Nigeria, Nov. 26 -- Surrounded by a stack of new mattresses, polished furniture, and kitchen utensils, 17-year-old Zainab Mohammed has made up her mind.

In a region where education is often promoted as a route out of poverty, the teenager has chosen a different path.

"Honestly, I prefer marriage to going to school," she says, her face adjusting to the cameras flashing around her.

Zainab is one of 200 women-mostly widows, orphans, and the underprivileged-who were married off on Monday in a mass wedding organised by authorities in Nigeria's north-western Zamfara State.

For Zainab, who is not an orphan but comes from a struggling family, the ceremony is not just about romance; it is a survival strategy.

"I thank Almighty Allah. I am ver...