Gucci launches campaign against child marriage

Every year across the world, 12 million girls under the age of 18 are forced into marriage. Gucci has decided to take a stand and make a concrete commitment against early and forced marriage on the International Day of the Girl, by launching the #LetGirlsDream awareness campaign on Friday, October 11th.

As part of the initiative, the luxury label owned by the Kering Group is joining Pakistani filmmaker Sharmeen Obaid-Chinoy, who won two Oscars for her documentaries denouncing violence against women, by collaborating on the production of her short film. Dubbed Sitara, the film shares the story of Pari, a young girl forced to give up her dream of becoming a pilot because of a forced marriage.

This project was realized through Chime For Change – Gucci’s charity launched in 2013 dedicated to the empowerment of women. The Italian fashion house wants to encourage girls around the world to realize their dreams by speaking through the hashtag #LetGirlsDream or on the website LetGirlsDream.org, the company said in a statement.

The operation is carried out in partnership with the association Equality Now, which has been working since 1995 to protect and promote the rights of women around the world, and with Girls Not Brides, a coalition of nearly 1200 civil society organizations that aims to end child marriage and enable girls to reach their full potential.

With this platform, Gucci wants to raise awareness of the issue of child marriage by inviting the public to take a stand and to put pressure on the global community. The site also serves as an information hub to provide educators from around the world with short films and materials to organize debates.

The brand is not the only one to take a stand in favor of young girls. Chloé has just announced a new global partnership with UNICEF "to advance gender equality through innovative solutions developed with and for adolescent girls to encourage them to excel in the job market of tomorrow."

Through this three-year partnership, Chloé will support UNICEF in its overall goal of providing 6.5 million girls with employment and learning skills, personal empowerment and active citizenship skills through specific programs, including in Bolivia, Jordan, Morocco, Senegal and Tajikistan.

Gucci launches campaign against child marriage

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