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https://www.launchgood.com/v4/campaign/afghan_girls_on_the_brink_stop_them_from_being_sold_1
“Whoever guides someone to goodness will have a reward like the one who did it.”
— Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
This campaign will collect all funds raised by April 30, 2023 at 11:45 PM EDT
95% of Afghans are going hungry, and find themselves forced to make gut-wrenching decisions to survive. Many have sold their own body parts to organ harvesters. The exponential increase of girls – at younger and younger ages – being sold into marriage is unlike anything seen in decades. Since 2021, child marriage in Afghanistan has spiked more than 500%.
By giving today, you will help TYTW bring urgent nutritional, protective, and economic programming to more than 8,000 of the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach Afghans – especially families headed by widows and single mothers. Your help will come at a crucial time, as Afghanistan continues to fade from global media headlines and the erosion of individual rights worsens.
This campaign is also ZAKAT ELIGIBLE. By donating to this campaign you will be fulfilling your Zakat obligations InshAllah.
Opening image: Mamlakat, 12, is a young girl living in Ghor province, Afghanistan. Her father passed away last month due to the extreme cold that has caused hundreds of deaths in Afghanistan this winter. Mamlakat is one of eight children whom her mother Safoora, must now support alone.
Led by renowned Pulitzer Prize-winning photojournalist and activist Stephanie Sinclair, the mission of Too Young To Wed (TYTW) is to empower girls and end child marriage globally.
While child marriage occurs in almost all countries, and is not exclusive to any particular religion or society, TYTW focuses its programming in areas where child marriage is most egregious and underreported.
In northwestern Afghanistan, near the town of Herat, so many residents of Sufi-Abad have sold their kidneys that it has become widely known as “One Kidney Village.” Here, most homes lack electricity, water, heating systems, and even stoves.
Organ harvesting has catastrophic consequences, but many families feel they have no other choice. One village resident, 18-year-old Negina, has three young boys she struggles to feed. A year after her marriage, she sold one of her kidneys to help repay her husband’s debt. Negina continues to endure chronic complications from the surgery and is unable to produce milk to feed her infant son.
Now, Negina and her children are enrolled in TYTW’s Parwana Food Security, Education and Livelihoods Program, providing them with vital nutritional and livelihood support. They are among more than 1,500 Afghans TYTW supports in “One Kidney Village.”
Parents who are unable to find work sell their kidneys for around $1,500 USD, often using the money to repay loans taken to afford food.
When families cannot pay their debts, many are coerced into selling their daughters. “The people we have borrowed from harass us every day, saying give us your [two-year-old] daughter if you can't repay us," says a young Afghan mother who had borrowed money to buy a flock of sheep, all of which died in the recent floods.
Hunger is so acute that there are also reports of children being sedated to help them sleep. Sedatives, which cost significantly less than a single piece of bread, are known to cause chronic health problems in malnourished children – including liver failure, and sleep and behavior disorders.
In addition to the struggle to survive in a near-famine, Afghan women and girls have had their basic rights systematically stripped from them – losing their education, work, free movement, healthcare, and so much more – in what has become nothing short of a gender apartheid.
Suicides among women and girls are also on the rise. Made near-invisible, increasingly banished from public life, more girls each day see their autonomy, dignity, and hope fade farther into the distance.
Afghanistan remains the only country in the world where girls are deprived of their right to an education as a matter of policy. The regime has banned girls nationwide from post-primary schooling – all but ensuring that the majority will be forced into child marriage.
Named in honor of nine-year-old Parwana Malik who was sold into marriage in late 2021 and freed from her unlawful union by TYTW, our Parwana Food Security & Livelihoods Program feeds more than 8,000 individuals (roughly 800 families) per month. Our direct assistance also includes infant supplies, blankets, coats and coal depending on need. In a program overseen by several outstanding Afghan TYTW staff, we partner with locally-based organizations and a country-wide network of volunteers, employing a holistic community approach to our forced and child marriage interventions. Youth volunteers, civil society activists, faith-based leaders, and their combined trusted networks help identify beneficiaries from the most vulnerable populations of Badghis, Ghor and Herat provinces.
Despite the continuous horrifying rollbacks of women’s and girls’ rights, TYTW’s local team remains committed to protecting girls. Earlier this month we began implementing our girls’ education contingency plans, which include in-home study programs and virtual learning in collaboration with the Tawheed Robotics School. Education is the single-most effective preventative measure against child marriage.
Family sensitization dialogues are interwoven throughout TYTW’s programs and services. Local TYTW team members secure signed agreements from families pledging that they will not marry off their young daughters as a condition of receiving food and livelihood assistance.
The people of Afghanistan are experiencing one of the most profound impacts to their freedom and livelihoods in recent memory.
After receiving immediate food assistance, families enrolled in TYTW’s program receive customized livelihood services capitalizing on the existing skills, talents, and interests of each respective applicant and family. Vocations in the program include carpet weaving, tailoring/sewing, embroidery, beauty salon work, and poultry keeping, helping to create long-term financial security for families of vulnerable girls.
By equipping families with the skills and resources to realize their basic needs, families can provide for their daughters and keep them safely out of child marriages.
The program also provides continuous sensitization outreach and dialogue on the importance of protecting girls from the harms of child marriage.
Your support of the Parwana Food & Livelihoods Program will feed impoverished families today and support their near-term employment prospects, preventing more child marriage and helping to:
You’re also driving generational change -- as each girl who evades child marriage is more likely to prevent her own children from marrying early.
can help a widow or single mother feed her family for a week
183 claimed
can help launch a small business for a family in need
102 claimed
can educate a girl for three months
45 claimed
can feed a family for one month
95 claimed
can provide medical support for an organ harvesting survivor
13 claimed
can provide critically-needed heating & cooking materials (wood, stove) to four families
21 claimed
can feed 10 families for a month
7 claimed
Giving is better together! Your share could raise over 0.
https://www.launchgood.com/v4/campaign/afghan_girls_on_the_brink_stop_them_from_being_sold_1
“Whoever guides someone to goodness will have a reward like the one who did it.”
— Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
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Zarmina Samadi
SALAMAT ELAHI
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Eid Mubarak from Too Young to Wed
Dear Friends,
Thank you for standing with Too Young to Wed (TYTW). Together, we're creating a brighter, safer future for many of the world's most vulnerable girls and their families. Let us continue to unite against child marriage and protect the dreams of every girl.
As we celebrate Eid al-Fitr, we extend our heartfelt thanks to all who have supported TYTW’s initiatives, including our current campaign Protect Innocence: End the Sale of Afghan Girls. Your generosity in these blessed days brings strength to our mission to empower girls and end child marriage.
Eid Mubarak!
The TYTW Team
May your blessings abound as you transform lives through your generosity in this Lailatul Qadr (Night of Power)
A Salaam Alikum brothers and sisters,
We hope that all of you experienced a blessed Ramadan.
As we draw near to Lailatul Qadr (the Night of Power), let’s open our hearts and extend our compassion to ensure that those fasting in marginalized communities have enough to eat. We encourage you to consider generously donating to TYTW’s initiative Protect Innocence: End the Sale of Afghan Girls | LaunchGood and earn Sadaqah Jareyah (continuous rewards) by spreading awareness among your family and friends. Your act of kindness provides crucial support to more than 15,000 at-risk Afghans currently benefiting from TYTW's Parwana Program, including girls like Sediqa.
Eight-year-old Sediqa is one of five girls in her family who were sold into marriage. Sediqa’s father, Shaistal, at the age of 42, left home in Badghis province with his wife and children in the hope of finding relief from war and drought. They had heard, falsely, they could receive assistance at Shahrak-e-Sabz camp. Shaistal quickly fell into debt while trying to provide for his family. Desperate, he resorted to selling one of his kidneys to a man in need. However, he soon fell ill from an infection and accrued even more debt to cover the resulting hospital bills. Ultimately, he felt he had no other option but to sell his daughters. During a survey of vulnerable families, TYTW promptly enrolled Sediqa’s family in its programming to safeguard Sediqa and her sisters, and provide their family with immediate food, vocational training, and livelihood opportunities.
Your generous Sadaqah/Zakaat can help Sediqa, her siblings, and thousands of girls in similar situations to stay safe and provide them with the necessary support to build a better future. TYTW’s Parwana Program provides case management and family sensitization on child marriage, food to help meet immediate needs, education programming for girls, and start-up capital and livelihoods training to many of the most vulnerable and hard-to-reach Afghan girls and their families.
Thank you for your generosity and for actively contributing to the protection of girls from mistreatment.
With gratitude,
The Too Young to Wed (TYTW) Team
Help End Child Marriage this Ramadan
Benazir, 10, seen here making bread.
Dear Friends,
Ramadan Mubarak!
We at Too Young to Wed (TYTW) are reaching out with profound thanks for your generous support of our past campaigns. We encourage you to visit the page of TYTW’s 2024 Ramadan campaign and learn more about some of the incredible families you can empower through your donations: Protect Innocence: End the Sale of Afghan Girls | LaunchGood
Your kindness has played a vital role in our mission to combat child marriage and protect girls like Benazir, pictured above. At just seven years old, Benazir was sold into marriage by her father. Burdened with the impossibility of feeding his eight children, her father saw no other choice. However, the generosity of supporters like you allowed TYTW to step in, and we successfully worked with the family and community leaders to annul Benazir’s marriage. Additionally, through our holistic family support programming, TYTW provided her father with vocational support to open his own shop -- bolstering the family’s self-reliance and paving the way for Benazir to pursue her dreams of education instead of being bound by the chains of child marriage.
Your generosity not only transforms lives like Benazir’s but also resonates as a ray of hope in our collective fight to end child marriage. Throughout this holy time, we encourage you to share our mission with your friends and family. Spreading the word about TYTW’s current campaign significantly amplifies the impact of your support, bringing us closer to a world where every young girl has the opportunity to thrive. Together, we can create lasting change for so many deserving girls just like Benazir.
In Solidarity,
The TYTW Team
As seen on CNN: “We are left with nothing”
“I got trapped under debris twice," said Fatima to our TYTW team members, now featured in this CNN piece. The first time, Fatima was brought to safety by her family. The second time she went to save her children, the house collapsed, and she lost consciousness. She woke up to discover that all seven of her children, ages four months to fourteen years, were killed. "I have experienced a great deal of pain and sorrow... we've lost everything in our life; nothing remains."
Fatima, like the majority of Afghanistan’s women and children, were at home when the earthquake struck, which explains the UN’s staggering statistic: 90% of those killed and injured in the earthquake were women and children. CNN spoke to TYTW’s Founder Stephanie Sinclair who explained why.
“Instead of being at school and at work, they were home, confined to their homes, imprisoned in their homes. It’s a country where half the population is under house arrest.”
Yesterday, another earthquake struck. Then came the sandstorms, blowing away tents sheltering the thousands left without homes. And now, winter is approaching. The reality is that already a third of Afghans do not know where to find their next meal. The UN is struggling to raise funds for Afghanistan. Countries are tired of Taliban blockades.
But TYTW remains steadfast. We are on the ground in Herat with emergency assistance, and we remain committed to our work, providing funds, education, and livelihood support to prevent families from selling their little girls into marriage just to make ends meet.
Your donations, generously matched by the Isabel Allende Foundation, enable us to reach more and more girls in need.
In solidarity,
The TYTW Team
URGENT Appeal: Afghanistan Earthquake Relief for Children and Families
Dear Friends,
We want to take a moment to express our heartfelt gratitude for your generosity toward TYTW’s past campaigns. Your compassion has made an immeasurable difference in the lives of countless girls and families.
Today, we write to you with a heavy heart, seeking your support once again in a time of great urgency. A catastrophic 6.3 magnitude earthquake, followed by a number of strong aftershocks, recently struck Herat province in Afghanistan. The toll of these disasters has been devastating, with nearly 3,000 people losing their lives and countless more made homeless.
In the face of this tragedy, our dedicated local team has acted swiftly and decisively. We immediately mobilized to deliver crucial relief, providing meals to 1,000 people on the very day the earthquake struck, before most organizations were even on the ground. However, the road to recovery will be a long and arduous one.
To contribute to our relief efforts, please visit our donation page here. Your gift can make a significant impact in protecting and uplifting the lives of those affected by this tragedy.
Our commitment extends beyond the initial emergency relief phase. We are resolute in our mission to support the women who have tragically become widows due to the earthquake. Our focus will shift towards providing livelihood training and essential psychosocial support, empowering them to regain their dignity and, hopefully, achieve long-term self-sufficiency, even in the face of current restrictions.
Your compassion and support have been a driving force behind our mission. Thank you for being a vital part of the TYTW family. Together, we can provide the hope and relief that these families so desperately need in this trying time.
With heartfelt thanks and warm regards,
The TYTW Team
Thank You!
Nazia, 10, Amena, 10, and Benazir, 9, are friends, and are seen playing together. Photo by Oriene Zerah.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Our sincerest thanks to all who have supported TYTW during our LaunchGood campaign Afghan Girls on the Brink: Stop Them From Being Sold.
Your generosity has helped protect thousands of girls from being sold – girls like 10-year-old Nazia, 10-year-old Amena, and 9-year-old Benazir, who come from some of the most vulnerable communities in Afghanistan. Last year, Amena was being sold to a man 20 years older than her to pay off her family’s debts, when TYTW was notified of her situation. Benazir had also been sold as a “bride” for around $2,000. Both of their families were experiencing extreme poverty, and had no other choice. Too Young To Wed worked with both families and community faith leaders to cancel their marriages, and the girls are now home and have been enrolled in our Parwana Food Security, Education, and Livelihood program, which provided food assistance and educational opportunities for the girls and their families.
Your support helps TYTW’s Parwana Program reach over 8,000 vulnerable Afghans every month, providing girls like Nazia, Amena, and Benazir and their families with case management and family sensitization on child marriage, food to help meet immediate needs, education programming for girls, and start-up capital and livelihoods training. This critical work would not be possible without the support of our incredible community.
Thank you for transforming the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable girls. We are so grateful you are with us on this journey.
With immense gratitude,
The TYTW Team
Eid Mubarak!
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
As we welcome Eid, we wish you love, blessings and peace during these holy days and every day!
Your support of our campaign Afghan Girls on the Brink: Stop Them From Being Sold helps us reach more than 8,000 vulnerable girls and their families with vital emergency services, providing them the resources and freedom to celebrate this joyous occasion. Your generosity is changing the lives of Afghan girls. We can’t thank you enough for your support.
With immense gratitude,
The TYTW Team
Make Eid Memorable for Pari and Qandi Gul
Pari, 15, and her sister Qandi, 14, seen after receiving a food distribution from TYTW. Click here to watch footage taken of the girls and their aunt, explaining their situation and the impact this food will have on their lives.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We would like to express our deep appreciation for your generous support of our campaign, Afghan Girls on the Brink: Stop Them From Being Sold.
Please continue to share this campaign with your family and friends, as a generous anonymous donor will MATCH all contributions made through the end of the day today. Your generous share can help protect thousands of families who are struggling to survive, like sisters Pari and Qandi Gul.
Today, we are highlighting the stories of two sisters, 15-year-old Pari, and 14-year-old Qandi, who used to scavenge for food through a heap of garbage. Their aunt, already struggling to provide food for her own five children, took on the added responsibility of two additional mouths to feed, raising the two girls after their parents passed away. The family would often only eat one meal a day. Hearing about their situation, TYTW quickly enrolled the family in our Parwana Program, providing a food package to fulfill their basic needs, and allowing the girls to stop working and go to school. “Receiving this aid solves so many of our problems. I won’t have to send the girls again to search for garbage,” the girl’s aunt said.
Thank you so much for helping us support over 8,000 of the most vulnerable Afghan girls and their families, providing them with case management and family sensitization on child marriage, food to help meet immediate needs, education programming for girls, and start-up capital and livelihoods training.
We would also be very grateful if you consider signing up for our e-newsletter to stay informed of the impact your contribution makes.
Sincerely,
Basir Ahmad Mohamadi
Regional Director for Afghanistan, Pakistan, & Iran
DOUBLE Your Impact: Help 10-Year-Old Aziza Now
Aziza, 10, and her siblings sit with their grandfather, Abdul, after receiving nutritional food from TYTW. Click here to watch Abdul speak about the impact your giving has had in their lives.
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
We are truly grateful for your generous support of our campaign, Afghan Girls on the Brink: Stop Them From Being Sold. As we approach Eid, we are reminded of the many vulnerable Afghan girls who may not have the fortune to celebrate this joyous occasion.
Before receiving a critical food distribution from TYTW, Abdul and his grandchildren, including Aziza, 10, were on the brink of starvation. His family had nothing to eat, and he could not afford fuel and wood to keep his family warm during the brutal Afghanistan winter. Abdul emphasized that without TYTW’s aid, he may have been forced to choose between selling his granddaughter or watching the rest of his family starve, and perhaps die, from the cold.
Thanks to the generosity of supporters like you, Abdul and his family are now enrolled in our Parwana Program, which has provided the family with emergency food assistance, fuel for the winter, and schooling options for Aziza, protecting her from child marriage.
As we prepare to welcome Eid, let’s not forget the joy of giving and showing our support for girls like Aziza by sharing this campaign with your family and friends. Today and until the first day of the Eid, your gift will go twice as far. Thanks to the generosity of an anonymous donor, all donations received between today, April 18, and Saturday, April 22, will be matched up to $15,000.
Your generous support allows us to help over 8,000 of the most vulnerable Afghan girls and their families, providing them with case management and family sensitization on child marriage, food to help meet immediate needs, education programming for girls, and start-up capital and livelihoods training.
We would be very grateful if you consider signing up for our newsletter to stay informed of the impact your contribution makes, as well as sharing this information with your family and friends to gain Sadaqah al Jareya.
May we all embrace the true spirit of Eid by giving and supporting the most vulnerable girls like Qandi and Pari and provide them with the opportunity to celebrate the joys of Eid.
Sincerely,
Basir Ahmad Mohamadi
TYTW Regional Director for Afghanistan, Pakistan, & Iran
Fariha, Forced to Marry at 6, Needs Your Help This Lailatul Qadr
Fariha, 14, sits with the food she received from TYTW.
A Salaam Alikum my brothers and sisters,
11-year-old Magul Freed from Forced Marriage
Magul smiles next to her sister. Photo by Oriane Zerah.
Dear Friends,
Ramadan Mubarak! Thank you to everyone who has supported TYTW thus far during our LaunchGood campaign Afghan Girls on the Brink: Stop Them From Being Sold.
Today, we are sharing the story of 11-year-old Magul, who was previously sold to a 70-year-old man to settle her family’s debts. After CNN’s coverage of her story notified us of her situation, TYTW worked with the families and community leaders to cancel her marriage. Now, Magul is one of 8,000 Afghans currently enrolled in TYTW’s Parwana Program, which provides case management and family sensitization on child marriage, food to help meet immediate needs, education programming for girls, and start-up capital and livelihoods training – all made possible thanks to your generosity.
We would be very grateful if you would also consider signing up for our newsletter to stay informed of the impact your contribution makes, as well as sharing this information with your family and friends, helping TYTW fulfill our mission to empower girls and end child marriage globally.
Thank you for transforming the lives of some of the world’s most vulnerable girls.
With gratitude,
Stephanie Sinclair & the TYTW Team
15-Year-Old Bibi Gul Receives New Prosthesis After Accident
With the help of her mother, Bibi Gul re-learns to walk. Bibi was taken with her family to Kabul where she spent weeks in rehabilitation with the Kabul Orthopedic Organization and A Leg To Stand On. Photos by Oriane Zerah, 2022.
Dear Friends,
Ramadan Mubarak! Our sincerest thanks to all who have supported TYTW thus far during our LaunchGood campaign Afghan Girls on the Brink: Stop Them From Being Sold.
Today, we are sharing the story of Bibi Gul, 15, pictured above, who was recently able to receive a new prosthetic leg after a horrific car accident late last year. Severely wounded in a country with limited medical professionals, facilities, and supplies, she was forced to have her lower leg amputated. In the hospital, Bibi Gul was most concerned about school, as this new challenge to her mobility presented yet another barrier to her education.
Bibi is one of more than 8,000 Afghans your donations help support through TYTW’s Parwana Food Security, Education, & Livelihoods program, which provides case management and family sensitization on child marriage, food to help meet immediate needs, education programming for girls, and start-up capital and livelihoods training. We cannot thank you enough for your generosity, which provides critical support and brings positive change to the lives of some of the most vulnerable girls and their families.
Thank you for standing with us in our continued demand that the girls and women of Afghanistan have their voices heard and their rights upheld.
Sincerely,
Stephanie Sinclair & the TYTW Team
12-Year-Old Fariba Receives Support After Orphanage Closure
Fariba, 12, helps her mother, Naghma Gul, prepare bread for their family at home. Photo by Oriane Zerah, 2022.
Dear Friends,
Ramadan Mubarak! Our sincerest thanks to all who have supported TYTW thus far during our Launchgood campaign Afghan Girls on the Brink: Stop Them From Being Sold.
Your generosity is helping TYTW provide families in desperate situations the resources necessary to realize their basic needs, stopping them from being forced to sell their body parts- or worse, their children- to survive. You are reaching families like Naghma’s, whose lives have been upended since the fall of Kabul in 2021.
Naghma, 30, is a widowed mother of five. After her husband was killed three years ago by militants, Naghma was forced to place Fariba (pictured) and her eldest daughter, Arezoo, in an orphanage as she was unable to care for all of her children alone. However, the orphanage closed after the current regime came to power. TYTW’s team connected with Naghma and her family to enroll them in our programming, and Arezoo and Fariba have been able to continue their education, despite the ban on post-primary schooling, through online and alternative schooling options that our team has initiated. Your support of TYTW’s programming is helping this family become self-sufficient through food assistance, educational support, and startup capital for Naghma.
Thank you for your generosity and for standing with us in our continued demand that the girls and women of Afghanistan have their voices heard and their rights upheld.
In solidarity,
Stephanie Sinclair & the TYTW Team
Giving is better together! Your share could raise over 0.
https://www.launchgood.com/v4/campaign/afghan_girls_on_the_brink_stop_them_from_being_sold_1
“Whoever guides someone to goodness will have a reward like the one who did it.”
— Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
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Giving is better together! Your share could raise over 0.
https://www.launchgood.com/v4/campaign/afghan_girls_on_the_brink_stop_them_from_being_sold_1
“Whoever guides someone to goodness will have a reward like the one who did it.”
— Prophet Muhammad ﷺ
