How a Forced Marriage Survivor Built a Global Movement

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Living Your Legacy 22 min 4 speakers 8 chapters transcribed 2 months ago
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What prompted Laila Eshan to tell her forced marriage story and start a movement?

Laila Eshan 0:00
this is about being a voice for over 12 million girls that are losing their freedom their choices every single year 33 of these young girls that are being forced into child arranged marriages end up losing their lives for me this is actually an autobiography i share my story with the world of what happens when you are into as a child this is for me in my case I was 16 years old of what happens to you when you are being forced into arranged marriage afterwards there's some talks about it oh she's been in her experience arranged marriage but they don't really know behind the scene what's happening
Lucy Staffieri 0:47
Leila Ishan is a resilient, fearless, and inspiring humanitarian, author, and the founder of I Want Freedom Charity. She now empowers girls worldwide through education, advocacy, and her powerful story of overcoming adversity.
Laila Eshan 1:00
My ultimate goal was to allow this to be a movement and not just to be an awareness. I want the whole world to know what happens to us young girls when we get into forced arranged marriage. So this is why I'm here. And this is why I would like to awaken the world and let everyone know is that It spans the globe like a super high school internet Elvis
Rui Gutierrez 1:32
Today, Apple is going to reinvent the phone. It's not over until I win. The Living Your Legacy podcast for those who live to leave a legacy.
Rui Gutierrez 1:55
That's extraordinary. The impossible. Oh, that is sensational.

How common is child and forced arranged marriage worldwide and what do the UN statistics show?

Rui Gutierrez 1:56
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Rudy Mawer 2:00
Hello and welcome back to another episode. I'm sat here today with Lila and we're going to dive into her mission, her impact that she's having, her vision for her brand and how she's helping shape change the world in a positive way. And she's on a big one. Let me tell you, Lila, welcome to the show.
Laila Eshan 2:15
Thank you so much.
Rudy Mawer 2:16
So let's start with, you know, this big mission of yours, right? A lot of people get to sit here and I get to hear their missions, right? Some people are changing the world. Some people are changing their communities.

How did Laila’s personal forced marriage experience unfold and why was she unable to leave?

Rudy Mawer 2:28
But, you know, you're doing something really impactful. So I'd love for you just to explain to everyone listening what you do.
Laila Eshan 2:34
Well, what I do is that I have written Miami Moore in this book, and this is about being a voice for over 12 million girls that are losing their freedom, their choices every single year. 33% of these young girls that are being forced into child arranged marriages end up losing their lives under suicide or under the persons that they were forced to marry. And unfortunately, there's not enough organizations that supports this cause. And also, there isn't really much of media that talks about how many lives are involved in this matter.
Rudy Mawer 3:22
Yeah, I didn't realize it was so many every year.
Laila Eshan 3:25
It's huge. And what I just shared with you, this is according the UN records that reports that this is what's happening.
Rudy Mawer 3:33
It's probably underreported like most of these.
Laila Eshan 3:36
It's 110% and that's exactly what I believe. That's what it is. Only because this happens not just in the Middle East. It actually happens globally, including United States. And for me, this is actually an autobiography. And I share my story with the world of what happens when you are into, as a child, this is for me, in my case, I was 16 years old, of what happens to you when you are being forced into arranged marriage afterwards. There's some talks about it, oh, she's been in or experienced arranged marriage, but they don't really know behind the scene what's happening. And I share, this book is very raw, and I share about 75% of what I have experienced in my forced arranged marriage that lasted 16 years where I felt myself stuck.
Laila Eshan 4:38
And I couldn't get out of it for many reasons.

What are the cultural and economic mechanics that sustain arranged and child marriages?

Laila Eshan 4:42
One, because my education was stolen from me, my hopes and my dreams. my goals that as a very young 16 year old and a very driven one was taken away from me. And for those reasons, I didn't really have the security to be independent and to say enough is enough. So I was trapped. I had my first child at age 17. And by the time I became 26 years old, I was mother of four children.

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