SAN JOSE — Gowned in white wedding dresses and veils — and with metal chains wrapped around their wrists — around 20 survivors of child marriage gathered outside Assemlymember Ash Kalra’s office to ask him to set a hearing date for a bill that would set the minimum marriage age to 18.
“Kalra, Kalra, be our friend! Bring child marriage to an end!” they chanted in between speeches. “Thirteen states but we won’t rest! California, you’re up next!”
Some women had black tape in an “X” over their mouths. Others held hands as survivors shared their own experiences of child marriage. All wore red placards reading, “Asm. Kalra: stop child marriage in CA!”
The protestors urged Kalra’s support for AB 2924, a bill put forward by Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris in the state assembly earlier this year that would remove existing legal provisions allowing for marriage under the age of 18. The bill’s hearing in the judiciary committee was canceled at Petrie-Norris’s request in April, according to the legislative history.
Kalra is the chair of the judiciary committee. Advocates say he has not set a hearing for the bill.
Protesters gather in front of Assemblymember Ash Kalra’s office to rally for an end to child marriage in the state on Thursday, July 18, 2024, in San Jose, Calif. Survivors of child marriage spoke at the rally in support of AB2924, a bill to end child marriage in California. (Aric Crabb/Bay Area News Group)
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The protest was organized by Unchained at Last, a survivor-led nonprofit organization that provides direct services to those escaping child and forced marriage. The group also advocates for bills that would end child marriage in all 50 states.
Unchained at Last said that child marriage is a human rights abuse, calling it a “nightmarish legal trap,” according to the organization’s press release. More than 8,000 children are entered into marriage every year in California, according to research by Unchained at Last.
Kalra’s office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
This is a developing report. Check back for updates.
