As the flutes played sonorous tunes, women clad in henna, crisp attires and smelling of freshly burned incense clapped and hummed lyrics only the locals could understand; the guests had began to gather.
From behind the weather beaten blinds a frail hand clasped the cup of locally brewed liquor, with tear filled eyes she gulped down the smelly substance (her mother had said it would drive away the spirits that brought fear) she was even more scared now.
Her father raised his hands and in an instance, the music stopped; heart beating faster than the drums she had heard earlier, it was time.
In a whiff she could smell the fresh marigold flowers,she knew that smell all too well (she had sold them at the flea market) that signaled the arrival of the groom.
The wedding was officially in progress, this lavish ceremony was for a 13 year old; her groom old enough to be her father.
Neighbors were also at their front porch waiting to see the instant transformation from child to womanhood.
Another child bride was about to be given away....
This is the sad tale of girls across the world given to marriage, the UN says about 70million girls marry before their 18th birthday.
Oct 11th 2012 was celebrated as the first ever ''Day of the girl child''. This project is looking at peculiar challenges young girls face and it's calling for an end to child marriages using education as its key strategy.
After these girls are given away, they either die in child birth (barely a year after) or are left to battle VVF (vesicoviginal fistula) and other post-natal complications. Many are sent away by their husbands to return to the care of poor parents who had given them away in the hope for a better life.
“The women of the future, the young girls of the world, should not be deprived of their fundamental human right to play and learn and enjoy being children,”...'' Fatou Bensouda ICC
“A girl should have the right to choose whom she marries and when,” Babatunde Osotimehin UNFPA E.D
''If present trends continue, 142 million girls will marry over the next decade. That’s 38,000 girls married every day for the next 10 years.'' icrw.org
When we continue to play ignorant, more young girls are deprived of the right to education, a proper childhood, opportunities of greatness and even choice.
(the preceding story is fiction and any resemblance to any true events or persons is merely coincidence. )
From behind the weather beaten blinds a frail hand clasped the cup of locally brewed liquor, with tear filled eyes she gulped down the smelly substance (her mother had said it would drive away the spirits that brought fear) she was even more scared now.
Her father raised his hands and in an instance, the music stopped; heart beating faster than the drums she had heard earlier, it was time.
In a whiff she could smell the fresh marigold flowers,she knew that smell all too well (she had sold them at the flea market) that signaled the arrival of the groom.
The wedding was officially in progress, this lavish ceremony was for a 13 year old; her groom old enough to be her father.
Neighbors were also at their front porch waiting to see the instant transformation from child to womanhood.
Another child bride was about to be given away....
This is the sad tale of girls across the world given to marriage, the UN says about 70million girls marry before their 18th birthday.
Oct 11th 2012 was celebrated as the first ever ''Day of the girl child''. This project is looking at peculiar challenges young girls face and it's calling for an end to child marriages using education as its key strategy.
After these girls are given away, they either die in child birth (barely a year after) or are left to battle VVF (vesicoviginal fistula) and other post-natal complications. Many are sent away by their husbands to return to the care of poor parents who had given them away in the hope for a better life.
“The women of the future, the young girls of the world, should not be deprived of their fundamental human right to play and learn and enjoy being children,”...'' Fatou Bensouda ICC
“A girl should have the right to choose whom she marries and when,” Babatunde Osotimehin UNFPA E.D
''If present trends continue, 142 million girls will marry over the next decade. That’s 38,000 girls married every day for the next 10 years.'' icrw.org
When we continue to play ignorant, more young girls are deprived of the right to education, a proper childhood, opportunities of greatness and even choice.
(the preceding story is fiction and any resemblance to any true events or persons is merely coincidence. )
True word!!!
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