I don’t want any girl to go through this.
Aysha*, from Bhola district Bangladesh, had her childhood end too soon. At just 13, Aysha got her first period. By 14, she was married. And at 15, she became a mother.
Aysha’s marriage was driven by poverty – her father’s illness left the family struggling, and she was given away to a man seven years older.
She didn’t understand what marriage really meant. She had to drop out of school, and her pregnancy was a difficult, dangerous journey. She lost a lot of blood, felt weak, and lacked proper nutrition. As a child herself, she was now raising another child, unsure of how to care for her baby, how to feed or bathe him.
It was overwhelming, but Aysha endured.
Her story paints a heartbreaking picture of how being born a girl can dictate a future of abuse and denial of basic human rights like an education.
