Too Young To Wed

UNFPA VII

Too Young Too Wed

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"Child marriage is an appalling violation of human rights and robs girls of their education, health and long-term prospects. A girl who is married as a child is one whose potential will not be fulfilled. Since many parents and communities also want the very best for their daughters, we must work together and end child marriage"

- Dr. Babatunde Osotimehin

Executive Director, UNFPA

"Child marriage is a violation of human rights. By 2020, 142 million innocent young girls worldwide will be separated from their friends and family, deprived of an education and put in harm’s way because of child marriage. Together, let us resolve to end the discrimination and poverty that perpetuate this harmful practice. And let us help those who are already married to lead more fulfilling lives. All members of society will benefit when we let girls be girls, not brides."

- Ban Ki-moon

United Nations Secretary General

In many societies, marriage is a celebrated institution signifying a union between two adults and the beginning of their future together. Unfortunately, millions of girls still suffer from a vastly different marriage experience every year. Worldwide, many brides are still children, not even teenagers. So young are some girls that they hold onto their toys during the wedding ceremony. Usually these girls become mothers in their early teens, while they are still children themselves. The practice, though sheathed in tradition, can result in profound negative consequences for the girls, their families and their entire communities. Protect girls’ rights. End child marriage.

Tehani, age 8; Majed, Age 27; Ghada, Age 8; Saltan, Age 33 (Yemen)
Whenever I saw him, I hid. I hated to see him,” Tehani (in pink) recalls of the early days of her marriage to Majed, when she was 6 and he was 25. The young wife posed for a portrait with former classmate Ghada, also a child bride, outside their home in Hajjah.

"We don’t call a woman beautiful by her looks but by how nicely she takes care of her house and her husband."

Father of groom

Ethiopia

Community Expectations

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Ghulam, age 11; Faiz, age 40 (Afghanistan)
Ghulam and Faiz, age 40, sit for a portrait in her home prior to their wedding in Afghanistan. According to the women's ministry and women's NGOs, approximately 57 percent of Afghan girls get married before the legal age of 16. Once the girl's father has agreed to the engagement, she is pulled out of school immediately.

Ghulam, age 11 (Afghanistan)
Ghulam plays in the village on the day of her engagement. Removed from school just months earlier, she said she is sad to be getting engaged, as she wanted to be a teacher. Parents sometimes remove their daughters from school to protect them from the possibility of sexual activity outside of wedlock.

"I was given to my husband when I was little and I don’t even remember when I was given because I was so little. It’s my husband who brought me up."

Kanas

18 at interview

Journey

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Destaye, age 15 (Ethiopia)
Destaye, now 15, intended to continue her schooling, in spite of the teasing she endured from her community. “They used to laugh at me for going to school after marriage,” she said. “But I know the use of school so I don’t care. . . . But people laughing at you makes it more difficult.” After the birth of her son six months ago, however, Destaye no longer had time for classes. “I feel sad because I quit learning,” she said.

Destaye, age 11; Addisu, age 23 (Ethiopia)
Addisu and his new bride Destaye are married in a traditional Ethiopian Orthodox wedding in the rural areas outside the city of Gondar, Ethiopia. Community members said that because of his standing as a priest, Addisu’s bride had to be a virgin. This was the reason Destaye was given to him at such a young age.

"I don’t know how children are made. But they get pregnant… They carry it inside their stomach. Then they deliver and it comes out a baby."

Tehani

Married at 6, Yemen

Maternal Health

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SURITA, AGE 16; BISHAL, AGE 15 (Nepal)
Bishal accepts gifts from visitors as his new bride, Surita, sits bored at her new home. Here in Nepal, as in many countries, not only girls, but boys too are married young.

Sumeena, age 15 (Afghanistan)
Sumeena leaves her home to meet her groom, Prakash, 16. The harmful practice of child marriage is common in Nepal. Many Hindu families believe blessings will come upon them if they marry off their girls before their first menstruation.

"In my whole life, I have never felt love."

Mejgon

Married at 11, Afghanistan

Mental Health & Violence

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RAJANI, AGE 5 (India)
Long after midnight, Rajani is roused from sleep and carried by her uncle to her wedding. Child marriage is illegal in India, so ceremonies are often held in the wee hours of the morning. It becomes a secret the whole village keeps, explained one farmer.

"Child marriage happens because adults believe they have the right to impose marriage upon a child. This denies children, particularly girls, their dignity and the opportunity to make choices that are central to their lives, such as when and whom to marry or when to have children. Choices define us and allow us to realise our potential. Child marriage robs girls of this chance."

Archbishop Desmond Tutu and Graça Machel

Members of The Elders, founders of Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage

Hope & Education

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Overview

Protect Girls’ Rights

End Child Marriage

If we do nothing, 142 million more girls will become child brides over the next 10 years. That’s nearly four times the number of girls who attend school every day in North America and Western Europe combined.

What can you do to end child marriage?
Add your voice to theirs.

Join us in raising awareness about this issue, advocating for these girls and urging policymakers to enact and enforce laws against child marriage. Share the message with your family and friends and follow our blog to stay abreast of child marriage initiatives around the world.

“I agree, ‘Let girls be girls, not brides!’
#EndChildMarriage : tooyoungtowed.org”

UN Exhibit

The United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) champions the fundamental human rights of men, women and children the world over. The first ever International Day of the Girl Child on 11 October 2012, provides a unique opportunity for the Fund to draw attention to the harmful practice of child marriage by collaborating with photo reporters who have documented the issue and its consequences throughout the world.

The Fund has partnered with premier photo agency VII on Too Young to Wed a transmedia campaign that seeks to raise awareness of the issue, support girls who are already married and, ultimately halt the practice all together, sparing an estimated 142 million more girls over the next decade the same fate.

The campaign officially begins on 11 October with an exhibit in the lobby of the United Nations headquarters in New York, featuring documentary photography and videos by VII photographers Stephanie Sinclair and Jessica Dimmock. The exhibit is free and can be viewed daily from 9:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. until 29 November 2012.

Partners

UNFPA VII

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