Married at 15, Chakraman Shreshta Balami fulfilled his dying father's wish by getting married — at age 15. He had to give up his dream of becoming a doctor. Now the vice principal of Sri Bhavani government school, he campaigns against child marriage — but even his son was married as a teenager. Above, he poses with a grandchild. Stephanie Sinclair for NPR hide caption
Judy Wiegand, who was married when she was 13, speaks in favor of Senate Bill 35, which would raise the minimum age to be married to 16. Ethan Hyman/AP hide caption
Henna tattoos decorate a bride's hands. A new ruling by the Supreme Court of India says that sex with any underage girl, even if she's a bride, is considered an act of rape. So child brides age 15 to 18 now have the same legal protection that younger girls do. Arijit Mondal/Getty Images hide caption
Jacqueline de Chollet of Switzerland, now 78, helped found the Veerni Institute, which gives child brides and other girls in northern India a chance to continue their education. Yana Paskova for NPR hide caption
Neetu trains nearly 8 hours a day at a wrestling facility in Rohtak, India. Her coach says, "She doesn't take a break for even one minute." Poulomi Basu/for NPR hide caption
In this November 2015 photo, A 17-year-old mother sits with her baby in the Inhassune village, in southern Mozambique. In Mozambique there are no laws preventing child marriages and existing child protection laws offer loopholes. If a community decides that a girl is to be married in a traditional ceremony, with or without her consent, lawmakers are powerless to intervene. Shiraaz Mohamed/AP hide caption
Girls start the day with a prayer at the Veerni Institute in Jodhpur, India. It's a boarding school where nearly half the students are child brides. Poulomi Basu/VII Photo hide caption