“Stephanie Sinclair has spent the last decade documenting some of the world’s most controversial subjects, from Yemen’s child brides to Texas’s polygamists. But her goal is simple: to record what is in front of her and pass as little judgement as possible”. Her beautiful photographs take us in and make us want to help change the tragic realities we are seeing. Her work also inspires hope that change is possible. 

Images of 3 Iconic Prints for Sale from Stephanie Sinclair’s award-winning documentary photography collection. Photo credit: Stephanie Sinclair

Too Young to Wed, a non-profit organization, that employs visual media, photography exhibits and campaigns to educate and engage the global community to demand an end to the practice of child marriage, has launched its first print sale in collaboration with Photoville, New York City’s largest annual photo festival.  I have written before about Too Young to Wed in a must-read post after meeting Founder and Executive Director Stephanie Sinclair last fall. Her work on shedding light about the injustices faced by young women and girls is inspiring and has already brought about change.  It is nearly impossible to view Sinclair’s stunning photography without being deeply moved and wanting to help change the fate of these girls.

This photo of Ten-year-old Nujoud Ali taken two years after her divorce grace’s National Geographic’s “Women of Vision” cover.  Nujoud’s story caused parliament to consider a bill writing a minimum marriage age into law. Photo credit: Stephanie Sinclair

Too Young to Wed: Mission

Every two seconds, a girl is forced into marriage against her will. The younger she is, the more likely a child bride is to experience domestic violence, contract HIV, develop complications from pregnancies or even die during childbirth. Child marriage robs girls of the childhood and the education they deserve, silencing them and preventing them from achieving their fullest potential.

Too Young to Wed’s mission is to protect girls’ rights and end child marriage. We do this by providing visual evidence of the human rights challenges faced by women and girls. Through our storytelling, we generate attention and resources to amplify the voices of these courageous women and girls and inspire the global community to end child marriage. We transform influential advocacy into tangible action on the ground through partnerships with international and local NGOs and by supporting initiatives in the communities where the girls in our stories live.

Sinclair’s work is phenomenal and incredibly moving. Now you can have a limited edition copy of your own and the purchase is for a fabulous cause. Each 8X10 archival print was hand-printed and signed by Ms. Sinclair, whose award-winning work documenting child marriage has been exhibited around the world. Ms. Sinclair’s work will be featured at Photoville at Brooklyn Bridge Park, and like the premiere photo event, which attracted 71,000 visitors last year, and the print sale will run from Sept. 10 – 20, 2015.

Prints can be ordered at tooyoungtowed.org/printsale, and 100 percent of the contributions received from photo sales will directly support TYTW’s mission to protect girls’ rights and end child marriage. Too Young to Wed supports local organizations and persons making a difference in the lives of girls and boys who are affected by the harmful practice of child marriage such as:

• The Samburu Girls Foundation, a grassroots organization in rural Kenya, which provides shelter and education to girls rescued from child marriage, female genital mutilation and other harmful practices. practices. To date, the organization has rescued more than 200 girls and placed 125 of them in boarding school.
• The women and children of the Kagati Village in Nepal where Ms. Sinclair conducted much of her child marriage reporting in 2007 and an area that was destroyed in the recent earthquakes (child bride, Niruta, 13, is featured as part of this exhibition);
• Girl Empowerment Groups – an adolescent girls empowerment initiative designed by the Population Council for vulnerable girls living in rural areas. In this capacity, Too Young To Wed will support the village of Gombat, just outside of Bahir Dar, Ethiopia where Ms. Sinclair first photographed Destaye, who was married at 11 to an Ethiopian Orthodox priest (also part of this exhibition).

Photoville Presentations and Talks:

Sept. 12: Stephanie Sinclair will represent Too Young To Wed in the panel Affecting Policy and Change through Photography from 4-5 PM and will discuss how her work transformed into a nonprofit organization dedicated to ending child marriage.

Sept 17: TYTW will engage students during Photoville’s Education Day, a one-day field trip to the photo village that’s free and open to NYC public schools. Hundreds of middle school and high school students participate in a day of photography and storytelling activities, and they’ll have an opportunity to see how photography can bring about social change.

Sept. 19: Stephanie Sinclair discusses her Too Young to Wed photographs during the event An Evening with National Geographic, from 7-10pm at the Photoville Beer Garden. The evening will begin with photos and videos from the past 127 years—including the most recent stories from National Geographic and their digital platforms. Other photographers included are Katie Orlinsky, Robert Clark and David Guttenfelder with Director of Photography Sarah Leen serving as Master of Ceremonies.

Ways to help end child marriage and support Too Young to Wed:

• Purchase a print during this limited time: Visit tooyoungtowed.org/printsale to support our programming
• Donate: Visit www.tooyoungtowed.org and click Donate.
• Volunteer: Share your skills and collaborate with TYTW. For opportunities email info@tooyoungtowed.org
• Be Social and Keep Educated on the facts by following Too Young to Wed:

Twitter: @2young2wed
Instagram: @tooyoungtowed
Facebook: facebook.com/tooyoungtowed

Hashtags: #endchildmarriage #tooyoungtowed