This photo exposé of child marriage shows the worst face of the vicious practice
Last year, a United Nations report revealed that India has the second-highest number of child marriages while Bangladesh records the highest rate, where two out of every three girls marry before age 18. Child marriage is one of the biggest development issues of our time that affects more than 14.2 million girls every year, making them vulnerable to abuse, death during childbirth and several other health implications.
When National Geographic photographer Stephanie Sinclair came across a young Mejgon who was sold to a married 60-year-old Afghanistan man for two boxes of heroin, the hopeless face of the child told her everything about the injustices and struggles that child brides face in their everyday life. In an interview Sinclair said, “The fact that I was powerless to do anything about it has been one of the main reasons why I continued the project and why I’m still working on it today.”
Sinclair’s photo initiative has now evolved into a revolutionary photo series called Too Young To Wed that works for raising funds for girls to free them from this vicious practice of child marriage. She has travelled wide and taken photos in more than 10 counties to boost her campaign by selling them. Here are a few photos from the photo series.
Girl, Interrupted
Six-year-old Tahani (in pink) was married to 25-year-old Majed. “Whenever I saw him, I hid. I hated to see him,” she recalls. The young wife posed for this portrait with former classmate Ghada, also a child bride, outside their mountain home in Hajjah.
Asia, 14, is a mother of two. She bathes her new baby girl at home in Hajjah while her 2-year-old daughter plays by her side. Asia, who is reeling under post-partum implications, has no education or access to information on how to care for herself.
Kandahar policewoman Malalai Kakar with a girl, 15, who was repeatedly stabbed by her husband. The man attacked her because she was disobeying him. When asked what would happen to the husband, Kakar said, “Nothing. Men are kings here.” Kakar was later killed by the Taliban.
As child marriage is illegal in India, it is often performed secretively in the wee hours of morning . Five-year-old Rajani’s uncle wakes her up long after the midnight and carries her to the wedding venue. She barely looks at the strange boy she is being married to. The young bride will live in her home until puberty, then a second ceremony will see her off to her husband’s place.
In this small Nepali village early marriage is a traditional practice where 16-year-old Surita’s protest goes in vein. She is carried in a cart to her husband’s village.
When Sunil was 11, her parents arranged for a marriage. She threatened to report them to police in Rajasthan. Thanks to her brave act, now she is 13 and studying in a school. “Education will give her an edge over others,” her mother believes.
At 10, Nujood Ali did something which no one at this age would dare to do. She fled her abusive, much older husband and went to the courthouse in Sanaa, Yemen. Her courageous act and the landmark legal battle that ensued made her an international champion for women’s rights. She is now divorced and is attending school again.
Stephanie has been working on the project for eight years. We hope, if not the reality, at least these photos prick our conscience.
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