PRILEP, North Macedonia—Orphaned as a child and pregnant by an adult
boyfriend at the age of 14, Isabela was highly vulnerable to the fate
that befalls so many girls in her predominately Roma neighbourhood:
child marriage. But her life has taken a different turn, thanks to the
tenacity of two women: her grandmother, and a tireless Roma-rights
advocate named Nesime Salioska.
“We stopped a life from being stolen. Isabela’s story shows the
importance of an intergenerational commitment to fight against child
marriages,” says Salioska.