Forced Child and Adult Marriage

Trigger warning. This post discusses forced child and adult marriage.

As girls who are behind this blog, we couldn’t feel more inspired and alerted about the issues illustrated and visualized in this collaboration. Vahini Franklin took an issue she saw that needed awareness, and brought it to life with the help of an amazing team. Please scroll below to read about Forced Child and Adult Marriage, along with captured images to portray what many women face around the world.

It is said that 1 in 3 girls in developing countries will be married before the age of 18. According to Girls Not Brides Organization, if there is no reduction in child marriages by year 2050 – there will be 1.2 billion children married. The top country for child marriages are Nigeria at 76% and Central African Republic at 68%. India is number 10 with 47%.

It’s hard to imagine that this still exists in this time of age. Women are now allowed to vote, drive cars, work and basically do everything a man can do. But in some parts of the world women are still like prisoners.

Can you imagine a 10-year-old walking down to marry a man her father’s age? Her innocence is taken away right there and then . She no longer gets to run around with her friends in the field. She is now a housewife and maybe the second, third, or even fourth wife to an old man. Cleaning, cooking, and household chores and even giving pleasure is now her daily routine.

Forced marriage is also another concern. Cast is still big in many parts of the world. This means if a girl falls in love with someone of different cast shes is threatened and forced to marry someone or her parents will commit suicide. These girls fear for their parents lives and leave their soul mates behind and marry whom they are told too. Arranged marriage and forced marriage are different. Some people get confused between the two. In arranged marriage consent is given but in forced marriage – there is no consent given. Majority of these girls forced into marriage end up committing suicide within their first year or live unhappily thinking about their lost love.

What made me do this collaboration was two things; one was me finding a YouTube video that was disturbing. It was titled mother forces 10-year-old daughter to get pregnant and marries. Two; I heard a very sad story about a women who was forced into marriage and came to Canada with her new husband but eventually committed suicide because she could not forget her lover from back home. These two things touched my heart deeply. I do want to open a facility in the future to somehow educate people and for children and adults who get forced into marriage to go to get help instead of commuting suicide.

Lets not take the innocence away from these children by forcing them into marriage. Marriage is a commitment made by two people who want to be together. It is not a business deal done amongst the adults. Women are not objects or dowry they have hopes dreams and ambitions just like men do.

Doing this collaboration was not easy. Not everyone agreed with my concept as it was a sensitive topic and not a lot of vendors wanted to be apart of it but I’m so grateful for those who believed in me and made this happen. Thank you to my amazing vendors.

Vahini Franklin
Owner, Blue Blossoms Florist