UNICEF<\/a>, West and Central Africa have the highest prevalence of child marriage in the world. In this region, four out of 10 girls are married before the age of 18.<\/em><\/p>\nAbs\u00e9tou* from C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire, Aubierge from Benin and Bibata from Burkina Faso all dreamt of continuing their education. Through resistance, activism, and resilience, they tell their stories.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\u201cFrom the moment I refused to get married, I was beaten everyday\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<\/p>\n
\u00a9 Amnesty International<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>Ivorian survivor of early and forced marriage Abs\u00e9tou*<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
Abs\u00e9tou*, from C\u00f4te d\u2019Ivoire, resisted the marriage her father tried to force upon her when she was still just a teenager. Now aged 29, she wants to marry a man of her own choosing.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\u201cWhen I was 14, my father wanted to marry me off to a cousin who was in his thirties. He\u2019d started making arrangements for the wedding behind my back; I realized he\u2019d already bought the fabric to have the wedding clothes made.<\/p>\n
I refused to go through with the marriage, telling my father that I wanted to continue my studies. I knew my rights because we were taught about them at school. At 14, I already had plans to become a midwife. From the moment I refused to get married, my father would send people to find me on my way to school, beat me, and drag me back home by force. I was beaten every day, and sometimes I wasn\u2019t given anything to eat.<\/p>\n
At the start of the following school year, my father didn\u2019t pay my school fees. My mother said she couldn\u2019t afford to help me; she was desperate. In our family, the mother has no say. I was suffering and crying every day.<\/p>\n
\nMy father can no longer stand in my way.<\/p>\n
Survivor of early and forced marriage Abs\u00e9tou*<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\nI went to see my English teacher to explain my situation, and he put me in touch with the people at Amnesty. I went to ask them for help. When they came to see my father, he refused to see them. In the end, my father threw me out of the house. Thanks to the support of Amnesty and the Ministry of Education, I was able to attend secondary school and, after my final examination, I went to live with a mentor and I trained as a midwife.<\/p>\n
Even today, my relationship with my father is not good. When I visit him, we say hello but we don\u2019t speak beyond that. I\u2019m going to choose my own husband and organize my own wedding; that\u2019s what I want, and my father can no longer stand in my way.<\/p>\n
My little sister also refused the marriage our father wanted to force upon her, and he kicked her out of the house too, so she came to live with me. I ran a small business to pay for her school fees. My father no longer speaks to her at all.<\/p>\n
I have been working as a state-registered midwife for three years now, and I am proud of my profession. As part of my work, I meet women who have been victims of violence. Some have been forced into marriage, others have undergone female genital mutilation; they tell me about their problems. I take the time to listen to these women and give them advice. Sometimes, when I think about them and what I\u2019ve been through, I cry.<\/p>\n
Early marriage is not a good thing. We need to raise awareness amongst parents and ask young girls what they want for their future. I encourage them to fight for themselves.\u201d<\/p>\n
*Name has been changed <\/em><\/p>\n\u201cI decided to campaign for the right to education\u201d<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n<\/p>\n
\u00a9 Amnesty International<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>Beninese activist Aubierge during an awareness raising session <\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n
Aubierge, 22, a business student in Parakou, in northern Benin, has been campaigning for the right to education since the age of 15. Named a \u2018Human Rights Star\u2019 by Amnesty International Benin in 2024, she runs awareness-raising sessions in her community.<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/section>\n\u201cWhen I was 14, my parents were talking about marrying me off. They didn\u2019t tell me outright that they wouldn\u2019t pay for my schooling any longer, but I realized I couldn\u2019t expect anything from them and that I had to work to stay in school. I started doing small jobs, such as selling liquid soap and fabric, to pay for my school supplies.<\/p>\n
I stopped asking my parents for anything, and they saw that I was determined, so they stopped talking about marrying me off. My sisters also fought to be able to study.<\/p>\n
\nOnce married, many girls were abused by their husbands.<\/p>\n
Beninese activist Aubierge<\/cite><\/p><\/blockquote>\nThat\u2019s how it is in our community. I\u2019ve often heard parents tell their 12-, 13- or 14-year-old daughters that they could no longer continue their education and that they had to get married. This happened to many of my classmates. Once married, many were abused by their husbands. My cousins, too, were married off at a young age, and some are in dire straits today. These girls were far too young when they were married; they knew nothing about marriage\u2026 Some were unable to stay with their husbands; they now farm, run small businesses and beg to make ends meet.<\/p>\n
Faced with this, I told myself I couldn\u2019t just stand by and do nothing. I decided to campaign for the right to education. I didn\u2019t want to go through that myself, and I wanted to put an end to it.<\/p>\n
Raising parents\u2019 awareness of the harmful effects of early marriage is by no means easy. Sometimes, they take what we tell them the wrong way. It\u2019s as if we were taking food out of their mouths or stripping them of their privileges. Parents often say that a child is there to help their parents. For them, a young girl must go to live with a man and provide for her parents, so when we raise awareness, it\u2019s as if we\u2019re calling all that into question.<\/p>\n
I\u2019ve fought hard to get where I am. It\u2019s really difficult, but I\u2019m staying the course. I speak out on behalf of vulnerable children.\u201d<\/p>\n
![\"Abs\u00e9tou*,](\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/IMG_9378_edited-1024x657.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Beninese](\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/Aubierge-ADANMADOUHOUANNOU-5_v2-1024x742.jpg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Bibata,](\"https:\/\/www.amnesty.org\/en\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/DSCF3934-1024x576.jpg\")
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