Stephanie Sinclair, How Photojournalism Can Become Advocacy

Theresa McGuire/Journalism 111

Stephanie Sinclair is a world renown photojournalist. She has won three World Press Photo awards among many others. What seems to have captured her special interest is the plight of girls as young as the age of six, married off to much older men.

Tehani, in pink, age 8 with her husband of two years, Majed age 27 and Ghada age 8 with her husband Saltan, age 33.(Stephanie Sinclair/tooyoungtowed.org)

In 2003 she became aware of the problem while working on a special project about girls lighting themselves on fire to escape abusive marriages. Researching the subject, she found a lack of coverage about the topic and began her own work, "Too Young to Wed".

Here is what she said about the moment she dedicated herself to helping these young girls, "A year later, I got a small grant from FiftyCrows, a foundation that supports documentary photography, to research the issue of child marriage. I went to a shelter in Herat where several girls shared their traumatic experiences with me. There, I met a young woman named Mejgon who told me how her drug-addicted father sold her into marriage when she was 11. She detailed her rape by her “husband” and how she was subsequently used and abused until she escaped, ultimately ending up in the shelter. She then said something I will never forget. She looked at me with tears in her eyes and spoke quietly, “In my whole life, I have never felt love.”

It was at that moment that I fully dedicated myself to this issue. While I have covered many profound events as a photojournalist, I had never encountered anyone who felt so alone. I hugged her and made a silent vow to Mejgon and to the many millions of girls who were in her situation." Interview with Sinclair published on the PulitzerCenter.org

Her photography from "Too Young to Wed" has been featured in the National Geographic. Eventually she also started a non-profit bearing the same name. Girls can sign up for photography workshops where they tell each other's stories. One girl, Eunice, 15 attended a workshop and the next year as a student mentor.

Eunice, right, shares laughter while studying for their workshop.
(Courtesy Mary/Too Young To Wed/CNN Article "They escaped child marriage. Now they're speaking out"

I find her work inspiring because of the unrelenting beauty, horror and truth she unflinchingly shows the world. Fearless people with the passion and ability to take action is something that we should all aspire to be.