Once forced to leave home at age 10, now with hope for the future

You may have seen over recent weeks news that Sierra Leone enacted a new law banning child marriage, championed by the First Lady Fatima Bio. This is an incredible milestone for a country with one of the highest rates of child marriage in Africa. The Prohibition of Child Marriage Act states that anybody now involved in the marriage of a girl under the age of 18 will be jailed for at least 15 years or fined around $4,000 (￡3,200), or both.?

In reading the coverage of the law, one story especially stuck out to me:

University student Khadijatu Barrie, whose sister was married off at 14, told the BBC she welcomed the ban but wished it had come in time to save her younger sibling. “I really wish it had happened earlier. I could have at least saved my sister and my friends and other neighbours,” the 26-year-old gender studies undergraduate said.

Fleeing her family home at age 10 to avoid forced marriage, Khadijatu’s father disowned her. Fortunately, she found teachers who paid for her schooling and the UN children’s agency helped her find safe accommodations. While she was successful in avoiding a forced marriage, Khadijatu shares that it’s difficult for others to find the same refuge.

There’s so much packed into those few paragraphs that is completely heartbreaking:

• A lost sister.
• A girl forced to leave home at the inconceivably young age of 10.
• A severed relationship with a father.?

But then there’s also hope:

• Individuals who stepped in to help and change a girl’s future.
• A girl who was able to continue her education -- and is now in university!
• Ms. Barrie’s recognition that the situation will be different for girls who come behind her.?

The mention of those who stepped in to help Ms. Barrie vividly brought to mind the local leaders whose work VOW for Girls funds. Like those who helped Ms. Barrie, these brave local leaders are helping girls whose futures are at risk to stay in school, find safe spaces, and navigate a future of their choosing.

Progress like what we see in Sierra Leone is the kind of change that our local community partners are working so hard to bring on behalf of all girls whose futures are at great risk. The work that our VOW for Girls community does each day in mustering new resources and rallying new supporters to care about this work is fundamental to theirs.?

Thank you for being a changemaker on this issue by supporting our work at VOW for Girls. Girls like Khadijatu’s futures will be different because of it.