Girls Not Wives

Rachana Sunar

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2016 OFF in Oslo
Rachana Sunar is a Nepalese women’s rights activist and founder of the Sambad Center. Sunar was 15 when her parents tried to marry her off to an older man she barely knew. That’s because in Nepal, arranged marriages and child brides are the norm. Sunar took the stage at the Oslo Freedom Forum to share how she’s making sure future generations of Nepalese girls don’t have to face what she escaped.

About the Speaker

Rachana Sunar

Rachana

Sunar

Nepalese women’s rights activist and founder of the Sambad Center

Rachana Sunar is a Nepalese women’s rights activist and founder of the Sambad Center. Created in 2013 with support from Kirdac Nepal and the Stromme Foundation, the center aims to educate young married mothers on issues such as women’s rights, child marriage, and human trafficking. At 15 years old, Sunar was intended to become a child bride to an older man of a higher caste, but tricked her family into delaying the marriage and allowing her to stay in school. Sunar began sharing her story with other Nepalese women and now helps lead the fight to end child marriage in Nepal. She has saved 37 girls from forced marriage and provides literacy lessons for adults in addition to her work at the Sambad Center.

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