International Day of The Girl Child - The Terrifying world of Child Brides.



Shocking: Said, 55, and Roshan, 8, on the day of their engagement, Afghanistan

This is the devastating and shocking revelation about child brides in some parts of the world. Girl childs as young as 8years old are being forced to marry men as old as 70. This is really heartbreaking.



 More than 10 million young girls every year are being forced to wed men old enough to be their fathers or even grandfather.
In an effort to start a global conversation about the devastating effects of early marriages, which are currently practiced in more than 50 developing countries, the United Nations designated October 11 as International Day of the Girl Child this year.

 
To draw attention to the problem of child brides, a series of heart-breaking photos depicting girls as young as eight years old being married off to middle-aged men in countries like India, Yemen and Ethiopia.
Although child marriage is against the law in many countries, and international treaties forbid the practice, it estimates that about 51 million girls below age 18 are currently married, often in secret. In Afghanistan alone, it is believed that approximately 57 per cent of girls wed before the legal age of 16.
Various factors drive parents of child brides to marry off their daughters, from the community’s pressure to confirm to age-old cultural customs to economic considerations. In poor, developing nations, it is not uncommon for families to settle debts by offering their daughters as payment.     


 Sarita, 15, covered in tears and sweat before she is sent to her new home in Rajasthan, India



New family: Maya, 8, and Kishore, 13, pose for a wedding photo inside their new home,India



 Faiz, 40 (left), and Ghulam (right), 11, sit in her home prior to their wedding in a rural Afghan village



Tahani (front), 8, is seen with her husband Majed, 27, and her former classmate Ghada (behind), 8, and her husband outside their home in Hajjah, Yemen