“If you keep your girls in school they could become ministers,” she said. “They could become a general. They could become the president.”

Fatouma volunteers with VOW for Girls grantee Agir Plus in Niger. After fleeing home twice to escape child marriage herself, she knows how important it is to work with communities to help ensure no child ever becomes a bride. Fatouma often speaks with groups of mothers to convince them to let their daughters live lives they love.

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The COVID-19 pandemic has made her work and the work of Agir Plus even more urgent, as girls are out of school and poverty increases, both driving child marriage. We believe that local efforts like those of Fatouma and Agir Plus are vital to end child marriage.

Read the full story by Danielle Paquette at The Washington Post.

Photos by Jessica Sarkodie for The Washington Post.

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About VOW for Girls

From wedding registry to gift donations, everything donated to VOW (that’s 100% of donations!) goes directly to community-driven efforts to help girls around the world. Our grantees, which are mainly women-led local organizations, use the funding we provide to directly support girls.

Twelve million girls a year, some as young as 8, become child brides. VOW is a global movement of the wedding industry community, partners and couples who are dedicated to a world where no child is ever a bride and where every girl has the chance to live the life she loves.

If you’re in the wedding industry and you’re interested in becoming involved, please find more wedding inspiration and advice in our blog, consider becoming a VOW Pro partner and learning more about VOW’s mission to end child marriage. If you’re an engaged couple and want to learn more about supporting VOW, please visit our couples page. We can’t wait to see what good we can do together!

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