Mongolian domestic violence victim wins Asian Girl Rights Award

Want China Times, CNA 2013-10-14

Tserenbaljir Mandakh receives the first Asian Girl Rights
 Award on Oct. 12. (Photo/Yao Chih-ping)

An 18-year-old Mongolian girl was selected as the winner of the first Asian Girl Rights Award on Saturday, an event established by the Garden of Hope Foundation to celebrate Taiwan's first Girls' Day, observed a day earlier.

Tserenbaljir Mandakh is the coordinator of a young mother's club at the Princess Center in Mongolia, who helps teenagers in her country face tough challenges such as marriage at a very young age, pregnancy out of wedlock, sexual violence and discrimination, the foundation said.

The Princess Center for the Protection of Girls and Young Women's Rights is a facility that supports vulnerable young women and girls, with an emphasis on social work services for teenage mothers, pregnant girls, victims of sexual abuse and adolescent girls and boys.

Tserenbaljir found herself pregnant at the age of 16. At the time, her parents could not forgive her for bringing the shame of unmarried pregnancy into their home. She was also a victim of domestic violence exercised by her boyfriend — the father of her child — according to the foundation.

Unwilling to yield, the Tserenbaljir cut off relations with her child's father with the help of social workers. After learning how to stand on her own, she began to help other young mothers suffering from problems similar to the ones she had, the foundation said.

At the award presentation ceremony in Taipei, Tserenbaljir said that in her country, many girls dare not ask for help when they find themselves pregnant. She said that she believes the girls can make wise choices as long as they have access to information and knowledge, adding that she will encourage more girls in such dire circumstances to write to the government and urge the authorities to provide them with protection and assistance.

Tserenbaljir is one of four nominees for the Asian Girl Rights Award. The other threes are Thansila Muyyarikkandy from India, Hoai Chu Thi Thu from Vietnam, and Taiwan's Chen Tsai-ling.

Muyyarikkandy is president of Wayanad Shishu Panchayat, a national movement aimed at educating people in India about democracy and children's rights. Hoai, meanwhile, is a survivor of domestic violence and an advocate for the disadvantaged, while Chen is a member of a girl's theater troupe run by the Garden of Hope that performs dramas featuring the lives and experiences of local girls.

Taiwan marked its first Girls' Day by highlighting the country's success in achieving gender equality in education. Taiwan established the day for the first time this year to protect and enhance the rights of girls and young women after the United Nations declared Oct. 11, 2012 as the first International Day of the Girl Child.