Too Young to Wed Founder Stephanie Sinclair Shares the Organization’s Work to End Child Marriage
RCB President Chuck Redden with Rotaract President Jessica Poor, Stephanie Sinclair, Basir Mohamadi and Rotarian Will Ratliff
This week the Rotary Club of Birmingham hosted a joint meeting with the Rotaract Club of Birmingham featuring Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer and 2023 International Peace Conference presenter Stephanie Sinclair. She founded and serves as Executive Director of the nonprofit organization Too Young to Wed (TYTW) and was joined by her colleague Basir Mohamadi, TYTW Regional Director for South Asia.
Sinclair shared how her work as a news photographer sparked a desire to cover international stories. Working overseas, she witnessed the devastating toll of armed conflict and the effect it has on the female members of communities.
“I found that the world was so interesting and there was nothing that I would create on my own that was more interesting than what I would witness traveling the world,” Sinclair said. “It was clear to me that women and girls were disproportionately impacted in impact zones.”
Sinclair shared the powerful images she has captured to illustrate the harsh realities of war in countries such as Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the human rights challenges faced by women and girls around the world. Her multimedia series “Too Young to Wed inspired the creation of a nonprofit by the same name that amplifies the women’s voices to generate attention, passion, and resources and to inspire the global community to act to end child marriage. Sinclair shared how TYTW facilitates local programs and services that form a holistic wellbeing and empowerment model for girls vulnerable to child marriage.
“If you raise the age of marriage, you’re going to reduce cyclical poverty because girls will stay in school longer, they will be able to bring more to their communities through their income, they will have better health and well-being, hunger will be reduced, peace will increased,” Sinclair said. “There are so many things that will be addressed if we can just do this one thing.”
Mohamadi shared the reality of life for women in Afghanistan and the essential work the organization does to provide food, education and other opportunities to the most vulnerable in the region.
Rotary Peace Fellows from around the world attended the meeting ahead of the 2023 International Peace Conference.
About the Speakers
In a career that’s spanned over two decades, Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Stephanie Sinclair has used her images to put faces to some of the world’s most serious gender and human rights issues. Her widely published images of armed conflict in places like Iraq, Afghanistan, Yemen, and Lebanon refute characterizations of violence in anything but human terms. Although she has covered the dramatic events of war, many of Ms. Sinclair’s most arresting works confront the everyday brutality faced by young girls around the world. Her studies of domestic life bring into sharp relief the physical and emotional tolls that entrenched social conventions can take on those most vulnerable to abuse. Ms. Sinclair’s images mark an exchange of trust and compassion. By consenting to be photographed at their most vulnerable, those depicted simultaneously demonstrate bravery and hope.
The ongoing capstone of Ms. Sinclair’s career is her 18-year multimedia series, Too Young to Wed (TYTW), which examines the deeply troubling practice of early, forced and child marriage as it appears in a variety of communities around the world today. The series has earned numerous global accolades, including three World Press Photo awards and numerous prestigious exhibitions including the United Nations (2012, 2014) and the Whitney Biennial (2010) in New York.
Beyond photography, Ms. Sinclair has shepherded the TYTW series into a nonprofit organization of the same name whose mission is to empower girls and end child marriage. As TYTW’s Founding Executive Director, Ms. Sinclair has sought to use the power of storytelling to provide visual evidence of the human rights challenges faced by girls and women around the world. The organization amplifies the voices of courageous girls and women in order to generate attention, passion, and resources and to inspire the global community to act to end child marriage. But Ms. Sinclair is not content to simply draw attention to the issue. TYTW also transforms influential advocacy into tangible action on the ground through a continuum of programs and services that form a holistic wellbeing and empowerment model for girls vulnerable to child marriage. As they navigate different paths toward realizing their full rights as girls and young women, TYTW supports vulnerable girls with innovative, survivor-centered programming at each stage of their journey. Emergency protective services aid girls with shelter, counseling, legal and medical services as they safely exit forced marriages. Therapeutic workshops, survivor-led mentoring, and leadership development programs empower girls to reclaim their bodies and narratives as they heal from trauma. Educational, vocational, and recreational programs equip girls with lifelong tools for independence, while preventing them from entering or returning to child marriages. Reunification, reconciliation, and advocacy programs mobilize girls to become change agents who transform their own communities.
Basir Mohamadi is a highly accomplished professional with extensive experience in international and national governmental affairs. He holds Bachelor's and Master's degrees in International Relations and Diplomacy, and is a seasoned expert in leadership and diplomacy, policy analysis and program design, risk assessment, and resource management.
Notably, Mohamadi served as the Director General of International-Community Relations and Coordination directly with the Former First Vice President of Afghanistan. In this role, he was responsible for leading the coordination and overseeing the alignment of Afghanistan's national policies with the development plans of UN agencies, World Bank programs, and non-profits. Mohamadi played a key role in advocating for coherence in national policies in diplomatic settings in Afghanistan.
As the TYTW Regional Director for South Asia, Mohamadi brings a wealth of expertise and leadership skills to the table. He is well-equipped to navigate complex international and national environments and achieve success through strategic planning and decisive action.