Once almost ending up as a child bride, this Afghan woman now raps to end child marriage

Bengaluru, Sept 24: For 21-year-old Sonita Alizadeh from Herat, Afghanistan, life has been a stunning experience. Many years ago, her parents had considered selling her for marriage (!) so to pay for the bride of her elder brother. Sonita faced this painful experience while she aspired to get more education in her life. But the odds could not discourage her and unlike several of her peers around the world who find it difficult to cope with such circumstances, the young girl took up the challenge in a unique way. She turned into a rap singer and turned her song "Brides for Sale" into a YouTube video that went viral, reported Mashable. Now, Sonita is engaged in a crusade against child marriage.

On Sunday, September 23, Sonita unveiled a new song "Brave and Bold" at the 2018 Social Good Summit in New York City. The indomitable girl also received the education after moving to Utah, USA, and she got her diploma. She is now planning to get into colleges. Way to go girl!

Sonita also spoke over emails to Mashable where she advised people on how to advocate against child marriage.

She said she had been meeting young people who were working in their respective countries on helping girls and that inspired her. She said the thinking on how to bring a change begins with a decision to become 'brave' and 'bold'. "I think that it starts with a decision to be brave and bold - to really do something. And young people are doing it. Whether it is working to end child marriage or to addressing another problem they see! I want to share these kinds of stories and inspire more people to do the same. The problems of the world can keep us down. Let's focus on what we can do. It's a lot! We can all be brave and bold," she was quoted as saying.

She said although the number of child marriages has come down across the world from 15 million to 12 million a year, still there is a lot of work to do on that front since a whopping 12 million dreams are yet lost.

She also advised people to educate themselves more so that they can also help change things in some way. "Understanding a problem is half the solution. Every one of us have the power to take an action. I want people who are relatively safe to speak up for the ones who are in danger. We can do that. Each one of us are powerful and our voices are powerful force for change. We will make the path for the next generation," she said.