“…..10 participants ages 14-19….I would walk with the girls to the subway. I would hear snippets of their conversations with each other about their home lives…..I couldn’t imagine how these giggly high school girls could possibly transition to be someone’s wife once they left the playful space of our girls’ group.” -Sauti Yetu, A Closer Look at Forced and Early Marriage in African Immigrant Communities in NYC.

This quote definitely made an impression on me as well as being open and honest about the harsh and taboo truths of forced and early marriage. I, like this author, could never fathom the possibility of a teenager, let alone in the United States, be already married before finishing high school. It is one of those topics that is heavily shrouded and not discussed at all within American society. At first, I couldn’t believe that forced and early marriage even existed in the United States while reading this report because the only time I ever actually heard about this being a problem was in Africa, Middle East and Southeast Asia.

While reading this report, I found it amusing how many of the newly or recently arrived immigrants from Africa would do anything to avoid being forced into an early marriage and some were even willing to go through the possibility of being homeless just to avoid being married so young. However, there is a very fine line between being loyal and disobeying your family’s own wishes to pursuing what you believe is being successful-an education. I think that is the hardest thing about being a woman is women are always constantly pressured and questioned as to when they are getting married or when are they going to start having kids. I know I’ve encountered these questions more frequently since I’ve turned 26. Like Mariama and the many other girls who participated in this study,  I want to finish my studies first before settling down and having a family. I want and strive to be an educated woman because I’ve noticed women in my family or friends that I went to high school with have stopped going to school or pursue a full fledge career since they got married.

Why don’t men feel the pressure or need to give up their goals for to settle down to marry just like women? It’s an uphill battle, but it is something that needs to be address and dealt with in schools.