Robyn Hayes: Ending Child Marriage Through Photography

Today we heard human rights activist and photographer Robyne Hayes speak to us about the issues regarding child marriage, as well as what she does to make a change. Her talk really surprised me, as the things she shared with us were shocking and made me understand what is going on in the other side of the world. I already knew about child marriage, but the way Robyne Hayes used her photography to show us the girls and their stories was really powerful. This made me understand the power of photos and how they can impact how we react to a story. She said something I found interesting which was that her friends and family were not really interested in what she did until she showed them her photos. She said that her photos give another layer of meaning to the issue because people actually get to see the people who are faced with this problem. I agree with this, because I think that it is things like photos of people that stay in our minds long after the story has been told, because we can actually imagine that person in that situation. Photos also seem to give a level of evidence that this is actually happening. Many of Robyne Hayes photos were of girls beating the discrimination and stereotypes that are set in their culture. Seeing those photos made me realise that the programs she is associated with are really making a change and helping end child marriage. Overall, her talk helped me open up to different means of storytelling, as well as understand the tragic cases of child marriage that still occur in many different places around the world.

“Photography is powerful. In an instant, a single image can create empathy, heighten awareness and be the catalyst for change.”

Print Friendly, PDF & Email

One Reply to “Robyn Hayes: Ending Child Marriage Through Photography”

  1. kal@gapps.uwcsea.edu.sg says: Reply

    I’m interested in your comment “helping end child marriage”…certainly her talk suggested that the projects had resulted in some success in delaying marriage for young girls. Take a quick look at Ben’s post and see what you think of his view.

Leave a Reply