In the rugged mountains of Mohmand, in the heart of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan, Yasmin Gul’s* life was shaped by unyielding traditions. Her three daughters – Meena*, Fatima*, and Ayesha* helped her all day with chores to keep the household running.
In these remote villages, girls are not encouraged to dream big, but Gul’s daughters dreamed of going to school, learning to read and write, and some day, teach other girls. Meena and Fatima’s dreams were cut short when they reached the age of 14 and 15. Their marriage was fixed, as tradition demanded.
“I tried to comfort them,” said Gul, who was married early as well. “I told them this was the way things had always been, that they would adapt, that they would be fine. But deep in my heart, I knew they were not ready. No daughter, no mother, is ever ready for such a life.”
Seeing the fear and sadness in her daughters’ eyes, Gul hesitated.
Child marriage robs girls of education, freedom and opportunities
With one in six young girls married in childhood, Pakistan is home to nearly 19 million child brides today.
For girls like Meena and Fatima, marriage at such a young age come with grave risks: abuse, complications in childbirth, and a lifetime of lost opportunities.
On the night of Fatima’s marriage, she came home trembling, refusing to return to her husband’s house. Gul remembers her sobs, as she asked Fatima to go back to her husband.
“I thought I was doing the right thing, that this was normal,” she shared.
Empowering change through education and awareness among mothers
In Mohmand, change came slowly. In September 2024, Gul attended an awareness session about the adverse effects of child marriage, organized by UN Women, FAO and USAID. That day, Gul returned home with the full realization of the burden she had placed on her daughters by marrying them off early.
With her husband’s support, who also attended an awareness session organized for men, Gul decided that her youngest daughter, Ayesha, would not be married before the age of 18. The decision defied the traditions that had shaped her own life and sent ripples through their small community.
“I couldn’t change the past,” said Gul. “But I could change the future. Ayesha would be allowed to grow, learn, be free of the burdens I had placed on Meena and Fatima.”
With that decision, Gul set change in motion and became a beacon of hope and strength for others who wanted better futures for their daughters.
The series of awareness-raising sessions and dialogues on women’s rights and inclusion in agriculture and decision-making have reached 1,732 villagers through the programme. More girls who were once kept at home are now attending the village school.
The year 2025 marks the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action —a visionary women’s rights agreement endorsed in 1995 by 189 governments. It provided a blueprint of actions to end discrimination and violence against women and girls that hold them back from education and opportunities. It was also the first global policy document on women that included a specific focus on girls’ rights. These actions remain relevant and urgent today, as women like Gul and her daughters continue to fight for basic rights.
