'I was forced to marry a stranger'

 

Seventeen-year-old Agnes (not her real name) was married three months ago to a man she had never met.

"My parents sat me down and told me I was no longer their responsibility. They wanted me to move out and start a life of my own," she recalls, sitting in the village of Chibombo, two hours' drive from Zambia's capital Lusaka.

"Things moved faster than I expected - when a stranger paid a bride price to my parents. I had no say in the matter," she says, tears welling in her eyes.

"I didn't choose this life and I'm not happy here."

Wearing a striped T-shirt and a colourful sarong, she has a nervous and sad manner about her.

When we met her, she was going about her daily chores, washing dishes, cleaning and then starting a fire to prepare the evening meal.

It is not difficult to see how desperate her life is, her heels are cracked, her nail polish is wearing off.

Trapped
 
It is estimated that 14 million girls are forced into marriage before their 18th birthday every year - causing their childhoods to come to a sudden and unexpected end.

 Agnes is desperate to escape her new life but fears that her parents would disown her for the disgrace that comes with being a run-away bride.

Poverty and tradition are said to be behind this practice, which is most common in rural areas.

Parents see their daughters as a source of income and even wealth, those opposed to the practice say.
But even here, some are beginning to speak out against the practice.

Chief Chamuka VI of Zambia' Lenje people wants young girls to be kept in school.

He has summoned his subjects to a meeting under a giant tree. The villagers sing, shout his clan name and clap as they see their chief approaching.

He commands respect. Community members who attended the meeting didn't disagree with anything he says.

Chief Chamuka, dressed in his traditional regalia - a black and red robe with a matching hat with feathers on it - addresses them about the dangers of child marriages.

Lasting effects
 
Those forced into child marriage feel the effects for the rest of their lives.

Beatrice Chikwekwe got married when she was 15, she is now 32.

"I was terrified and confused on my wedding day, I didn't even know what I was doing," she says.

"I fell pregnant the same year and had complications while giving birth. I nearly died."

Ms Chikwekwe is doing her final year at the local college of agriculture, trying to make up for the time she lost.

For many though, there is no fairytale ending.

Culled From BBC