Girls are six times less likely to be forced into a child marriage if they receive an education. Child marriages are an extremely prominent practice in developing nations, and when girls are forced to become brides, they are forcefully taken out of school. Being taken out of school can lead to a lifetime of disadvantage, 75 percent of child brides in Nigeria lack basic reading and writing skills. With an education it is so much easier to get a job, lacking these skills makes it harder to get a job and with a job these girls can become financially independent and potentially leave their husbands.

While I was doing my research on child marriages, I couldn't help but think about how lucky I am. In the United States, we are privileged to get an education and we are incredibly lucky to have laws that protect children from child marriages and laws that keep us in school. On my campus community, while talking to other girls about the issue of child marriages, they have realized how privileged they are as well. These conversations have lead to the creation of the #NotABride project.

For the #NotABride project, we began by creating a twitter account, @notabride where we share facts, statistics, and articles about child brides. We have also created our own photo project, in this project, we have taken pictures of girls, of all different ages and on different college campuses holding up a whiteboard that says #NotABride.

Above this hashtag, they wrote something about themselves, what they aspire to become, proclaiming their self-worth or something about a child bride. These photos make what happens to child brides a reality. Personally, the most impactful pictures are the ones that we received of children holding up a whiteboard saying what they would want to become in the future. However, to protect the privacy of the children and their parents, we are not sharing these onto our social medias, we are keeping them for a class.The following pictures are just some of many from the #NotABride project.

"I am a poet #NotABride"
- Middle School Student

For child brides, in order to do something that you love, you have to ask your husband if you can do it.

"I am a future biochemist #NotABride"
- Montclair State University

Being a child bride, you are not given many opportunities in this world. Being a science student in the United States, you are given so many opportunities and so many doors open up for you.

"I am a student #NotABride"
- Stockton University

Like I said before, most child brides are taken out of school and forced to work for their husbands and 75 percent of child brides in Nigeria don't know how to read or write. We are so privileged to be able to get an education.

"I am a future film-maker #NotABride"
- Montclair State University

Many child brides once dreamed about becoming something only for it all to be taken away by a man because he decided to be her husband. Here, we know that we can become whomever and whatever we would like to become and not worry about having that taken away from us.

"I am a woman scientist #NotABride"
- SUNY ESF

Being a woman scientist in the United States, she has so many more opportunities available to her than a woman scientist in the developing world. She can achieve things most child brides would never even dream of.

"I am worth more than a wedding ring."
- Montclair State University

In developing countries where child marriages occur, girls are seen as just another mouth to feed and therefore end up believing they are just that and that they are worth nothing more than a wedding ring.

The result of this project is to show people that women and girls are whoever we say we are. We do not have to be a bride if we do not want to, we know our self-worth, we know what we hope to become, and we will do whatever we want to do, we do not have to ask a man for permission to do anything.

We are hoping to raise awareness to the issue of child marriages and child brides and just to show people what really does happen to these girls. We have so many basic rights that they do not. If you would like to participate in this project please tweet us your pictures @notabride with the hashtag #NotABride.