Qacha’s Nek — In Matebeng, a village in the Qacha’s Nek district, where child marriage is tragically common, a 19 year-old woman reflects on the painful consequences of her decision to marry at just 15.
Pressured by peers and disregarding her father’s advice to stay in school, she now deeply regrets the choice that shaped the last three years of her life.
“I regret it because I am now alone and the friends I listened to are nowhere to be found,” she shared with the Agency.
Her marriage, which lasted from 2020 to 2023 was a struggle from the start. After only dating her ex-husband for a week, their relationship quickly deteriorated. The final straw came when her ex’s grandmother accused her of being unable to have children.
