“He Sold Me to an Old Man”

“My father has sold me because we don’t have bread, rice, and flour. He sold me to an old man.”

These words, uttered by Parwana, a 9-year-old girl in Afghanistan, devastated me.?

CNN’s piece telling the story of Parwana’s family is breathtaking in the vivid way it brings the issue of child marriage to life. It shows families grappling with hunger and deteriorating circumstances, faced with choices that few of us can imagine, and turning to child marriage as a last resort.?

It’s the most vivid media piece I’ve seen on the topic to date. Seeing a 9-year-old sold as a bride, right there on TV, is awful. Full stop.

More awful: On the day that Parwana became a bride, more than 32,000 other girls did as well. This year, more than 12 million girls just like Parwana will become child brides. It’s devastating in profound ways.?

I read with interest the comments on the CNN piece. Overwhelmingly, commenters asked what they can do to help. The sad truth is that very little can be done to help Parwana in particular. But we can create a different future for the next generation of girls.?

That’s our moonshot with VOW for Girls: to build a global community of champions that will empower every girl to live a life she loves. We’re working to create a new kind of impact machine that raises awareness of child marriage globally and generates an unprecedented amount of funding to directly support girls at risk around the globe. 100% of the money we raise goes to local organizations supporting girls to stay in school, learn job skills, and so much more, in order to help them avoid becoming child brides and let them determine their own futures.???

We’re on a mission to raise $50 million a year to support girls. It’s an ambitious goal, but big problems require bold visions. And we’re pushing hard every single day to make our vision a reality.?

Will we be successful? I certainly believe so. But our success will hinge on your involvement, and on the involvement of others like you.?

Join us on this journey. Get in touch and let’s talk about how we can work together. Girls need our support.?

UPDATE: New information is coming out from local reporting that is calling the validity of the original CNN story into question, including if the story was staged by the family members implicated. It is my hope that CNN will investigate these allegations fully. Nonetheless, the issues raised by the story -- mainly how poverty and hunger, especially in conflict settings, can drive child marriage are serious issues that deserve more attention.