RL Grimes Teams Up with UNICEF to Help End Child Marriage

RL Grime has teamed up with the non-profit organization UNICEF for a moving new video to show the painful realities behind child marriage and help end the dangerous practice. The video tells the story of a young girl forced into marriage, set to RL Grime’s emotive track “Always” from his debut album VOID. The video was shot in Chad, which has the third highest child marriage rate in the world, with 68% of girls married as children. The collaboration is part of a UNICEF series using powerful music to raise awareness about critical issues affecting children around the world. The video will be presented at the African Union Summit in Addis Abbaba on January 30.

“Accompanied by a moving song, the video transmits a strong message and shows a reality that is too common in the lives of many young girls. Girls who are married before their 18th birthdays are not only denied their childhood but are often socially isolated and subjected to violence, and limited opportunities for education and employment,” said Bruno Maes, UNICEF Representative in Chad.

About partnering with UNICEF, RL Grime said:

“Before UNICEF approached me for the video, I was unaware of this epidemic of child marriage that is plaguing Chad and other places globally. So when they came to me with the opportunity I was happy to be involved and help shed light on a very real world topic, and in the end hopefully bring new awareness to this difficult issue.”

To learn more, you can visit UNICEF’s official website here.