Growing up in India, I was fortunate to have parents who had been modernised and had left some of the ancient traditions of Indian culture behind. Of course, I say “ancient”, but outside the comfort of my home, Indian girls all over the country were being married off at extremely young ages – some as young as 13 and 14 – to men much older than them. Although the child marriage seemed like an ancient concept to me, it is still very much an ongoing practice.
Plan UK has estimated that roughly 14 million girls under the age of 18 are married each year, which calculates to 27 every minute. In the time it takes for you to read this article, over a hundred girls would have been forced by their parents to marry a man who is often twice their age. Child marriage is not only emotionally scarring for these young girls, but it also keeps the cycle of poverty going. By getting married, these girls are forced to drop out of school and adopt the housewife role. Many of them have children of their own by the age of 16 and due to lack of education, aren’t able to contribute to the economy or their society in any way.
The video below by National Geographic brings together two women who have been following cases of child marriage all around the world. Photographer Stephanie Sinclair and writer Cynthia Gorney talk about their encounters with girls who are forced into child marriage, as well as their encounters with the families of these girls. Providing a detailed explanation about the situation these families face, Sinclair and Gorney reveal aspects of the child marriage issue that you probably never thought about and stories that will make your heart ache.
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