ending child marriage
Our Fraidy Reiss, a forced marriage survivor, had pledged July 20 to Chain-In outside Gov. Andrew Cuomo’s Manhattan office in a bridal gown and chains every Wednesday starting August 4 until the governor signed the bill the legislature passed in June to end child marriage.
And then, on July 22, Gov. Cuomo signed the bill. !!
So the inaugural Chain-In on August 4 will become a Chain-In Celebration, and subsequent Chain-Ins are canceled.
Please join us August 4 to celebrate this historic legislative victory. We still will wear bridal gowns and chains, which we provide. All you need to do is register on this page — and show up to celebrate New York’s new law and to protest forced and child marriage in the 44 U.S. states that still allow it.
Speakers at the Chain-In Celebration will include:
- Sen. Julia Salazar
- Susan Raqib, Human Rights Watch
- Leslie Wright, Zonta Club of Brooklyn
- Naila Amin, Naila Amin Foundation
- Chavie Weisberger, Footsteps
- Fraidy Reiss, Unchained At Last
- Michele Hanash, Unchained At Last
We also will sing and chant against forced and child marriage, including a rendition of The Girls You Have Destroyed, a chilling poem/song we wrote about child marriage in the United States.
Chain-In Celebration NYC
August 4 | 10:00 a.m.
633 3rd Avenue
(Outside Gov. Cuomo’s Manhattan office)
Child Marriage in the United States
We at Unchained lead a growing national movement to end child marriage in every U.S. state and at the federal level — as part of our mission to end all forms of forced marriage through direct services and advocacy.
Child marriage often is forced marriage, because minors face overwhelming legal and practical barriers if they try to leave home, enter a domestic violence shelter, retain an attorney or bring a legal action such as a divorce before they turn 18. Further, child marriage is recognized as a human rights abuse that destroys American girls’ health, education and economic opportunities and significantly increases their risk of experiencing domestic violence.
One of the strategies we use in our push to end this human rights abuse is the Chain-In. Read more here about this powerful form of peaceful protest, which we have staged in multiple U.S. states.
Join the movement. Be a part of our Chain-In Celebration.
