I Was Sold At 14 To A Man Who Had 3 Wives But I Ran Before He Could Touch Me – Lady shares.

I was only 14 when I overheard the conversation that would change my life. My father had accepted a marriage proposal on my behalf. The man was in his 50s, a wealthy trader from a neighbouring town, with three wives already. I was to be the fourth.

My bride price was agreed and my fate was sealed, that day , I cried like I had never cried before . No one had asked what I wanted because no one cared about me .

I remember the panic and my heart beat so loudly I could barely hear myself think. I was in Junior Secondary School 2, still struggling with algebra, still playing ten-ten with my friends but all of a sudden , marriage ? How and when ?. I had dreams to become a teacher, maybe even a journalist. But suddenly, those dreams didn’t matter anymore because of my family’s selfish agenda

I cried that night until my pillow was soaked. My mother sat beside me, silent too as she pat my back . The sad thing was that this was a normal occurrence in my family so I saw it coming . She too was married at 13. She didn’t know any other way.

One faithful day , when all the arrangements for the wedding started coming to life , I just felt a burst of energy and I told myself , no way , this can never be me, I don’t know where the fire came from. Maybe it was the fear. Maybe it was the anger. Or maybe it was the voice of God whispering, “Run.”

So, I did.

I packed my school uniform, my exercise books, and ₦250 that I had secretly saved from lunch money. I ran to my school principal’s house. She had once told us in class that child marriage is illegal. That we could say no. I didn’t believe it then. But that night, I held onto her words like they were my last hope.

I got to her place breathless and narrated every single thing that happened and what she did next shocked me to the core , she hid me. She called a women’s rights organisation in Kaduna and They came for me ,They listened and that was ehn the fight began .

It wasn’t easy. My father disowned me. I was labelled stubborn, wayward. But I went back to school through scholarship support and finished my secondary education. Today, I’m 23. I’m studying Sociology at university. I speak at community forums. I visit schools in rural towns. I help girls who were once like me scared, silenced, and sold.

Some people say I dishonoured my family. But I tell them: I saved my life.

Because no girl should be forced to marry when she hasn’t even discovered who she is. No girl should be reduced to a transaction. And no girl should have to run to be free.

What do you think? Should parents be punished for marrying off underage girls?
What more can communities and schools do to protect them? Share your thoughts in the comments. Let’s break the silence.