Photo Journalist Captures the Marriage of a 15YO and His14YO #childbride in Gaza.

He got a phone call from a friend asking if he wanted to photograph a wedding in Gaza. He told him he wasn’t interested but when he heard that the groom was 15 years old and the bride was one year younger than him, the photographer rushed to the location immediately.

After arriving he saw people celebrating in the street not far from the border between Israel and the northern Gaza Strip. Among them was a young Palestinian boy being carried on the shoulders of relatives and friends. He couldn’t believe that the boy was the groom until he asked him and he replied with a smile, “yes I am”.

#Endchildmarriage –– The Story of a Child Bride in #Chad

My name is Geneviève Vroumdam, I am 12 years old. Three years ago, I was forced into an early marriage.

My older sister was married to a friend of our father’s, an old man who neared his 70th birthday. She was only 15. One day, she just took off. She could no longer take this loveless marriage. She ran far away from us, from our village, and married a young man of her own choosing.

When a bride leaves, however, it is tradition for the family to return her dowry. And what a large dowry it was! My dad owed them seven cows. Of course, he could not afford such a sum, at least not right away.

The World We Want: End Child Marriage

Every year, approximately 14 million girls are married before they turn 18, robbed of their rights to education, health and a life free of violence. Child marriage undermines our efforts to build a healthier, safer, just and more prosperous world for all. Child marriage isn't just a problem for girls, it's a problem to the world.

We can #Endchildmarriage but we need your support! Change will happen if we demand governments to declare the minimum age for marriage. Join the movement to #Endchildmarriage. Please visit our blog http://ayodejiosowobi.blogspot.com to see more of our work.