The image here is one of a series of photos about child marriages taken between 2005 and 2007 in Afghanistan, Nepal and Ethiopia.
The groom, Mohammed, is 40 years old and the bride, Ghulam, is still a child; she has just turned 11.
UNICEF estimates that about half of Afghan women are married before they turn 18. In Afghanistan, most parts of South Asia, Southern Africa and other regions, marriage is often seen as a business transaction that has nothing to do with personal desires. In this process, the bride is the article of trade – the younger she is, the higher the bride price.
“What are you feeling today?” Ms. Sinclair recalled asking Ghulam with regard to her engagement.
“Nothing,” the bewildered girl answered. “I do not know this man. What am I supposed to feel?”
UNICEF Germany ‘Photo of the Year’ raises awareness about early marriage
NEW YORK, USA, 24 December 2007 – US photographer Stephanie Sinclair is the winner of this year’s ‘Photo of the Year’ competition presented by the German National Committee for UNICEF.
There are so many versions of child abuse. From kidnapping and sale to families giving their daughters as child brides to satisfy a debt they owe. The list is horrifying to consider in terms of individuals.
Child Trafficking
UNICEF-EC programme gives a second chance to a would-be child bride in India
NEW YORK, USA, 22 April 2010 – Bablu, 15, lives with her family in a small village in rural Rajasthan. She was 13 when her community decided she should be married. “I did not want to get married,” she said. “I thought my life would be completely ruined.”
