Unchained At Last urges you to join the upcoming Chain-In to protest child marriage and forced marriage in New Jersey and across the US.
Be among the survivors, activists and supporters who will stand outside Newark Penn Station wearing bridal gowns and veils, with arms chained and mouths taped, to send a powerful message to legislators: Pass A3091, the bill to end child marriage in New Jersey.
Unchained is proud and grateful that the survivors, activists and allies who will address the crowd at the the Chain-In include:
Unchained also is proud and grateful that Girls Not Brides has granted permission for protesters at the Chain-In to sing “We Are Girls, Not Brides,” a haunting song written by girls in Zambia. Click on the image below to watch the girls in Zambia perform “We Are Girls, Not Brides.”
Child marriage – or marriage before age 18 – is a human-rights abuse that undermines girls’ health, education and economic opportunities and increases their risk of experiencing violence. Often, too, child marriage is forced marriage: Children can easily be forced into or trapped within a marriage, because they cannot easily access legal and other resources.
Yet child marriage is legal in all 50 U.S. states, and tens of thousands of children were married in the U.S. in the last decade. In New Jersey, nearly 3,500 children as young as 13 were married between 1995 and 2012.
And forced marriage happens to adults too, but the US has long lagged behind other countries in acknowledging and responding to this human rights abuse.
The solution? Let’s start by reserving marriage, a serious legal contract, for those who have reached the age of majority. Let’s Chain-In to grab New Jersey legislators’ attending and make sure they pass A3091, the pending bill that would end child marriage.
Q: I don’t have a bridal gown and veil. What should I do?
A: No problem. Wear a white top, and Unchained will provide a free veil and a “skirt” you can wear over your own clothing. (Note: You are encouraged to wear a gown and veil regardless of your gender identity.)
Q: I prefer not to wear bridal clothing and/or not to chain my arms or tape my mouth. May I still join the Chain-In?
A: Absolutely!
Q: Should I bring my own chains and tape?
A: No, do not bring your own chains and tape. Unchained will provide free plastic chains, as well as free tape that is comfortable even on sensitive skin.
Q: Is this legal?
A: Yes, the Chain-In is completely legitimate. Unchained has the backing of the First Amendment, as well as a permit from the New Jersey Transit Police Department to hold a protest on Newark Penn Station property.
Q: How much does it cost to join the Chain-In?
A: Nothing. Joining the Chain-In is free – but please consider donating to Unchained to help offset the cost of the Chain-In and to help women and girls across the US who are fleeing forced marriages.
Q: Where is the exact Chain-In location?
A: The Chain-In will be held outside Newark Penn Station, on Market Street. From inside the train station, exit toward Market Street Buses, between Track 4 and Track 5.
Q: What time does the Chain-In begin and end?
A: Please arrive at 4:30 p.m. to sign in and get into Chain-In attire. The actual Chain-In will begin at 5 p.m. and end by 6 p.m.
Q: Will the Chain-In proceed in case of bad weather?
A: The Chain-In location is under an overpass, protected from the elements. The protest will proceed no matter what the weather brings.
Q: How else can I help end child and forced marriage?
A: Whether or not you can join the Chain-In, please take these steps:
~ Spread the word about the Chain-In by emailing your friends and posting about it on social media using the hashtags #UnchainNJ and #PassA3091.
~ Urge key lawmakers to pass A3091, the bill currently pending in New Jersey to end child marriage, and similar bills in other states. It’s easy to do: Just submit these pre-filled emails.
~ Support Unchained financially. Even a small donation makes a huge difference to a woman or a girl fleeing a forced marriage.
~ Stay updated on news about forced marriage in the U.S. Join the Unchained mailing list, “like” Unchained on Facebook, and follow Unchained on Twitter.
~ Volunteer your time to help a woman or a girl who is facing a forced marriage. Unchained relies on the kindness of pro bono attorneys, psychotherapists and others. Details here.
Unchained is the only organization in the US dedicated to helping women and girls leave or avoid arranged/forced marriages and rebuild their lives. Unchained provides women and girls with free legal and social services and emotional support.
Unchained is also the only nonprofit in the US dedicated to promoting social and policy change to prevent forced marriage. Unchained raises awareness about forced marriage and advocates for relevant legislation.
Questions about the Chain-In? Email info@unchainedatlast.org or call (908) 481-HOPE.
As we at Unchained At Last continue our work to end child marriage in the US, we need something from you: We need you to make your voice heard. We need you to tell legislators and governors that you, too, demand an end to child marriage.
We made it easy for you to do. Just click here to submit pre-filled emails to all the right people.
Child marriage, or marriage in which one or both parties is under age 18, is a human-rights abuse that “produces devastating repercussions for a girl’s life, effectively ending her childhood,” according to the US State Department.
Shockingly, though, while most US states set 18 as the minimum marriage age, exceptions in every state allow child marriage.
We are in the process of retrieving data from all 50 states on the number of children wed recently. The project is not yet complete, but the numbers already are alarming: At least tens of thousands of children, as young as 12, were married in the US in the last decade. Almost all the children were girls, and almost all were married to adult men – many at ages or with age differences that constitute statutory rape.
The dangers of child marriage are clear. Children can easily be forced into or trapped within a marriage, because they face overwhelming legal and practical barriers if they try to leave home, access a shelter, retain an attorney or bring a legal action such as a divorce.
Furthermore, marriage before age 18 undermines girls’ health, education and economic opportunities and increases their risk of experiencing violence. Read more.
We cannot allow this human-rights abuse to continue.
We started a national conversation about America’s child marriage problem with an op-ed in the New York Timesin October 2015. Since then, four states introduced legislation to end child marriage:
With your help, we hope eventually to pass legislation in every US state ending all child marriage, with no exceptions.
Please make your voice heard to convince legislators of the importance of this legislation.
Also, get others to make their voices heard. Forward this email to at least five friends and ask them to submit emails too, and post messages like this on social media: <I sent emails via @unchainedatlast urging legislators to #endchildmarriage & I hope you’ll #makeyourvoiceheard too! www.unchainedatlast.org>
If enough of us make our voices heard, legislators and governors will have no choice but to listen. Let’s get the bill passed in New Jersey, and then go state by state until we end child marriage in the US.
Child, Early and Forced Marriage Worldwide and in New YorkDate: May 25, 2016
Time: 7 p.m. to 9 p.m.
Location: Scarsdale Library, Scott Room
Address: 54 Olmsted Road, Scarsdale, NY
Join New York Assemblywoman Amy Paulin, award-winning photojournalist Stephanie Sinclair, Unchained’s Fraidy Reiss and Sanctuary for Families’ Sayoni Maitra for:
– Exclusive showing of Sinclair’s stunning photo series of child brides, titled Too Young to Wed
– Lively discussion of the human rights and developmental impacts of child, early and forced marriage
For more information, contact Paulin’s district office at paulina@assembly.state.ny.us or (914) 723-1115.
Our executive director, Fraidy Reiss, testified today before the NJ assembly judiciary committee, urging legislators to support A3091 and end child marriage in New Jersey. The committee will vote on the bill in the coming months.
You can help end child marriage in the US: Sign the petition!
“Please! Let’s work together to end child marriage across the US and around the world.”
That’s how Unchained’s executive director, Fraidy Reiss, concluded her address to nearly 100 people who attended a Commission on the Status of Women (CSW60) side event about child marriage. The event was organized by BPW International.
Various speakers talked about child marriage in various African countries and New Zealand, but Reiss shocked the audience with two facts:
1) Child marriage is legal in all 50 US states.
2) Child marriage is happening at an alarming rate across the US. Thousands of children as young as 12 have married recently in this country.
Have you noticed cameras following us lately?
We at Unchained At Last are proud to announce that the media and production company Women Rising has approached us and secured the rights to our story and the story of our founder/executive director, Fraidy Reiss.
Sara Hirsh Bordo, who directed the award-winning film A Brave Heart: The Lizzie Velasquez Story, will direct and produce a documentary film about our work to end forced marriage in the US. Full production will begin in the fall.
We at Unchained At Last are delighted to announce that our founder, Fraidy Reiss, has been nominated for the prestigious DVF People’s Voice Award – and you can help us win.
The DVF Awards were created in 2010 by Diane von Furstenberg and the Diller-von Furstenberg Family Foundation to honor and support extraordinary women who have had the courage to fight, the power to survive and the leadership to inspire. The awards recognize women who have transformed the lives of others through their commitment, resources and visibility.
Do you agree that Fraidy fits that description? We hope you do, because the People’s Voice Award is chosen by popular vote from four nominees, with voting open to the public until March 27.
Please VOTE NOW, and get everyone you know to do the same. If we win, we will receive $50,000 to help women fleeing forced marriages, and we will be recognized at an awards ceremony on April 7 at the United Nations headquarters on the occasion of the Women in the World conference.
~ EMAIL: Forward this email to at least 10 people you know who care about ending forced marriage and child marriage. Ask them to vote too, and ask each of them to forward the email to 10 more people.
~ TWEET: Take to Twitter. Here’s a sample tweet: <<A vote for @UnchainedAtLast to win #DVFAwards is a vote to end #forcedmarriage & #childmarriage. Vote & RT now! http://on.dvf.com/O34Z0Z>>
~ POST: Get on Facebook and other social media platforms. Here’s a sample post: <<Help win $50,000 for women fleeing forced marriages – and help end #forcedmarriage and #childmarriage in the US – by voting for @UnchainedAtLast to win the @DVF People’s Voice Award! Please vote now and please share this post. http://on.dvf.com/O34Z0Z>>
~ TALK: Tell everyone you know about Unchained’s nomination for the DVF Award.
Fraidy Reiss’ family considers her dead.
When Fraidy was 19, her family arranged her marriage, per the custom in their insular religious community in Brooklyn. She discovered only a week after her wedding that her new husband was violent – and that she was trapped. Her family refused to help her; she had no way to support herself or, soon, her two daughters; and she faced religious laws that allowed only men to grant a divorce.
Fraidy was trapped for 12 years before she escaped, by earning a college degree and financial independence. Her family declared her dead, but she rebuilt her life with her two daughters and went on to found Unchained At Last, the only US nonprofit dedicated to providing free legal and social services to help women and girls escape arranged/forced marriages.
Unchained has been featured in the New York Times, written and passed important legislation, presented at the White House, and provided crucial, often life-saving services to hundreds of women and girls – many whose families have declared them dead.
Actually, they are very much alive, and part of a growing, thriving new family: Unchained At Last.
Click here to read a New York Times story about Fraidy. titled Woman Breaks Through Chains of Forced Marriage, and Helps Others Do the Same.
Click here to read an op-ed Fraidy wrote in the New York Times in October, titled America’s Child Marriage Problem. The op-ed started a national conversation about child marriage in the US and helped lead to legislation currently pending in four states to end child marriage.
Unchained today testified before the Maryland House Judiciary Committee in support of HB911, which would end child marriage in Maryland.
Currently, child marriage is legal in all 50 US states, and thousands of children, as young as 10, have married in recent years. Del. Vanessa Atterbeary introduced HB911 last month, after reading the New York Times op-ed Unchained wrote about “America’s Child Marriage Problem.”
Three other states, New York, New Jersey and Virginia, also introduced similar legislation after the op-ed was published. Unchained’s goal is to see all 50 states introduce and pass legislation to end child marriage in America. Details here.
Some 40 guests joined the Kilpatrick Townsend Women’s Initiative and Unchained at Last tonight in New York City for a screening of the film DIFRET, followed by cocktails and hors d’oeuvres. Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton generously hosted the event to benefit Unchained, the only nonprofit in the US dedicated to helping women and girls leave or avoid arranged/forced marriages.
From executive producer Angelina Jolie Pitt, the award-winning drama DIFRET is based on the true story of 14-year-old Hirut, who is abducted in her Ethiopian village’s tradition of kidnapping girls for marriage. She fights back, accidentally killing her captor and intended husband. Local law demands a death sentence for Hirut, but Meaza, a tough lawyer from a women’s legal-aid practice, steps in to fight for Hirut and against a deeply rooted tradition.
Kilpatrick Townsend & Stockton is an international law firm with 18 offices and some 550 attorneys that is particularly well known for its intellectual-property practice. The firm, which has won numerous awards for community service, has shown exceptional generosity to Unchained: A team of Kilpatrick Townsend attorneys recently represented an Unchained client pro bono through her divorce proceeding, as she fled an arranged marriage.
The Kilpatrick Townsend Women’s Initiative is focused on driving the growth of the firm’s business, building the firm’s talent pipeline and assuring the inclusion of women at the firm. Unchained is deeply grateful to the Kilpatrick Townsend Women’s Initiative for hosting this film-and-fundraising event to benefit Unchained.
Unchained’s work to end child marriage in the US was in the spotlight last night on Al Jazeera America television.
“This [child marriage] is legal in the United States, and this is happening in the United States,” Fraidy Reiss, Unchained’s executive director, told Al Jazeera.
Unchained and its allies are pushing to end child marriage in all 50 states. So far, four states have introduced legislation to end the practice: Maryland, New Jersey, New York and Virginia.
