Myness, now 15 years old, was living with her grandmother when she first met the man who would become her husband.
'It happened when I was only 13 years old,' she remembers. 'My friend who had already found herself a husband convinced me into marriage.'
Shocking though it might seem, Myness, then barely into her teens, had agreed to marry a man old enough to be her grandfather - and a feckless alcoholic to boot.
Extreme though it might seem, Myness is by no means unique. According to World Health Organisation figures, 14.2 million girls under the age of 15 are forced into marriage each year.
Most come from India, the Middle East, and like Myness herself, from sub-Saharan Africa - Niger, Chad, the Central African Republic and her home country of Malawi among them.
The consequences are appalling. Along with an education and childhood cut short, girls suffer a traumatic initiation into sexual relationships, are put at risk of domestic violence and STI's, and have the chance of a career or better life taken away.
Worse, many also die in childbirth or from pregnancy-related complications - the leading cause of death for girls aged between 15 and 19 years old in developing countries, according to UN figures.
'Child marriage is an appalling violation of human rights and robs girls of their education, health and long-term prospects,' comments Babatunde Osotimehin, executive director of UNFPA.
Source-Dailym
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