Laourey Salifou – Maradi region, Niger

Hayat Bibi, Swat – Pakistan

I regret my daughter’s early marriage – “When I grew up my parents decided not to enrol me at school. I think it’s because my parents themselves didn’t go to school so they didn’t understand how important school is for children. I don’t know exactly how old I was when I got married but I can remember that I didn’t know anything about marriage. I really wish I had gone to school. I think that if a woman is educated it’s her husband who first wins because he is the first person that she will take care of before they have children. Then later also if they don’t have an educated mother they will suffer a lot. The fact that my daughter was not sent to school is because I was not educated so I didn’t know that I could take my child’s hands and bring her to the headmaster to enrol her. When my daughter grew up and she wasn’t doing anything at home we chose a husband for her. I regret deeply marrying her without giving her the chance to go to school, which I realise now is helpful, especially for girls who become mothers and want to educate their children. If she had gone to school she may have got a job to support us and given her children a good education for a good future.”