Diana’s Story — October 2024

Rebuilding a Life After Forced Child Marriage

Diana, now 25 and a mother of five, carries a story marked by loss, fear, and extraordinary resilience. At just 13 years old, after her father died in combat, her mother married her off to a 40-year-old man in hopes of lifting the family out of poverty.

“I cried because I was too young. I didn’t understand marriage, but I had no choice,” Diana recalls.

The dowry her family expected never came—instead, the man gave only the equivalent of 30 USD.

Her childhood ended instantly. She stopped school and was confined to a life of fear and control. When she became pregnant, her husband abandoned her to live with another wife, visiting only occasionally. She raised her first child alone, still a child herself.

Years later, she now has five children—but no financial independence.

That is where the Women’s Impact Fund stepped in.

The program helped Diana start a small roadside business selling doughnuts and samosas, giving her a pathway toward income and stability. For the first time, she is beginning to gain a voice in her own life.

Diana knows the journey ahead will not be easy, but she believes that with support, she can build a future free from fear and full of possibility—for herself and her children.