Despite the hardships they face, teenage girls are on a mission to save the world.
One is on a zero-carbon Atlantic voyage to attend climate change conferences in New York. Greta Thunberg, the 16-year-old activist who inspired a global youth movement, has reported dolphin sightings – and, mercifully, no sea sickness, yet.
Another, in Samastipur, Bihar, triggers a movement just by saying no to marriage. In a state where 39.1% of girls marry before they turn 18, the 16-year-old tells her parents she’d rather study. With support from Child Rights and You (CRY), she is now inspiring others to take a similar stand.
A Master of Laws gold medallist at the National Law University, Surbhi Karwa, finds herself in a “moral quandary” over receiving her award from chief justice, Ranjan Gogoi. “The institution he heads failed when sexual harassment allegations were made against him,” she tells The Indian Express.
Young girls seem to be on an unsung mission to save the world. They’re out there on the field kicking a ball, fighting for their right to go to school, or taking moral positions against injustice.