“Running away was an easy decision, because if I die on the
way, it wouldn’t be any different.”Abigail, 14 years old, Kenya.

 

Sign this petition to prevent the nightmare hundreds of young girls are living because of child marriage!

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To girls like Abigail, child marriage means:

  1. Rape and abuse by their captors/husbands. 
  2. Enduring painful female genital mutilation (FGM) procedures in order to “become a woman and gain their captor’s/husband’s trust”
  3. Lack of education and awareness about their rights.
  4. Remain living in poverty serving their captors/husbands.
  5. Being at risk of dying during early pregnancy and childbirth.

Isolated from friends, and family they have limited means to get enough support. YOU can change this as an activist of our Women’s and Girls’ Rights programme in Kenya, Nepal, and Ethiopia.

YOU can make a difference in their lives. Make sure stories like Abigail’s won’t happen again!

Join us in taking ACTION against child marriage!

More than 250 million women alive today were married before their 15th birthday, many against their will. Child marriage robs them of their childhoods, education, health and freedom, and subjects girls to rape and abuse for the rest of their lives.

Child brides can be found in every region in the world, from the Middle East to Latin America, South Asia to Europe. It is a global problem. However, our women’s and girls’ rights programme is focused on three main countries: Kenya, Nepal, and Ethiopia.

 

Local ActionAid workers are working to end child marriage in their communities – bringing perpetrators to justice, educating communities on the negative effects of child marriage, and empowering girls to have a voice and say NO.

ActionAid also campaigns at a regional, national and international level to end forced marriage. You can join us in taking ACTION in this project today to #EndChildMarriage and its effects once and for all.