In pictures: the faces of child brides in Bangladesh
Girls' education
Nasoin Akhter is 15 years old. She sits with relatives to pose for photographs on August 20 国产视频 the day of her wedding to a 32-year-old man in Bangladesh.
The South Asian country 国产视频 where 1.5 million children are out of school 国产视频 has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world. The United Nations children国产视频檚 agency UNICEF says more than a third of girls marry before the age of 15 and 66% of girls before 18.
Most young brides drop out of school. Pregnant girls from 15 to 20 are twice as likely to die in childbirth than those 20 or older, while girls under 15 are at five times the risk.
In June, a report by Human Rights Watch听accused the Bangladeshi government of failing to take sufficient steps to prevent child marriage. Heather Barr, senior researcher on women国产视频檚 rights at HWR, said: 国产视频淐hild marriage is an epidemic in Bangladesh and only worsens with natural disasters.国产视频
The report said poor families often marry off their children because they are unable to feed them or pay for their education, because of sexual harassment of unmarried girls and due to social pressures and traditions in some communities.
Photographer Allison Joyce took this set of pictures on August 19 and 20 in听Manikganj district in the centre of the country.听You can find out more here about the issue of child marriage and how it affects girls国产视频 education.
Nasoin looks out of a dressing room at a beauty parlour on the day of her wedding.
32-year-old Mohammad Hasamur Rahman poses for photographs with his new bride, 15-year-old Nasoin.
Mousammat Akhi Akhter, 14, at her home in Manikganj. Last year, when she was only 13, she got married to a 27-year-old man. She had finished sixth grade and wanted to wait until she was older to get married 国产视频 but she says her parents felt social pressure to marry her young.
Mousammat stands at home against a photograph of Bangladesh Prime Minister Sheikh Hasina and her father听Sheikh Mujibur Rahman, the听founding leader of Bangladesh.
14-year-old Shima Akhter on the front porch of her home in Manikganj. Last year, when she was 13, Shima married an 18-year-old man.
Shima in a photograph with her husband Mohammad Solaiman.
Two organisations in Bangladesh have been standing up for education for all girls and boys by collecting signatures for the #UpForSchool Petition 国产视频 which calls on world leaders to get every child into school.
Find out how World Vision Bangladesh collected 1.5 million names听and how BRAC got 1.2 million people to sign up.
And if you haven国产视频檛 signed #UpForSchool yet, join the eight million who are sending out a message and demanding education for all. Sign the petition now.
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