IWATA, November 1, 2018—Yamaha Motor Co., Ltd. (Tokyo:7272) today announced the launch of the new Free Go family-oriented scooter in the Indonesian market from November 2018.
Powered by a BLUE CORE1 125cm3 engine, the Free Go was developed based on the concept of a “compact scooter for family comfort,” and balances elegant styling with highly-usable, practical performance. Main features include 1) a BLUE CORE engine which is light in weight and produces low vibration enabling more comfortable riding, 2) a Smart Motor Generator which combines startup with power generation functionality to deliver quieter starts while also reducing power generation loss, 3) an amply-sized and highly-comfortable 720mm-long seat, 4) a front fuel port, removing the need to open and close the seat when refueling, 5) generous large-capacity (approx. 25L) under-seat storage space, and 6) LCD instruments exuding a sense of both high quality and innovation.
In addition to the standard model, variants include the I Version with the Stop & Start System2 and the Smart Key system, as well as the A Version that includes ABS brakes.
The Indonesian motorcycle market has a total scale of approximately 5.8 million units3 annually, of which the scooter market accounts for approximately 4.8 million units4. Broadly dividing the market into three segments based on price range - basic, standard, and premium - the Free Go was developed to target fathers aiming to step up from the basic segment. As a scooter which is fun for everyone yet reliable, the Free Go satisfies the demands of fathers wanting the very best for their family.
The Free Go is manufactured and marketed by group company PT. Yamaha Indonesia Motor Manufacturing (YIMM).
1: BLUE CORE has been promoted by Yamaha Motor since 2014 as an engine design concept which takes riding enjoyment, fuel efficiency and environmental performance to all-new levels. The Free Go engine has also been developed based on the BLUE CORE approach of achieving performance by focusing on high combustion efficiency, high cooling performance, and loss reduction. Trademark registration 5676267
My vision for 2030 is a generation with no child or forced marriage. More of our girls should have children when they are adults, when they are ready physically and emotionally to bear children and, most importantly, when they can bring a child into this world with a person of their choice.
READ MORE: Afghan rapper escaped teen marriage by singing about it, By Shuka Kalantari, PRI (12 May 2015).
The London-based organization, Plan UK, is taking a bold approach to ending child marriage in its new campaign bearing the slogan, “Give child marriage the finger.” Campaign ads feature the image of an empowered young woman using her ring finger (much as one might use one’s middle finger) to express her views on child marriage. The campaign invites supporters to:
Wear it. Share it. End it. Give child marriage the finger, take a selfie and share it online: #endchildmarriage
Likely to empower some and offend others, this campaign is sure to call attention to the issue it seeks to address. READ MORE: Give child marriage the finger, the provocative Plan UK’s campaign, By Beatrice Credi, West (17 March 2015).
Kudos to our friends at Tahirih Justice Center who led this week’s advocacy efforts in the nation’s capital, and to the brave survivors who shared their own painful forced-marriage experiences in hopes of inspiring the U.S. Government to take definitive action against harmful marriage practices:
READ MORE: Women’s groups campaign in D.C. to help victims of forced marriages, Washington Post (21 March 2015).
Kudos to Jeanne, Casey, and Heather of @TahirihJustice, who led a team of advocates and survivors who moved the needle today on a compelling shared cause! GJI was honored to be at the table when Tahirih presented White House Staff with a petition signed by more than 100,000 supporters urging White House action to combat forced marriage in the USA. READ MORE HERE!
Join us and lend your John Hancock to Tahirih’s petition urging White House action against forced marriage in the USA (please SHARE far & wide)!
Kudos to MS Magazine and Angelina Jolie for tackling the compelling global problem of Forced, Early and Child Marriage! We here at GJI hope that the Magazine and Ms. Jolie will use this opportunity to also elevate public awareness about the fact that forced early marriage happens right here in the United States, too.
Currently, the U.S. has very few laws or resources to help our girls avoid or escape forced marriages, and most of the relevant authorities and first responders are not currently trained or funded to intervene on behalf of victims. The Tahirih Justice Center is doing fine work to combat forced marriage – they’re currently conducting a national Heartbeats Tour, and they conducted the first-ever U.S. forced marriage study, which found thousands of forced marriage cases in the U.S. in the two years preceding the study alone. Tahirih’s leadership has made clear that they believe these early numbers represent only the tip of the iceberg. To learn more about how forced, early and child marriage impact women and girls in the U.S., see GJI’s FAQs and U.S. case examples.
Most Americans remain unaware that harmful marriage practices happen frequently right here in the Homeland. So, thank you for bringing attention to this important global issue, MS. and Ms. Jolie – and, please, use this opportunity to also elevate the plight of U.S. women and girls forced into unwanted early marriages!
“A new law could make [forced marriage] a crime. So why do those who champion prevention oppose it?” READ ON to find out…
66 years ago, representatives of 50 countries crafted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, the first global expression of the principle that all persons possess certain fundamental, inalienable rights. Tremendous progress has been made since the UDHR’s adoption, but there is tremendous work left to do to fulfill the UDHR’s promise.
Forced early marriage is an egregious human rights violation that profoundly impacts women and girls worldwide. Many international instruments establish the right to choose whether, when and whom to marry. Forced early marriage also impedes victims’ realization of other fundamental human rights – such as health, education, equality, non-discrimination, freedom from violence and exploitation.
Many Americans are surprised to learn that every U.S. State allows minors to marry and that, as a result, every year many minors are forced by their own parents into unwanted marriages. UNICEF and other international human rights community leaders have emphatically defined 18 as the minimum age at which a person might possess the requisite physical and psychological maturity to meaningfully comprehend the responsibilities and consequences of marriage, and to give free, full, and informed consent to marry. As a result, more and more countries are amending their laws to set 18 as the minimum age for marriage. In a recent BNA Bloomberg article, Too Young to Tie the Knot, GJI Co-founder/Director Julia Alanen calls upon federal and state officials to take a firm stand against forced and early marriage in the USA:
In its Foreign Affairs Manual, the U.S. State Department emphatically denounces forced marriage as ‘‘a violation of basic human rights’’ and, where a minor is involved, ‘‘a form of child abuse, since the child will presumably be subjected to non-consensual sex.’’ Former Secretary Clinton routinely champions the cause overseas, and the U.S. Agency for international Development (USAID) recently dedicated $4.8M in foreign aid to combat child marriage. The thrice defeated International Protecting Girls by Preventing Child Marriage Act, proposing U.S. action to eradicate early marriage in developing countries, included neither provisions nor parallel legislation to tackle the problem here at home. As the United States takes measures to combat harmful marriage practices abroad, we must lead by example by acknowledging and addressing harmful marriage laws and customs within our own borders.
“The most dangerous place for too many children around the world is their own home, where they should be safest”
As with parental kidnapping and forced early marriage, many common forms of child abuse begin in the family home. READ MORE: 5 myths & misconceptions regarding violence against children, Irine Ogrodnik, Global News (3 December 2014)
GJI applauds our colleagues at the American Bar Association’s House of Delegates, who yesterday passed a Resolution condemning Forced Marriage in the USA! The ABA is the largest national association of attorneys in the United States, and one of the largest voluntary professional associations worldwide. Its Resolution follows a 2011 national survey conducted by the Tahirih Justice Center that uncovered as many as 3,000 cases of forced marriage across 47 states in just two years.
Urges governments at all levels in the U.S. to amend existing laws or to enact new laws to prevent forced marriages and protect individuals facing forced marriage
Promotes specialized training for key responders, such as judges, prosecutors, law enforcement, child protection authorities, victim-witness advocates, and attorneys, and
Calls for collaboration with forced marriage experts at direct services and advocacy organizations to develop victim-centered remedies and resources
GJI co-founder and Forced Marriage Prevention Initiative director, Julia Alanen, says, “This ABA Resolution, coming at a pivotal time when the U.S. Government has failed to acknowledge that forced marriages aren’t limited to distant others in developing countries, represents a powerful national call to action.”
The disturbing case featured in this MailOnline article illustrates that boys and men can be victims of forced marriage, too. In 8-year-old Senele’s case, his marriage was not legally binding. But, as GJI co-founder Julia Alanen observes in her article, Shattering the Silence Surrounding Forced Marriage in the U.S., “The fact that a nonconsensual marriage is legally void or voidable (nonbinding) is cold comfort for a traumatized ‘wife’ who has been beaten, confined, raped, impregnated, or otherwise terrorized, tortured, or abused by her alleged spouse.”
By framing forced marriage as strictly a women’s issue, we risk failing to protect men and boys. Alanen warns, “Although gender norms render women and girls particularly vulnerable to harmful marriage practices, it is critical that remedies and resources developed to combat forced and early marriage address all victim demographics.”
Kudos to the fierce advocates at Tahirih Justice Center‘s Forced Marriage Initiative for calling on the U.S. to address forced marriage customs in CONUS: “At this week’s Girl Summit, a gathering of governments, NGOs, and leaders from around the world, the U.S. government failed to issue any meaningful commitments to address forced marriage in the U.S.” Quick to criticize foreign governments’ failure to curb this harmful practice overseas, the USG has yet to step up and acknowledge that forced marriage happens in the homeland, too…
According to the Daily Mail, Australia is piloting an important new education campaign designed to arm learners to identify cases of forced marriage, something UK schools have been doing for years. GJI hopes to see the U.S. take steps to integrate this critical theme into it’s secondary school curricula.
Epoch reports that Canada has invested $20 Million into UNICEF’s efforts to end child marriage overseas. The Canucks are starting to look like an emerging global leader in combating forced/early marriage, both at home and abroad. Will the U.S. follow the example set by it’s neighbor to the North…? We at GJI think it will.
For many children the realities of childhood are far removed from the idyllic notion of play, learning and development. This is particularly true for girls who experience early marriage.
Around the world about 14 million girls under the age of 18 marry each year. Although the practice tends to be more prevalent in developing countries it also happens in European nations such as Turkey.
Illiteracy. The majority of girls who enter into early marriage have either had no schooling or have had it interrupted. This results in high rates of illiteracy making the girls unable to work and totally reliant on their husband for everything. A mother’s educational achievement has a much greater impact on their children than the father’s so this begins a cycle of poor education that can persist for generations.
Greater Risk Of Death In Childbirth. When a girl is subject to early marriage she is more likely to have children before her body is properly ready for it. In countries where child marriage rates are high there are high rates of maternal mortality and infant mortality. Pregnancy and childbirth are the leading causes of death in girls aged 15-19 in the poorest countries.
Higher Rates Of Sexual Infection. Girls who are part of an early marriage are at much higher risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV. They have neither the education nor the power to ensure that safe sex practices are followed. Because their husband will be much older he is at more risk of carrying STIs. Many STIs affect general health, increase mortality and damage fertility.
Increased Levels Of Abuse. Research has shown that women who enter into early marriage are more likely to be beaten and sexually abused by their husbands. Due to a lack of education they are also much more likely to believe that their husbands have a right to abuse them.
Because early marriage is a complex issue with a multitude of contributing factors including poverty, gender discrimination and deeply entrenched traditions, tackling it isn’t an easy thing.
You can help by contributing to a charity that tackles this problem head on. Your money will help fund projects such as:
It won’t be an easy task but thanks to a lot of hard work things are beginning to change for the better, though there is still much to be done.
Washington Post: “[Iraq’s proposed new] law…would…permit boys to marry as young as 15 and girls to marry as young as nine. Girls younger than nine would be permitted to marry with a parent’s approval. ‘Iraq is in conflict and undergoing a breakdown of the rule of law,’ women’s rights activist Basma al-Khateeb told Human Rights Watch. ‘The passage of the Jaafari law sets the ground for legalized inequality’.”
Find out what GJI co-founder, Julia Alanen, and panelists from Tahirih Justice Center and the Barbara Schlifer Memorial Clinic had to say last week at American University about Forced Marriages in the U.S. and Canada…
Three lakes in northern Saskatchewan have been named after soldiers from the Princess Patricia's Canadian Light Infantry who died in Afghanistan.
REGINA – Three lakes in northern Saskatchewan have been named after soldiers from the Royal Canadian Horse Artillery and Princess Patricia’s Canadian Light Infantry who died in Afghanistan. The geomemorial recognizes the sacrifices of individuals who were born or spent time in Saskatchewan and who gave their lives in service.
Anderson Lake recognizes Cpl. Jordan Anderson, who was killed by an improvised explosive device while he was on patrol in the Panjwaii district in July 2007.
Greff Lake bears the name of Master Cpl. Byron Greff, who was killed in Kabul in October 2011 when the armoured bus he was in was rammed by a car packed with explosives.
About 4,000 locations across Saskatchewan bear the names of individuals who have been recognized since the program began in 1947.
Pte. Alfred Blair, member of the 1st Canadian Parachute Battalion in the Second World War and killed in action in June 1944 (Blair Lake).
Cpl. Willmit Willows of the Calgary Highlanders, who was wounded during bombing in France and died in July 1944 (Willows Lake).
Capt. Juli-Ann MacKenzie of the Canadian Air Force, killed with her co-pilot in July 2002, when their helicopter crashed during bad weather while on a search-and-rescue mission in Labrador (MacKenzie Lake).
RCMP Const. Derek Pineo, who served with the Nipawin and Wilke detachments and was killed on duty when his vehicle hit a moose in July 2012 (Pineo Point).
Journalist Michelle Lang, killed when the armoured vehicle she was riding in hit a roadside bomb in December 2009 (Lang Bay).