Leyualem, 14, is transported by mule to her new home. The men later said the cloth was placed over her head so she would not be able to find her way back home, should she want to escape the marriage.
Family members place a white cloth over the head of Leyualem, 14, as she is prepared to be
whisked away on a mule by her new groom and his groomsmen in Ethiopia.
Radha, 15, observes herself in a cracked mirror the day before her wedding. Three young sisters Radha and her two younger sisters were married to three young sibling grooms on the Hindu holy day of Akshaya Tritiya in North India.
Family members escort the newly married Maya, 8, and Kishore, 13, to his family’s home. They
were married on the Hindu holy day of Akshaya Tritiya, which is said to bring good luck and is
widely known in Rajasthan as the day most child marriages occur.
Sarita, 15, is seen covered in tears and sweat before she is sent to her new home with her new
groom. The previous day, she and her 8-year- old sister Maya were married to sibling brothers.
Leyualem, 14, has a moment alone before being whisked away by mule to meet her new groom
in the rural areas outside Bahir Dar, Ethiopia. Child marriage can be found in almost all major
religions and spans more than 50 countries.
After celebrating with female relatives at a wedding party, Yemeni brides Sidaba, 11, and
Galiyaah, 13, are veiled and escorted to a new life with their husbands.
A young girl from the aboriginal population waits to be married in the early evening outside Al
Hudaydah, Yemen.
Sixteen-year- old Anita prepares to meet her groom in Kagati village, just outside Kathmandu
Valley, Nepal. The country experienced a massive earthquake two years ago, which, as other
natural disasters, is likely to increase the rate of child marriage.
Although early marriage is the norm in her small Nepalese village, 16-year- old Surita wails in
protest as she leaves her family’s home, shielded by a traditional wedding umbrella and carried
in a cart to her new husband’s village.
Long after midnight, 5-year- old Rajni 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.
