The Power of Lived Experience to Drive Activism | Payzee Mahmod | TEDxHultLondonWomen
The speaker shares her personal journey from surviving multiple traumas, including child marriage, to successfully campaigning for the passage of the Minimum Marriage Age Act, demonstrating that personal narrative, combined with strategic tools like media, social media, and lobbying, can drive significant legal change. She illustrates this by recounting how her personal experience, coupled with the support of organizations like iCrow, helped bring the issue of child marriage into the public sphere, resulting in a UK law change. The core message is that every individual has a voice capable of contributing to societal improvement.
## Speakers & Context
- Speaker: Kurdish woman, who arrived in London with her family from Iran in 2011.
- Setting: Speaking at an event (suggested by the address to "everyone in this room" and the structure of the talk).
- Contextual shift: The speaker contrasts her initial state of having "very little understanding of the power of my voice" in December 2019 with her current position as a campaigner.
- Early life struggles: Family moved from Iran to London when she was 11.
- Trauma experienced: Female genital mutilation (a non-surgical procedure where female genitals are cut or injured) was experienced by her and her sisters at age 11.
- Coerced marriage: At age 16, was coerced into a child marriage to a man almost twice her age, mirroring a sister's experience.
- Life after trauma: Initially ran away from confronting her past; later realized she could not hide after seeing a news report about another honor killing victim.
## Theses & Positions
- Everyone in the room possesses a unique voice that holds the power to improve the world.
- The most effective path to social change is leveraging personal story to illuminate systemic failures and emotional realities.
- For genuine societal shifts, activists must *listen and tell stories* about the world they wish to create.
- The campaign for ending child marriage required a strategy encompassing narrative building, community mobilization, and direct legislative lobbying.
## Concepts & Definitions
- **Female genital mutilation:** A non-surgical procedure where the female genitals are cut or injured.
- **Honor killing:** The murder of a woman/girl by her own family or community.
- **Child marriage:** Legal age for marriage in England is 16 with parental consent, but the practice affects millions globally.
- **Extraterritorial element:** The law change carries this element, meaning no child can be brought in or taken out of the UK for the purposes of child marriage.
## Mechanisms & Processes
- **Personal Storytelling:** Using raw, personal narratives (her life, her sister's) to show the tangible harm of abstract laws (like child marriage).
- **Issue Framing:** Successfully moving the taboo issue of child marriage into the public sphere and into legislative discussion.
- **Campaign Toolkit:** Sharing three tools for successful law change: 1) Stories matter, 2) Social media, and 3) Lobbying decision-makers.
- **Legislative Process:** A bill passes through four stages in each House (House of Commons and House of Lords) before receiving Royal assent.
## Timeline & Sequence
- **Arrival in UK:** 2011, when the speaker was 11 years old.
- **Trauma onset:** By age 11, experienced FGM; at age 16, entered child marriage.
- **Sister's death:** Sister Benaz was murdered for leaving her child marriage in 2006.
- **Campaign catalyst:** Seeing a news report about another honor killing victim.
- **Organization involvement:** Contacted iCrow Women's Rights Organization, which was running a live campaign to ban child marriage in England and Wales.
- **Legal Achievement:** The Minimum Marriage Age Act will commence in **February 2023** in England and Wales.
## Named Entities
- **Iran:** Country of origin for the speaker's family.
- **London:** City where the family resettled.
- **Kurdish girl:** Description of the speaker at arrival.
- **iCrow Women's Rights Organization:** Charity that supported the campaign for justice, focusing on Middle Eastern, North African, and Afghan women and girls at risk of honor-based abuse.
## Numbers & Data
- Age of arrival in UK: **11** years old.
- Age of coerced marriage: **16**.
- Number of girls married before 18 globally: At least **12 million** every year.
- Rate of early marriage: **28 girls** every minute globally.
- Petition signatures received: Well over **a quarter of a million**.
- Legal age for marriage in England: **16** (with parental consent).
- Commencement date of Act: **February 2023**.
- Age limit for child marriage: **18**.
## Examples & Cases
- **Early Life:** Initial dream of the UK being a "playground" contrasts sharply with later traumatic events.
- **Sister's Murder:** Benaz's murder in 2006 for leaving her child marriage.
- **Campaign Success:** The passage of the law banning child marriage below 18.
- **Media Impact:** Public reaction to the issue was often "disbelief" ("how can this happen here in the UK").
## Tools, Tech & Products
- **Social Media Platforms:** Used by the speaker to build an online community and amplify the mission.
- **Campaign Poster:** Used by the speaker on public transport to raise awareness.
- **Online Community/Hashtag:** Created the hashtag *#SafeguardFuturesbanchardmarriage*.
## References Cited
- **iCrow Women's Rights Organization:** Source of initial campaign guidance and support.
## Trade-offs & Alternatives
- **Running away:** Initially adopted running and hiding from trauma as a coping mechanism.
- **Legal Complexity:** The law itself is complex, but having the right support ("an illegal team") made the information easier to digest.
## Counterarguments & Caveats
- **Initial public reaction:** Common initial reaction from the public was disbelief.
- **Trauma endurance:** The speaker noted that she was still processing the trauma of being a child bride even 16 years later.
- **Legal weakness:** The law was previously outdated, necessitating a push to include *all* forms of child marriage.
## Methodology
- **Public Advocacy:** Active engagement in the public sphere through media, posters, and organized events.
- **Narrative Integration:** Linking the personal story to abstract concepts like gender equality, climate change, and poverty.
- **Digital Mobilization:** Utilizing social media to build a decentralized, global support network.
- **Lobbying:** Directly engaging with decision-makers in Parliament through presentations and policy arguments.
## Conclusions & Recommendations
- **Primary Goal:** Change the current law and ban all forms of child marriage.
- **Actionable Advice:** Every individual has the ability to change the world through speaking up.
- **Mechanism of Change:** Storytelling, combined with targeted advocacy using digital and physical platforms, is effective for societal transformation.
## Implications & Consequences
- **Legal Impact:** The Minimum Marriage Age Act changing the law to prevent child marriage under 18 and implementing extraterritorial provisions.
- **Societal Shift:** The campaign successfully reframed child marriage from a private, hidden issue to a public, prosecutable human rights violation.
## Verbatim Moments
- *"if I could be part of something bigger that could change the world"*
- *"I run away from them for years"*
- *"all of our dreams and aspirations Came Crashing Down"*
- *"I felt like I was the one in prison"*
- *"that's exactly what I did"*
- *"this sick feeling that I had in my stomach quickly turned into a fire a blazing fire that I couldn't ignore"*
- *"could speaking out really make a difference"*
- *"stories engage people at every level not just in their minds but in their emotions values and imaginations"*
- *"what could have happened"*
- *"Climate change poverty and gender equality are some of the most pressing issues right now"*
- *"I can tell you this is where allyship was born"*
- *"the Minimum Marriage Age Act will commence in February 2023 in England and Wells"*
- *"how will you use your voice"*