Teenagers from across the world have joined in making a stand against child marriage with a photo shoot that aims to draw attention to the plight of the millions of underage girls who are married each year.
The campaign, which is supported by Compassion Australia, marks the one year anniversary of a release of a report that revealed an additional 10 million girls are at increased risk of child marriage over the next decade thanks to the impact of COVID-19. UNICEF estimate that some 12 million girls under the age of 18 are married every year.
Thirteen-year-old Lauri, from the Dominican Republic, in a staged photoshoot to protest child marriage with three of her friends Laurelis (left), Lisbeth (centre) and Fracieli (right) pretending to be wedding guests. PICTURE: © Compassion International.
In a statement, Compassion says that as part of the campaign, four girls – from Bangladesh, Ethiopia, Brazil and the Dominican Republic – have taken part in a staged photoshoot in which they have worn wedding outfits “to remind the world that child marriage robs girls of their childhood, limits their opportunities and takes away their choice to shape their own futures and live out their potential to lead change in their communities”.
Females in Bangladesh, Ethiopia and Brazil, along with India and Nigeria, account for about half of the 650 million girls and women alive today who were married as children. Compassion says that while poverty is one of the leading drivers of child marriage, girls in higher-income nations are at risk too. This includes girls in Australia where 92 cases of forced marriage were reported to the Australian Federal Police in 2020, with half of the victims aged under 18.
Compassion say education has been proven to prevent early marriage, with each year of secondary school reducing a girl’s likelihood of marrying before age 18. School closures triggered by COVID may cause girls to drop out entirely or be less likely to re-enrol.
“COVID has created a situation where we know that millions of children will not go back to school,” said Sidney Muisyo, chief program officer for Compassion International, in a statement. “Every girl who gets educated delays marriage and delays bearing children. The health of the mother, the health of the children and the health of the family is impacted for years to come, simply because of an early marriage.”
But with poverty increasing due to the impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, marrying off daughters becomes a more desirable option for some.
“When a family is struggling with the basic necessities of life, like food, any child is an extra mouth to feed and if a girl can get married, that is one less mouth they have to worry about,” Muisyo said.
Fourteen-year-old Yolane, from Brazil, wears a wedding dress in a staged photoshoot. PICTURE: © Compassion International.
Fourteen-year-old Yolane, from Brazil, is among the four girls who has taken part in the photo shoot. Her older sister older was married when she was just 14-years-old and Yolane knows of a hundred other girls who also married at a young age. But she doesn’t want to follow in her sister’s steps.
“Before I get married, I want to finish high school, go to college, and have a job. I still don’t know what I want to be when I grow up,” she said.
Among the other girls who have participated is Lauri, who comes from the Dominican Republic. She said she wants to become a paediatrician while Tisha, from Bangladesh, said she wants to be a doctor and Mart, from Ethiopia, said it was her “dream is to pursue my education and bring my family out of poverty”.
Fourteen-year-old Tisha, from Bangladesh, in traditional wedding garb in a staged photoshoot to protest child marriage. PICTURE: © Compassion International.
In a bid to help address the issue of child marriage around the world, Compassion says its projects are increasing access for girls and their families to counselling and discussions around the dangers of child marriage.
“Focus is given to sexual health education, supporting girls’ rights as women as well as the importance of education and careers advice in giving them the opportunity to choose their future,” the organisation said in a statement. “This runs alongside their education programs and the support they provide families to enable children to attend school.”
You can support Compassion’s work to address child marriage through its Highly Vulnerable Children fund.
