Sonita Alizada
- April
- Big Sky Ranch, California
- Sunset
I fight to change this outcome for girls everywhere, to ensure that every girl has the opportunity to choose her own future.Sonita Alizada
Every year more than 12 million girls are married before the age of 18 – that is one girl every 3 seconds. Currently, more than 650 million women suffer from the effects of child marriage. I fight to change this outcome for girls everywhere, to ensure that every girl has the opportunity to choose her own future.
I was born in Herat, Afghanistan under the reign of the Taliban regime. My family walked hundreds of miles in the rain and snow to escape. I grew up an impoverished, undocumented refugee child laborer.
At the age of 10, I was sold into forced marriage. The contract fell through. My family again tried to sell me when I was sixteen, I escaped.
Witnessing the injustices of the world, and my friends swiftly disappearing as they were forced to marry, I wrote the song, ”Daughters for Sale“. With the aid of an Iranian filmmaker, a music video was recorded and my life was documented in the award-winning film, Sonita.
Every year more than 12 million girls are married before the age of 18 – that is one girl every 3 seconds. Currently, more than 650 million women suffer from the effects of child marriage.
