Headey, Dormer join “Because I Am A Girl” campaign
Game Of Thrones stars Leda Headey and Natalie Dormer have joined global children’s charity PlanUK in their “Because I Am A Girl” campaign to stop violence against young girls.
According to PlanUK:
Face Up is part of the Because I Am A Girl campaign. It is running alongside our projects in some of the world’s poorest countries to end FGM and child marriage in a generation.
“At the Girl Summit in June this year, the UK government declared its commitment to ending child marriage and FGM in a generation. Adding your face to our campaign will show the public is right behind this pledge – and ensure politicians continue to prioritise this vital work.”
The campaign is to eradicate such atrocities as forced child marriage, female genital mutilation, and sexual assault. Though Game Of Thrones (mercifully) eschews the middle of those three, it’s a show that certainly delves into the first and third.
In the show, both the characters Headey and Dormer play are ultimately lucky when it comes to their forced marriages. Margaery, under the tutelage of her grandmother, steps up to take control of the situation, and accepts her will to power. After all, if her father is going to try marrying her off to every king in sight, she might as well use it to become The Queen. (The show cuts it, but before Margaery is married to Renly and Joffrey, Ned uncovers a plan from Renly Baratheon and Mace Tyrell to have Robert divorce Cersei and marry Margaery. The girl spends her life being told she’s going to marry one King or another.) When marriage to Joffrey turns out to be untenable, Lady Olenna makes the Tyrells’ own luck, and he dies before their wedding night, leaving Margaery virginal enough to be married off a third time.
As for Cersei, she rebelled against her marriage to Robert with her incestuous affair with Jamie, as a way to take control back over her body. Once Robert is gone, Tywin dies before he can force her into marrying Loras, who is both embarrassingly younger, and all but openly gay. Cersei may not appreciate what Tyrion has done for her, but he freed her as much as he freed himself that night.
But girls who are forced into marriage in the real world have no such fantasy stories to live out. Their sexual assaults aren’t hand waved away by directors claiming they were filming consensual sex. It’s good to see the actors standing up for their real world counterparts, and try to make a difference.
If you’re interested in learning more about the campaign yourself, check out their website here.
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