Football Gives Rajasthan Girls Power to Reject Child Marriage (Full Transcript)

[00:00:00] Speaker 1: The BBC's Indian Sportswoman of the Year Award is going to be announced next week and it honours the country's leading female athletes. In a nation where millions of girls are still illegally married as children, sport can offer a rare path to independence. For some, football has become a way to push back, helping them earn an income, build confidence and resist pressure to marry early. In the northwestern state of Rajasthan, Divya Arya has been meeting the girls using the game to change their futures.

[00:00:30] Speaker 2: Munna was only 14 when she was told she would be a bride. Child marriage is illegal in India, but the United Nations estimates that 216 million girls and women have been married before they turned 18.

[00:00:45] Speaker 3: I started crying. I said, I don't want to marry right now. I'm in grade 9. I want to study.

[00:00:54] Speaker 2: Munna's mother was a child bride herself and arranged for Munna's older sister to have a child marriage. Authorities try to stop child marriages, but they say they often get little cooperation from local communities. They say that if girls step out of their homes, they will be exposed to bad influences and run away with boys. We do the marriage quietly. We don't print a wedding invitation or put up a tent. Munna too may have become a child bride, but she was introduced to football by a women's rights organization. The Football for Freedom project has trained over 800 girls across 13 villages in Rajasthan over the past decade.

[00:01:39] Speaker 4: And it's taught them much more than just sport. When we worked with the girls and they learnt about their rights, about the country's constitution, the ill effects of child marriage, and because girls were stepping out, they were able to raise their voices.

[00:01:58] Speaker 2: The exposure via playing football, traveling for tournaments and the knowledge of their rights can empower girls. Munna's fight back is now helping her 15-year-old younger sister.

[00:02:11] Speaker 5: One day, I was going to play after finishing household work and papa said, is your boyfriend waiting there? I replied, there is no boyfriend. I am going to play football. That is my love.

[00:02:29] Speaker 2: Football helped Munna to escape child marriage and she is now qualified as coach. She now hopes to help other girls find freedom through sport.

[00:02:41] Speaker 3: I feel I have to pull these girls out and whether I am able to stop their marriage or not, help them become something in life, realize their dreams.

[00:02:56] Speaker 2: These girls are celebrating their footballing achievements. But sport is out of reach for many in India because they are poor or married early. Munna and her friends though have made it to the field and are using this opportunity to change their lives. Divya Arya, BBC News, Ajmer, Rajasthan.