Child Brides

Contemporary Issues, first prize stories

June 10, 2011

Hajjah, Yemen

Tahani (in pink), who was married at the age of six, and her former classmate Ghada, also a child bride, stand with their husbands outside their home in Hajjah, Yemen. At first, Tahani hid whenever she saw her husband, who was 25 when they married.

Every year, all over the world, millions of girls below the age of 18 undergo marriages initiated by their families. The tradition of child marriage spans continents, religion, and class. Girls who marry early often abandon their education. The incidence of maternal and infant death is high for women who give birth under the age of 18. Child marriages often take place in defiance of national laws, and despite education programs about health issues. They are seen as an economic necessity in some regions, or are deeply ingrained in local culture.

Commissioned by: VII Photo Agency for National Geographic magazine

Photo Credit: Stephanie Sinclair

Stephanie Sinclair, born in 1973, is an American photojournalist known for gaining unique access to sensitive gender and human rights issues around the world. After university, Sinclair worked for the Chicago Tribune, which sent her to cover the lead up to the war in Iraq. She later moved to the Middle East covering the region for six years as a freelance photographer.

A regular contributor to National Geographic and The New York Times Magazine, Sinclair is the recipient of numerous awards including the CARE International Award for Humanitarian Reportage, the Overseas Press Club’s Olivier Rebbot Award, a Pulitzer Prize, two Visa D’Ors, and three World Press Photo awards. In 2010, Sinclair’s photographs of self-immolation in Afghanistan were exhibited as part of the Whitney Biennial in New York. She is an owning member of VII Photo Agency, and is based in Brooklyn, New York.