Child Mother

Synopsis

“I was very sorry that I never had the chance to be a young, single woman who could marry whoever she wants, whenever she wants.” - testimonial of a child bride, Child Mother

Conversations between mothers and their families reveal haunting histories of women forced into marriage as young children. Born into Jewish communities in Yemen and Morocco where child marriage was a culturally sanctioned custom, these women’s voices went largely unheard. As they began to have babies of their own, often working day and night to support growing families and aging husbands, their stories became a painful secret kept even from their own children. Child Mother encourages these women to share their life stories, and through their children’s difficult but enlightening questions, exposes an aspect of child marriage and trauma that is rarely discussed: the impact on the family as a whole, an open wound passed on to the next generations.