Join me for a moment in ‘walking in another’s shoes’.

Imagine being 12 years old and getting married to a 10 year old.

Imagine being the top student in school and then being forced to drop out of school in 8th grade so that you can work and take care of your family; spending the rest of your life wondering ‘what if’.

Imagine living in a home, in poverty, with your spouse, your son, your daughter, your parents, your three brothers, and two oxen.

Imagine your father being married off at the age of 10 and lived the same life you are currently living. He is now trapped in poverty, yet you are being forced to follow the same path because that is what is expected of you.

It is illegal, but it is thought that seeing your grandchild marry brings Hindu blessings and increases their chances in the after life.

It is illegal, but marrying off their son brings the family a dowry that can include livestock, furniture and other goods.

It is illegal, but married boys who go off to work will travel afar to find work and then send money back home.

It is illegal, but it happens.

Boys forced to marry as young as 7 years old in Nepal endure psychological trauma, have children early and often drop out of school to support their new families, according to a report from the poverty-fighting group
.

Titled “Dads Too Soon: The Child Grooms of Nepal,” the report sheds new light on an issue often seen through the eyes of girls, who suffer the most at the hands of child marriage.

Through stories and statistics, the multimedia report details the forces pushing both girls and boys into early marriages in parts of western Nepal.

The analysis comes amid fears that April’s deadly earthquake, which devastated the capital Kathmandu and surrounding areas, will further isolate rural communities and increase child marriage rates.

But it offers hope, too.

Through
’s Tipping Point program, former child grooms are emerging as key allies in the movement to strike at the roots of child marriage in Nepal.

What Can You Do?

Forcing children to marry is not only a human rights violation, but there are a million things wrong with the idea.

Imagine your child being forced at age 7, age 10, age 12; to be married and start a family.

Congress agrees that is a violation, that it is wrong; but CARE needs your to help make sure they make fighting child marriage a priority.

asks that you complete the form below to send a letter to your Representative and Senators to support the allocation of at least $150 million in the next State Department budget to address gender-based violence, including child marriage.

It is incredibly easy, will take just a few moments, and can make a difference in a child’s life.

Will you do it?