"I realised against my brother, I have no value" Feminist Afghan rapper fighting child marriage
"I couldn't breathe, I couldn't speak, when my mother told me they had to sell me...my heart broke down."
Activist and rapper Sonita Alizadeh talked candidly about her experience of child marriage during Women in the World summit recently. The 19 year old, who started writing poetry as a child to express herself has become a staunch activist against child marriage - which, according to the Afghanistan Independent Human Rights Commission affects thousands of girls, it's estimated that 15% of Afghan girls are married before the age of 15.
From poetry to song writing, growing up in Iran Sonita found it difficult to record her own music as it is illegal for women to sing without express government permission. Taking a huge risk to pursue her passion and beliefs, Sonita wrote and recorded the song Brides For Sale, which you can watch here.
