Canada’s Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird yesterday presented the 2014 John Diefenbaker Defender of Human Rights and Freedom Award to Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage, during a ceremony in Ottawa. An activist of the Girls Not Brides network, Dr. Ashok Dyalchand, Director of the Institute of Health Management-Pachod (India), received the award along with Her Royal Highness Princess Mabel van Oranje, Chair of the Board of Trustees for Girls Not Brides, and Ms. Amina Hanga, Executive Secretary of the Isa Wali Empowerment Initiative (Nigeria).

“Girls Not Brides is working tirelessly to bring hope to millions of girls and young women around the world by putting an end to child, early and forced marriage,” said Baird. “Canada is proud to partner with them and honour them for their work on this noble cause.”

During the ceremony, Baird, on behalf of the Honourable Christian Paradis, Canada’s Minister of International Development and La Francophonie, announced that Canada will contribute $10 million to Canadian and international civil society organizations as part of an ongoing global effort to end this practice.

“Canada will continue to lead in these efforts and uphold the principles that John Diefenbaker stood for and that remain the pillars of Canadian values today,” added Baird. “Together, we will continue to stand for freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.”

“Ending child, early and forced marriage leads to brighter futures for girls and women,” added Minister Paradis. “It empowers women and girls to reach their full potential and in turn to more fully contribute to the well-being of their families and the prosperity of their communities.”

In India, Dr. Dyalchand’s organization supports adolescent girls who are particularly at risk of child marriage as they transition into adulthood by teaching them life skills, providing counselling and offering family planning services.

source :Lokesh Shastri