Tahani, 8, is seen with her husband Majed, 27, and her former classmate Ghada, 8, and her husband
outside their home in Hajjah, Yemen, July 26, 2010

Faiz, 40, and Ghulam, 11, sit in her home prior to their wedding, Afghnanistan, Sept. 11, 2005. Ghulam said she is sad to be getting engaged as she wanted to be a teacher. Her favorite class was Dari, the local language, before she was made to drop out of school.

Married girls are seldom found in school, limiting their economic and social opportunities. Parents sometimes remove their daughters from school to protect them from the possibility of sexual activity outside of wedlock.

It is hard to say exactly how many young marriages take place, but according to the Afghan women’s ministry and women’s NGOs, approximately 57 percent of Afghan girls get married before the legal age of 16.

In addition, once the girl’s father has agreed to the engagement, she is pulled out of school immediately. Early pregnancies also result in an increase in complications during child birth.