Eliminating global inequality
By : Mirror Fung
Approximately 17.4 million young girls around the world get married unwillingly each year, that is, one every two seconds, due to reasons such as family difficulties, traditional concepts and cultural customs.
“I visited a Cambodian girl who dropped out of school and got married at the age of 16 because her husband would help work in the paddy field for her family and her older brother would be able to go to school. She did not want to marry so young, but she had no choice. I felt sad at the thought that she might probably live like this for her entire life without any hope,” said Ms Kanie Siu Mei-kuen, Chief Executive Officer of Plan International Hong Kong.
Besides child marriage, girls in many developing countries face other threats, including deprivation of schooling, child labour, female genital mutilation, sexual violence and child trafficking. These problems may simply be regarded by many as other people’s stories, but Kanie has great empathy with children.
Kanie worked for major corporations such as a bank, a catering group and a real estate agency for ten years after graduating in Business and Administration. She then decided to join Oxfam Hong Kong with a reduced salary. “I wanted to contribute to the elimination of unfairness in the world,” she said.
In 2016, Kanie visited Cambodian girls who married young. While at Oxfam, she instituted the public relations and sales and marketing strategies often adopted by business corporations, initiating promotions on the street, promoting marketing taglines and maintaining good relationships between donors and recipients. She then joined Plan International Hong Kong as the Chief Executive Officer in 2015 after becoming very interested in a global movement, “Because I am a Girl”, driven by Plan International to ensure girls everywhere can learn, lead, decide and thrive.
“I was born in a poor family. I have eight brothers and sisters, and I had to get up around six in the morning to wash the clothes of all my family members. So I have been deeply concerned about poverty and inequality between men and women since childhood,” Kanie said. She felt grateful that she could improve her life a great deal by making use of her knowledge and through hard work.
“We aim to help the neglected in society, particularly girls. We want to help the poor overcome poverty by providing them with access to education, health-care services and better living environment. The biggest challenge to our endeavour is government regulations and deeply rooted social custom.”
With a passion for learning, Kanie has studied for several academic degrees, including the Master of Social Sciences in Development Studies at CityU in 2012. “In this programme, I learned about human rights law and the latest social developments such as climate change, corporate social responsibility and tourism development. The programme has expanded my views on development studies and I became acquainted with Dr Chan Yuk-wah, Associate Professor of the Department of Asian and International Studies (AIS), and other students from various places. They offered me inspiring ideas,” she said.
The Plan International Hong Kong Youth Conference 2016 was co-organised with CityU. In the Plan International Hong Kong Youth Conference “Justice: Because I am a Girl” co-organised by Plan International Hong Kong and CityU’s AIS in 2015 and 2016, students from secondary schools and students and alumni from AIS joined to discuss issues about girls in developing countries.
Kanie felt that she was indeed fortunate to have the opportunity to get an education. She hopes that young people cherish such opportunities and broaden their vision, as knowledge can really change their destiny and help them find ways to solve their own problems and those of society.