End Child Marriage
Doreen (false name to protect the victim's identity)from Zambia, the oldest of 5 children was only 7-year-old when she lost both her parents. Left being orphans, Doreen and her siblings had to move in with their grandmother. Struggling to pull it through, at the age of 13, Doreen had to marry a 30-year-old man in order to continue surviving and managing her family.
When Doreen was 14-year-old, she was discovered and interviewed about the story of her life. “When I asked my grandmother about school, she said the same man who will marry you will take you to school,” she said. “But when I got married, I stopped there and then. I could not continue to go to school because I was supposed to take care of my husband,” she continued.
Soon after she got married, it was brought to her attention that she was pregnant.
“I was hurt when I discovered I was pregnant. I was too young,” she said. “I used to think that my life would change for the better when I got married, but even the dream that I had that I would take care of my young brothers and sisters turned out to be a myth,” Doreen shared.
Doreen was mocked by her friends, her education was a total question mark, on top of all that, Doreen had complications during childbirth which resulted in an emergency caesarean section.
“I’m just a child,” she said. “I’m just the way you see me. And I wouldn’t like anyone who is 14 to go through what I have been through.”
????: Camfed/Eliza Powell
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#childmarriage #endchildmarriage #stopchildmarriage #respectchildrensright #protectchildrenright #campaign
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