a loss of words.

these are two five year old girls.

they are being carried to their own weddings ceremonies.

in america, it's impossible for most of us to fathom getting married at such a young age. but in many countries across the world, it's a tradition. a somber one, at that.

despite many lax laws that have been put in place to try and stop child marriages, approximately 64 million women were married before the age of 18. why?

in most cases, it's an issue of money. a groom's family often pays what's known as a "bride price", and the younger the bride, the more the groom pays. most families "sell" their daughters to support themselves.

besides the fact that it's a clear violation of a person's human rights to be married against their will, it's also traumatizing and dangerous.

tahani, a young girl from the city of hajjah, yemen, was only 6 years old when she was married to a 25 year old man. "whenever i saw him, i hid. i hated to see him," she said.

another 13 year old girl in yemen was killed after her husband forced her to have sex with him. he ruptured her vaginal canal, and she eventually bled to her death.

it's painful to think that some people are forced to learn to love someone. potentially someone that can hurt them. the idea of falling in love is almost unheard of. these girls are rushed into marriages while they are still young children, and should be off playing.

what's even more upsetting is that marriage has no value in these cases. there's no love. there's no connection. it's two young children, being forced to get married. for money.

it's a demoralizing tradition. when you read stories about these poor child brides, you can't help but cry. and you can't help but be so thankful that it's not you. and then, you realize, you have to help.

i ask you to please help these children that are mired in poverty. to help these children that will never know life. never know love. it's our responsibility as humans to help our brothers, our sisters, that are struggling. because you know what?

it just as easily could have been you.

http://www.care.org/campaigns/childmarriage/index.asp