got pregnant.
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cando quedou embarazada.
03:08
It's a hurtful thing.
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Que cousa tan dolorosa!
03:13
Not only did it hurt her, even me.
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Non só lle doeu a ela: tamén a min.
03:16
I was going through a hard time as well.
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Eu tampouco o estaba a ter fácil.
03:20
As it is in my culture,
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Como é tradición na miña cultura,
03:23
once you reach puberty stage,
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ó acadar a puberdade
03:26
you are supposed to go
to initiation camps.
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unha debe marchar
a un campamento de iniciación.
03:30
In these initiation camps,
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Nestes campamentos
03:33
you are taught how
to sexually please a man.
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apréndenche a satisfacer
sexualmente os homes.
03:36
There is this special day,
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Hai un día especial,
03:38
which they call "Very Special Day"
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chámanlle o "Día moi especial",
03:41
where a man who is hired
by the community
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no que un home contratado pola comunidade
03:44
comes to the camp
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vén ó campamento
03:47
and sleeps with the little girls.
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e se deita coas meniñas.
03:51
Imagine the trauma that these young girls
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Imaxinen o trauma co que estas rapazas
03:53
go through every day.
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teñen que lidar cada día.
03:58
Most girls end up pregnant.
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A maior parte delas quedan embarazadas.
04:01
They even contract HIV and AIDS
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Tamén contraen o VIH e a SIDA,
04:04
and other sexually transmitted diseases.
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e outras enfermidades
de transmisión sexual.
04:07
For my little sister,
she ended up being pregnant.
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A miña irmá tocoulle embarazo.
04:12
Today, she's only 16 years old
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Hoxe ten 16 anos
04:16
and she has three children.
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e xa leva 3 bebés.
04:19
Her first marriage did not survive,
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O seu primeiro matrimonio non durou,
04:23
nor did her second marriage.
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tampouco o segundo.
04:26
On the other side, there is this girl.
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E logo está estoutra rapaza,
04:31
She's amazing.
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que é incrible.
04:33
(Laughter)
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(Risos)
04:35
(Applause)
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(Aplausos)
04:39
I call her amazing because she is.
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E digo que é incrible porque o é.
04:42
She's very fabulous.
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É unha rapaza marabillosa.
04:45
That girl is me. (Laughter)
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Esa rapaza son eu.
(Risos)
04:48
When I was 13 years old,
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Cando tiña 13 anos
04:51
I was told, you are grown up,
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dixéronme que xa era grande,
04:55
you have now reached of age,
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que xa tiña idade
04:58
you're supposed to go
to the initiation camp.
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de ir ó campamento de iniciación
e que debía ir.
05:01
I was like, "What?
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Eu dixen: "Que?
05:04
I'm not going to go
to the initiation camps."
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Non penso ir
ós campamentos de iniciación".
05:10
You know what the women said to me?
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Saben que me dixo aquela muller?
05:13
"You are a stupid girl. Stubborn.
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"Que rapaza tan parva e teimuda!
05:16
You do not respect the traditions
of our society, of our community."
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Non respectas as tradicións
da nosa sociedade, da nosa comunidade."
05:24
I said no because I knew
where I was going.
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Eu díxenlle que non
porque sabía o que me agardaba.
05:27
I knew what I wanted in life.
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Sabía o que quería na vida.
05:31
I had a lot of dreams as a young girl.
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Xa de nova tiña soños.
05:36
I wanted to get well educated,
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Quería acadar unha boa formación
05:39
to find a decent job in the future.
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para máis adiante atopar
un traballo decente.
05:42
I was imagining myself as a lawyer,
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Imaxinábame de avogada,
05:44
seated on that big chair.
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sentada nunha cadeira de oficina desas.
05:46
Those were the imaginations that
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Iso era ó que aspiraba,
05:49
were going through my mind every day.
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o que me pasaba pola cabeza tódolos días.
05:52
And I knew that one day,
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Sabía que algún día
05:54
I would contribute something,
a little something to my community.
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tería algo que achegar,
por pouco que fora, á miña comunidade.
05:58
But every day after refusing,
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Pero, dende que rexeitara o campamento,
06:01
women would tell me,
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as mulleres non paraban de dicirme
06:03
"Look at you, you're all grown up.
Your little sister has a baby.
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"Mira para aí, túa irmá pequena
xa ten un bebé.
06:06
What about you?"
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E ti, que xa es adulta, que?"
06:08
That was the music
that I was hearing every day,
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Esa era a cantarela que tiña
que aturar día tras día
06:13
and that is the music
that girls hear every day
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e a cantarela que as rapazas
aturan tódolos días
06:16
when they don't do something
that the community needs them to do.
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cando deciden non facer algo
que a comunidade precisa que fagan.
06:23
When I compared the two stories
between me and my sister,
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Cando comparei as dúas historias,
a de miña irmá e a miña,
06:27
I said, "Why can't I do something?
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pregunteime: "Por que non podo facer nada?
06:32
Why can't I change something
that has happened for a long time
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Por que non podo mudar algo
que leva pasando tanto tempo
06:37
in our community?"
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na nosa comunidade?"
06:39
That was when I called other girls
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Aí foi cando decidín chamar outras rapazas
06:42
just like my sister, who have children,
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coma miña irmá, rapazas con fillos
06:44
who have been in class but they have
forgotten how to read and write.
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que foran á escola pero que xa
non lembraban como se lía e escribía.
06:48
I said, "Come on, we can
remind each other
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Díxenlles: "Veña, podemos
lembrar mutuamente
06:50
how to read and write again,
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como se le e escribe outra vez,
06:52
how to hold the pen,
how to read, to hold the book."
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como se agarra o bolígrafo,
como se le, como se suxeita o libro".
06:56
It was a great time I had with them.
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Foi unha época estupenda.
06:59
Nor did I just learn a little about them,
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Non só aprendín un pouquiño sobre elas,
07:04
but they were able to tell me
their personal stories,
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senón que me chegaron a contar
as súas historias persoais,
07:07
what they were facing every day
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polo que estaban pasando
07:09
as young mothers.
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como nais adolescentes.
07:12
That was when I was like,
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Entón pensei:
07:14
'Why can't we take all these things
that are happening to us
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"Por que non collemos todo isto
que nos está a pasar
07:17
and present them and tell our mothers,
our traditional leaders,
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e presentámolo, e dicímoslles
ás nosas nais e ós líderes relixiosos
07:21
that these are the wrong things?"
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que estas cousas están mal?"
07:23
It was a scary thing to do,
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Tiñamos medo de facelo
07:25
because these traditional leaders,
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porque os líderes da nosa comunidade
07:27
they are already accustomed to the things
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xa están afeitos ás cousas
07:30
that have been there for ages.
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que levan séculos pasando.
07:32
A hard thing to change,
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Non sería doado cambialas
07:34
but a good thing to try.
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pero pagaba a pena intentalo.
07:37
So we tried.
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E así o fixemos.
07:39
It was very hard, but we pushed.
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Foi moi difícil, pero insistimos.
07:42
And I'm here to say that in my community,
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E hoxe estou aquí para contar
que a miña
07:45
it was the first community after girls
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foi a primeira comunidade
na que as rapazas
07:47
pushed so hard to our traditional leader,
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presionaron tanto o noso líder relixioso
07:51
and our leader stood up for us
and said no girl has to be married
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que este rematou por apoiarnos e declarar
que ningunha rapaza tiña que casar
07:55
before the age of 18.
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ata acadar os 18 anos de idade.
07:57
(Applause)
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(Aplauso)
08:05
In my community,
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A miña comunidade
08:07
that was the first time a community,
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foi a primeira
08:09
they had to call the bylaws,
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en cambiar o regulamento,
08:12
the first bylaw that protected girls
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en crear unha lei que protexe as rapazas
08:15
in our community.
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da comunidade.
08:18
We did not stop there.
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Mais non paramos aí.
08:19
We forged ahead.
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Seguimos adiante.
08:22
We were determined to fight for girls
not just in my community,
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Estabamos decididas a loitar polas mozas
doutras comunidades,
08:26
but even in other communities.
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non só da nosa.
08:29
When the child marriage bill
was being presented in February,
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En febreiro, cando se presentou o proxecto
de lei sobre o matrimonio infantil,
08:33
we were there at the Parliament house.
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nós estabamos no parlamento.
08:37
Every day, when the members
of Parliament were entering,
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Tódolos días, mentres entraban
os membros do parlamento,
08:41
we were telling them,
"Would you please support the bill?"
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nós iámoslles dicindo:
"Por favor, apoie o proxecto de lei!"
08:44
And we don't have
much technology like here,
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Non contamos
con tanta tecnoloxía coma aquí,
08:49
but we have our small phones.
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pero tiñamos os nosos teléfonos móbiles,
08:51
So we said, "Why can't we get
their numbers and text them?"
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así que pensamos: "Por que non conseguimos
os seus números e lles escribimos?"
08:56
So we did that. It was a good thing.
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E fixémolo. Saiu ben.
08:59
(Applause)
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(Aplauso)
Así que, cando se aprobou o proxecto,
volvémoslles escribir:
09:01
So when the bill passed,
we texted them back,
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09:04
"Thank you for supporting the bill."
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"Grazas por apoiaren o proxecto de lei".
(Risos)
09:06
(Laughter)
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09:07
And when the bill was signed
by the president,
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E, cando o presidente firmou o proxecto
09:11
making it into law, it was a plus.
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e promulgou a lei, obtivemos outro éxito.
09:14
Now, in Malawi, 18 is the legal
marriage age, from 15 to 18.
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Agora a idade legal para casar en Malawi
é 18. Pasamos dos 15 ós 18 anos.
09:20
(Applause)
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(Aplauso)
09:26
It's a good thing to know
that the bill passed,
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Alégrame que se aprobase a lei,
09:30
but let me tell you this:
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pero eu pregúntolles unha cousa:
09:33
There are countries where 18
is the legal marriage age,
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hai países onde a idade legal
para casar son os 18 anos,
09:37
but don't we hear cries
of women and girls every day?
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e aínda así, non ouvimos choros
de mulleres e nenas a diario?
09:41
Every day, girls' lives
are being wasted away.
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Tódolos días se botan a perder
vidas de rapazas.
09:47
This is high time for leaders
to honor their commitment.
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Vai sendo hora de que os líderes
cumpran a súa palabra.
09:53
In honoring this commitment,
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Cumprir a súa palabra
09:56
it means keeping girls' issues
at heart every time.
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significa pensar nos problemas
das rapazas todo o tempo.
10:01
We don't have to be subjected as second,
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Non temos que ser cidadás de segunda.
10:05
but they have to know that women,
as we are in this room,
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Teñen que saber que as mulleres
como as que estamos nesta sala
10:09
we are not just women,
we are not just girls,
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non somos simples mulleres,
non somos simples rapazas:
10:13
we are extraordinary.
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somos extraordinarias.
10:14
We can do more.
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Podemos facer máis.
10:16
And another thing for Malawi,
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Outro asunto preocupante en Malawi,
10:19
and not just Malawi but other countries:
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e non só en Malawi, senón noutros países,
10:22
The laws which are there,
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é que as leis,
10:26
you know how a law is not a law
until it is enforced?
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ben se sabe que unha lei non é lei
ata que non se fai cumprir, non si?
10:32
The law which has just recently passed
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Esta lei que se acaba de aprobar
10:35
and the laws that in other countries
have been there,
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e as deste tipo noutros países
10:38
they need to be publicized
at the local level,
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precisan ser divulgadas a nivel local,
10:42
at the community level,
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ó nivel das comunidades,
10:44
where girls' issues are very striking.
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onde as rapazas sofren estes problemas.
10:49
Girls face issues, difficult issues,
at the community level every day.
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As mozas teñen que enfrontarse diariamente
a estas dificultades nas súas comunidades.
10:55
So if these young girls know
that there are laws that protect them,
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Pero, se saben que hai leis
que as protexen,
11:00
they will be able to stand up
and defend themselves
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poderán dicir que non e defenderse soas,
11:03
because they will know that
there is a law that protects them.
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sabendo que hai unha lei que as apoia.
11:09
And another thing I would say is that
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Outra cousa que quería dicir é que
11:13
girls' voices and women's voices
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a voz das mozas e das mulleres
11:17
are beautiful, they are there,
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é fermosa e está aí,
11:20
but we cannot do this alone.
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pero non podemos facer isto soas.
11:23
Male advocates, they have to jump in,
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Precisamos homes aliados
que se involucren
e estean dispostos a traballar connosco.
11:26
to step in and work together.
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11:28
It's a collective work.
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Require un esforzo colectivo.
11:31
What we need is what girls elsewhere need:
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O que precisamos é o que precisan
o resto de mozas:
11:33
good education, and above all,
not to marry whilst 11.
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unha boa educación e, sobre todo,
non ter que casar con 11 anos.
11:42
And furthermore,
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É máis,
11:44
I know that together,
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sei que xuntos
11:48
we can transform the legal,
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podemos mudar o marco legal,
11:51
the cultural and political framework
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político e cultural
11:55
that denies girls of their rights.
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que lles nega ás rapazas os seus dereitos.
11:59
I am standing here today
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Hoxe estou aquí
12:04
and declaring that we can
end child marriage in a generation.
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para declarar que podemos acabar
co matrimonio infantil nunha xeración.
12:12
This is the moment
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É hora
12:14
where a girl and a girl,
and millions of girls worldwide,
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de que millóns de rapazas no mundo
12:19
will be able to say,
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sexan quen de dicir:
12:21
"I will marry when I want."
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"Penso casar cando queira".
12:25
(Applause)
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(Aplauso)
12:35
Thank you. (Applause)
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Grazas. (Aplauso)

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ABOUT THE SPEAKER
Memory Banda - Activist
Memory Banda is a tireless leader for girls’ rights, in Malawi and around the world.

Why you should listen

Memory Banda is a tireless leader for girls' rights around the world. She is leading Malawi's fight to end child marriage through her work with Let Girls Lead and the Girl Empowerment Network of Malawi.

Only 18-years-old, Memory championed a succesful national campaign that culminated in landmark legislation that outlawed child marriage. Memory works with girl leaders to ensure that village chiefs ban child marriage, end sexual initiation practices, enable girls to finish school and live safe from violence in a country where more than half of girls are married as children.

Memory became an advocate for girls  after her younger sister was forced into marriage at the age of 11. She is now a college student in Malawi.

 

  

More profile about the speaker
Memory Banda | Speaker | TED.com