Many of these young girls become very depressed due to their forced marriages. They are too young to become wives and have children, have to quit their education, have to leave their family, and there is typically no love in the marriage. In fact, many of these marriages are very abusive. 17-year old Mariam from Gaza, Palestine was forced into marriage with a 37-year old man in order to escape poverty. He would verbally abuse her and beat her. When she ran away to her father's house, he told her, "You should return to your husband’s house no matter what he did to you. You should learn to accept this. Do you understand?"
Many of these girls have nowhere or no one to turn to. Eventually, most of the young brides commit suicide. In Iraq, there is an ongoing epidemic of suicide due to the high rate of underage forced marriages. Some women and girls practice self-immolation, shoot themselves, and stab themselves to escape the forced marriages. Below is a picture of Abdella Hassan mourning over his 16-year old daughter who committed to escape her marriage to her cousin.
Many of these girls have nowhere or no one to turn to. Eventually, most of the young brides commit suicide. In Iraq, there is an ongoing epidemic of suicide due to the high rate of underage forced marriages. Some women and girls practice self-immolation, shoot themselves, and stab themselves to escape the forced marriages. Below is a picture of Abdella Hassan mourning over his 16-year old daughter who committed to escape her marriage to her cousin.