On Friday 28th June we again visited the Hornsey School for Girls; we were invited to support the launch of their Early & Forced Marriage Launch Event, organised by Year 10 students as part of their GCSE coursework. We had worked with the students before; we delivered our outreach workshops when they were starting their coursework, and we came into to discuss our AGAINST Forced marriage campaign in more detail to help them draw up ideas for their own campaigns. We enjoyed our sessions with the students, and were looking forward to seeing their ideas.

The event kicked off with an enthusiastic welcome from the students, who were keen to explore some facts around the concept of forced marriage. Students shared a video to a filled room, which featured an example of a forced marriage abroad, along with questions to make the viewer think and critically explore concepts and the related issues, drawing in the wider context, such as gender inequality, culture, poverty. Through addressing the issues of Early and Forced Marriages head on and collectively finding methods of combating these issues their campaign demonstrated a great understanding in the issues and its sensitivities.

Students from Malawi and Pakistan on a Youth Panel also joined students at Hornsey School for Girls to raise awareness of the importance of tackling issues related to violence against women, whether it be forced marriages, child marriages or FGM. They’re bold and passionate messages emphasised the importance of raising awareness and combating these issues collectively worldwide.

JAN Trust delivered workshops to students in order to contribute to their discussions, which proved to be engaging and worthwhile as students responded eagerly to understanding these issues further. We discussed methods to facilitate positive changes, especially in regards to addressing forced marriages in their local area.

JAN Trust in particular contributed to highlighting the facts and misconceptions regarding forced marriages.

We were thoroughly impressed at the awareness and enthusiasm the girls displayed through their knowledge and understanding of the sensitive issues in which they based and developed their campaigns on.

With thanks to Asha, Jennifer, Ilhan & Husna and the other Year 10 students for their exceptional efforts in executing their campaign and thanks to the teachers in organising a successful and inspirational campaign with all others involved with making this launch successful. JAN Trust wishes these inspirational young women all the best in campaigning for worthy issues both in the UK and around the globe.