At Wedded Wonderland, we celebrate love and Marriage; but, the sickening fact is that not all Brides get the happy ending we live for.
UNICEF has released that 41,000 girls under eighteen are being Married off all over the world – a sickening fact. Using this video (which they partnered with our friends at Bridal Musings for) to demonstrate the reality of child Brides, UNICEF hope to raise awareness to prevent this disgusting practice from continuing.
The ‘child Bride’ in the film is Caitlin, a caucasian UK-based model chosen by Bridal Musings. 11-year-old Caitlin was accompanied by her father on the day of the shoot and both were pleased to be involved in a project to raise awareness about child Marriage.
Elizabeth from Bridal Musings explains the reason her team chose to use a caucasian ‘Bride’, despite the fact that the majority of the child Brides are based in South Asia or Africa, is because the aim is to “reach audiences that may be unfamiliar with the extent and devastating consequence of child marriage.”
She hopes that by confronting a ‘Western’ audience from the USA, UK and Australia, she will “encourage people to share the video and learn more about issues related to the rights of girls around the world.”
According to UNICEF, the girls who are Married young tend to be subject to domestic violence, be exposed to HIV, drop out of school and are more likely to die from pregnancy or birth-related complications.
You can donate to UNICEF here or share this article to help raise awareness.
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