Geuzen Medal 2018 awarded to Girls Not Brides

On January 12, it was announced that the 2018 Geuzen Medal will be awarded to Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage. Princess Mabel van Oranje, Chair of Girls Not Brides, and Executive Director Lakshmi Sundaram, will be presented with the medal on March 13. The Geuzen Medal is awarded as a tribute to people and organisations working for human rights and who oppose dictatorship, discrimination and racism.

Marrying for love is still not the most normal thing in the world in the 21st century. More than 700 million women alive today were married before the age of 18. Each year, 15 million girls are married and their youth comes to an abrupt end. This is unacceptable, according to Girls Not Brides; a partnership of approximately a thousand organisations in over 95 countries, united by a commitment to end child marriage and enable every girl to fulfil her potential.

Girls Not Brides started in 2011 and was co-founded by Princess Mabel van Oranje and The Elders, an independent group of world leaders who work for peace and human rights. Girls Not Brides member organisations work across sectors including health, education, human rights and humanitarian response and range from small grassroots groups to large international organisations.

Simavi is proud to be part of the Girls Not Brides the Netherlands. In 2016, thirteen Dutch members of the Girls Not Brides global partnership came together to form Girls Not Brides the Netherlands. These organisations included Simavi, Kinderpostzegels, the University of Amsterdam, Save the Children Netherlands, Plan Nederland and Amref Flying Doctors. Girls Not Brides the Netherlands wants to share knowledge about child marriage and keep this subject on the Dutch political agenda. Approximately 250 child marriages take place in the Netherlands each year.

Read more about Girls Not Brides and the Geuzen Medal here.

Geuzen Medal 2018 awarded to Girls Not Brides

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