Nigeria, Oct. 25 -- For 15-year-old Basira Nasiru, childhood in Gidan Goga, a community in the Maradun Local Government Area (LGA) of Zamfara State, once meant school, laughter, dreams, and promises of a bright future.

But in 2023, when she was 13, her life changed when her parents handed her over for marriage to a 23-year-old man, not out of tradition, but fear.

"I wasn't happy when the news of my marriage got to me because I knew my education would come to an end. I wanted to go to school and become a nurse," Basira said, narrating her ordeal to this reporter.

Her parents, like many others in Zamfara's conflict zones, believed marriage would shield her from abduction or sexual violence. Her husband would protect her from bandits and ...