Publisher's Synopsis
Child marriage is a global human right violation and a socioeconomic problem that almost all the countries of the world are reluctant to address adequately. Among the 195 countries of the world today, 116 countries allow people under the age of 18 to get married according to a report by Pew Research. And over 700 million women worldwide got married when they were children and that is going to rise to about 1 billion by 2030 if the actual trends continue (United Nations Population Fund & United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund). This sounds embarrassing when considering the fact that child marriage has a negative impact on the education of women and their ability to earn an income or to embrace a professional career. Moreover, child marriage often affects negatively the dignity of female children who are considered mostly as inferior humans. That frequently happens in the regions in the world where the bride price is practiced. It is reported that Pew Research analyzed data from the United Nation and the United States - State Department - on 198 nations and territories and realized that 153 countries require people to be adults (aged 18) to get married, but with parental consent exceptions can be made and marriage can happen before the age of 18 in many countries. The question at this point to know what really motivated the consent of many parents. The fact that the 'bride price' consists of material donation or money payment may put into question the consent of many parents concerning the marriage of the child girls. The story in this graphic novel is inspired from true narrations that happened in Africa (in the Democratic Republic of the Congo) where many child girls' right to formal education is frequently abused by many parents and/or guardians for the sake of making money or getting certain materials through bride price. While the story focuses on African reality, it also reflects what is happening in many other regions of the world today (especially the regions where the bride price is practiced). The story shows how miserable was the life of child girl who was influenced by one of her parents to drop out of school and encouraged to get married to a rich man whose riches emanated from magic practices. The father of the child girl opposed himself to that marriage project, but in vain; the reason was that her wife made a coalition with other family members who strongly insisted that early marriage was better than schooling according to their culture. So, the child girl was forced to get married. The groom paid 30,000 dollars to the family of the child bride and other materials. Then came a terrible tragedy as shown in this first part of the story (Part One); the family of the child bride lost three persons in a deadly road accident in three days when trying to go out to enjoy the bride price money! Two brothers of the child bride and her mother died, and the groom was suspected to have sacrificed them in order to increase his power to make money magically. The father of the child bride, very shocked and disappointed, seeks help from the servants of God. That is the tragic end of this first part of the story (Part One), and the second part (Part Two) is also colored with amazing events.
