In some rural areas of Ethiopia, girls are regularly forced into child marriage. Thirteen-year-old Zemzem was walking to a store near her home in Derrera in the Sidama region of southern Ethiopia when she was abducted by three men who planned to marry her off. "I screamed all the way to the place where they took me," she said. "I'm so scared, just thinking about it."
Members of a local UNICEF-sponsored youth group heard about her abduction and quickly met with her father. They helped rescue Zemzem, track down the perpetrators and turn them over to the authorities. The youth group raises community awareness to tackle harmful practices including violence against children, child marriage and female genital mutilation.
Child marriage robs girls of their childhood and threatens their well-being. UNICEF works to promote and safeguard children's basic human rights - rights that must be realized for children to reach their full potential.
Subscribe to UNICEF USA's KZread Channel for the latest updates.
To learn more about UNICEF and UNICEF USA, visit: www.unicefusa.org
Read our stories about UNICEF in action: www.unicefusa.org/stories
Follow UNICEF USA here:
Instagram: / unicefusa
Twitter: / unicefusa
Facebook: / unicef-usa