This quarter was another wonderful experience with book clubs of mines and others. Reading books together is an activity that helps inspire our creativity, critical-thinking skills and also to practice being prepared and ready for discussions during book club periods. It wasn't a challenging task for me nor an easy one. I was able to participate and be prepared during book clubs, but not as good as a superstar. My book this unit is Homeless Bird, a book about forced marriage in India, affecting young girls’ lives negatively and impacting on their future later on. When we finished reading, we investigated about forced marriage in India and I personally found some interesting information.
As said by UNICEF, any marriage occurring under the age of 18 is considered child marriage. This usually happens in India in areas like Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. UNICEF mentioned that 48% of the women at the age or under 18 in South Asia are forced to marry. It is also said that men are averagely 4.5 years older than his wife.
These are just facts but what are the actual negative consequences of forced marriage? First of all, girls are like to experience domestic violence when married at a young age. Secondly, babies born to mothers under the age of 18 is 60% likely to die during their first year. Last of all, the lives of girls would be affected very awfully and just with an instant life-decision, it changed everything of the girl's lives.
In the story, Koly, the main character was tricked by her mother-in-law and left in the city of Vrindavan alone. We mostly said that we would return back to our families if we were left there but Koly chose to do something different. She knew that if she came back, her parents would be very disappointed and miserable with the final result of her life. So, she chose to stay in the new city by herself, surrounded by widows, strangers and not knowing what to do next.
SPOILER ALERT: But, she found her true love with Raji, a rickshaw boy and they lived happily ever after.
This book was very interesting to us, we hope to read more books together and use this experience as early practice for our daily lives.
As said by UNICEF, any marriage occurring under the age of 18 is considered child marriage. This usually happens in India in areas like Madhya Pradesh, Andhra Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan. UNICEF mentioned that 48% of the women at the age or under 18 in South Asia are forced to marry. It is also said that men are averagely 4.5 years older than his wife.
These are just facts but what are the actual negative consequences of forced marriage? First of all, girls are like to experience domestic violence when married at a young age. Secondly, babies born to mothers under the age of 18 is 60% likely to die during their first year. Last of all, the lives of girls would be affected very awfully and just with an instant life-decision, it changed everything of the girl's lives.
In the story, Koly, the main character was tricked by her mother-in-law and left in the city of Vrindavan alone. We mostly said that we would return back to our families if we were left there but Koly chose to do something different. She knew that if she came back, her parents would be very disappointed and miserable with the final result of her life. So, she chose to stay in the new city by herself, surrounded by widows, strangers and not knowing what to do next.
SPOILER ALERT: But, she found her true love with Raji, a rickshaw boy and they lived happily ever after.
This book was very interesting to us, we hope to read more books together and use this experience as early practice for our daily lives.