Stolen Dreams

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One in five women in the world today were married before the age of eighteen. Every third woman married as a child lives in India. Rani was 14 when she returned home for her vacation and realized at a family wedding ceremony that she was the bride. As a married woman, she no longer had a chance to return to school, and in the first year of her marriage Rani became pregnant. Pregnancy at such a young age often poses a serious threat to the health and life of both themselves and their children. Dominika Kulczyk, President of the Kulczyk Foundation, travels to the state of Maharashtra in India to meet Dr. Ashok Dyalchand, an ophthalmologist by education, founder of the NGO, Institute of Health Management Pachod, which has been working for the rights of girls, women, and children for over 40 years. The organization offers, among others, sex education, communication and life skills classes for unmarried girls as well as health and psychosocial support for married women. In addition, the organization helps girls organize marches and protests to defend their right to education, whose message is directed to the entire community. "These girls, in addition to banners, bring hope to millions of their peers all over India. They have already understood that only education can guarantee them a better future," says Dominika Kulczyk, joining the protest of young Indian women.