Child marriage is a global issue. It is fuelled by gender inequality, poverty, social norms and insecurity, and has devastating consequences all over the world.
Explore our vision and mission to end child marriage, learn about our organisational structure, and discover how we work as a global partnership to drive change and empower girls worldwide.
Girls Not Brides members are civil society organisations committed to working together to end child marriage and support married girls. Our strength is our diversity.
Discover tools, resources and events to learn more about child marriage and related issues, and be successful in your advocacy, youth activism and fundraising.
Here you'll find the latest news and stories about child marriage, and the work our member organisations and partners in the broader movement are doing to end the harmful practice.
On Day of the Girl, join #MyLifeAt15 & tell governments to end child marriage now!
Photo: Graham Crouch/The Elders
Last week, the adoption of the Global Goals for Development marked a historic moment. For the first time, 193 countries committed to ending child marriage in our lifetime.
The Global Goals demonstrate remarkable progress. The Millennium Development Goals made no mention of child marriage, a practice that affects 15 million girls every year. The Global Goals recognise child marriage not only as a barrier to girls achieving their full potential, but also to the development and well-being of their communities and countries.
But it’s not enough for governments to agree on a target to end child marriage. They have to live up to their commitments. Governments must draw up and enforce policies that end child marriage, and create alternative for girls and their families.
On International Day of the Girl (11 October), will you join our call to turn commitments into action?
On International Day of the Girl 2015, stand in solidarity with the dreams and aspirations of girls worldwide!
On 1 October, Girls Not Brides is launching #MyLifeAt15, a global campaign calling on governments to make the new Global Goals target to end child marriage by 2030 a reality.
#MyLifeAt15 celebrates the dreams and ambitions we hold at the age of 15 in support of every girl having the opportunity to achieve hers without child marriage holding her back.
1) Share your photo and describe your ambitions and dreams at the age of 15, using #MyLifeAt15 and #EndChildMarriage.
Unless we act, 15 million girls a year will be unable to realise their dreams and ambitions because of child marriage.
2) Share the campaign with your friends, colleagues and networks.
We are stronger when we speak with one voice!
15M girls a year are married before 18. This must change! Join #MyLifeAt15 & tell leaders to #EndChildMarriage now. http://bit.ly/MyLifeAt15
Every girl deserves to fulfil her dreams. Share your #MyLifeAt15 photo & join the mov’t to #EndChildMarriage! http://bit.ly/MyLifeAt15
We will #EndChildMarriage by 2030. Let’s put our #GlobalGoals commitment into action. Join #MyLifeAt15 today: http://bit.ly/MyLifeAt15
3) Take the campaign offline!
Use the campaign toolkit to petition your government, reach out to media, or raise awareness in your community.
Girls deserve the chance to fulfil their dreams and ambitions. Together, let's urge governments to make child marriage history!
In the time it has taken to read this article 24 girls under the age of 18 have been married
Each year, 12 million girls are married before the age of 18