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Child marriage on the rise in civil war-torn South Sudan

Fifty-two percent of girls in South Sudan are married before age 18, according to the United Nations.
Fifty-two percent of girls in South Sudan are married before age 18, according to the United Nations. South Sudan’s government and aid agencies say that the conflict-driven poverty and severe food insecurity are increasing the prevalence of the already ex
Fifty-two percent of girls in South Sudan are married before age 18, according to the United Nations. South Sudan’s government and aid agencies say that the conflict-driven poverty and severe food insecurity are increasing the prevalence of the already ex
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Seventeen percent marry before they turn 15. A seventeen year old girl, who at age 13 was forced by her father to marry a 35-year-old man from their village in exchange for 50 cattle is seen in the picture. (Photo | AP)
Seventeen percent marry before they turn 15. A seventeen year old girl, who at age 13 was forced by her father to marry a 35-year-old man from their village in exchange for 50 cattle is seen in the picture. (Photo | AP)
Child marriage is widely practiced in the pastoralist areas of Lakes State and Bahr-el-Ghazal, where cattle carry economic and cultural importance. Cows are used for payments and dowries, which Human Rights Watch call a “key driver of child marriage” as families see daughters as a source of wealth. (Photo | AP)
Child marriage is widely practiced in the pastoralist areas of Lakes State and Bahr-el-Ghazal, where cattle carry economic and cultural importance. Cows are used for payments and dowries, which Human Rights Watch call a “key driver of child marriage” as families see daughters as a source of wealth. (Photo | AP)
South Sudan’s conflict, which has been characterized by rampant sexual violence against women and girls, continues to normalize violence against women and girls, including child marriage. (Photo | AP)
South Sudan’s conflict, which has been characterized by rampant sexual violence against women and girls, continues to normalize violence against women and girls, including child marriage. (Photo | AP)
Girls take a break at the Irish-run Loreto Secondary School, the region's only all-girls boarding school where staff require each girl's guardian to sign a form promising not to remove the child from school until graduation. (Photo | AP)
Girls take a break at the Irish-run Loreto Secondary School, the region's only all-girls boarding school where staff require each girl's guardian to sign a form promising not to remove the child from school until graduation. (Photo | AP)
A young South Sudanese woman married early, scrubs the dung-covered ground in preparation for cows to return from grazing, at a cattle camp outside the town of Rumbek. (Photo | AP)
A young South Sudanese woman married early, scrubs the dung-covered ground in preparation for cows to return from grazing, at a cattle camp outside the town of Rumbek. (Photo | AP)
South Sudan
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