Episode 2.09: Girls Are Never Alone, with Aria Mustary (CEO & Founder of Mai Soli Foundation)
Every minute, 23 girls are being forced into child marriage. Bangladesh has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world, with 59% of girls getting married before the age of 18 (UNICEF). Mai Soli Foundation is working to end this staggering statistic. In this episode Aria Mustary, the CEO and founder of Mai Soli Foundation, discusses the social and economical roots of the child marriage issue and their recent pilot launch in schools. Mai Soli is working to empower young girls by introducing an entrepreneurial curriculum that encourages self sufficiency and giving back to the community. The curriculum shows girls that marriage is not their only option by teaching them to become leaders. She also tells us more about the resources Mai Soli provides them to start their own entrepreneurial pursuits, which will ultimately break the cycle of child marriage.
Aria's inspiration for Mai Soli comes from her own mother's experience as a child bride herself, who overcame her circumstances and is now a successful business owner. She expands on what it was like having to start from scratch with her mother and sister, as well as the entrepreneurial qualities that allowed them all to do so - which ultimately sparked the curriculum for Mai Soli.
To support this mission please consider making a contribution to their GoFundMe or on their website. You can also follow on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter.
Listen here.
Further Reading:
According to UNICEF: As many as 33 per cent of adolescent girls believe a husband is justified in hitting his wife. (https://www.unicef.org/bangladesh/en/ending-child-marriage)
In 2017, Bangladesh passed the Child Marriage Restraint Bill, which introduces exceptions to child marriage (18 is the legal age for girls, 21 for boys): “Government officials argue that the new special circumstances clause is necessary to save pregnant teenagers from social ostracism.” (https://www.mironline.ca/child-marriage-bangladesh-cultural-context-devastating-step-backwards/)
Natural Disasters vs. child marriage: https://www.hrw.org/news/2015/06/09/bangladesh-girls-damaged-child-marriage#