End Child Marriage

Every 2 Seconds, a Girl is Forced to Marry.

If we don’t act now, more than 150 million girls will become child brides by 2030.

Child marriage is a human rights violation, robbing girls of their childhood; forced into adulthood before they are physically and mentally ready. Girls married before the age of 18 are more likely to experience physical, sexual and domestic violence. They become isolated with their freedom curtailed and are much less likely to stay in school.

But a child bride’s greatest danger by far are complications during forced pregnancy – the world’s number one killer of girls aged 15 to 19 – when their young bodies are not physically mature enough.

With your help, we are taking action to empower girls to claim their rights and continue their education. We’re challenging deeply rooted gender inequalities and social norms and ensuring that girls are involved in the process. We can end child marriage.

Let’s fight until we are all equal.

Will you join us? 

Aysha*, from Bhola district Bangladesh, had her childhood end too soon. At just 13, Aysha got her first period. By 14, she was married. And at 15, she became a mother.

Aysha’s marriage was driven by poverty – her father’s illness left the family struggling, and she was given away to a man seven years older.

She didn’t understand what marriage really meant. She had to drop out of school, and her pregnancy was a difficult, dangerous journey. She lost a lot of blood, felt weak, and lacked proper nutrition. As a child herself, she was now raising another child, unsure of how to care for her baby, how to feed or bathe him.

It was overwhelming, but Aysha endured.

Her story paints a heartbreaking picture of how being born a girl can dictate a future of abuse and denial of basic human rights like an education.

But thanks to your support, the future is changing for girls like Aysha.

Now Aysha has access to the knowledge she needs to take control of her future and she dreams of a better life for herself and the next generation.

*Name has been changed to protect identity

What You Can Do

Every day, economic uncertainty, conflict and more are unravelling decades of progress toward gender equality. When girls are forced to marry their futures are being written for them.

Your gift to Plan International will help end child marriage by letting girls rewrite their futures for themselves. 

Here’s what that means: you’ll be keeping more girls in school, where they belong. You’ll be preventing child marriage and rescuing girls from trafficking. And you’ll be telling girls that their futures matter — and that they’re in charge of their own lives.

Your donation will help:

• Deliver cash support to vulnerable households to protect girls from early marriages
• Prevent girls from dropping out of school in 50 countries
• Protect girls from violence, sexual exploitation and abuse
• Provide girls continued access to sexual & reproductive health information and services
• Provide handwashing facilities, hygiene kits and health information in at least 30 countries

Please give now and start a better future for girls today.