Norway stopped 12-year-old Thea's wedding

On the occasion of the UN's International Day of the Girl Child, Plan Norway invited all to Norway's first official child wedding, and no one went home unmoved. Several hundred people gathered to demonstrate against child marriage outside the church, and around 400 people were in the audience inside. Everyone present shouted a resounding "Stop the wedding!" when the minister, Rolf Berg, asked Thea whether she took Geir to be her husband. Simultaneously, #StopTheWedding spread like wildfire across social media and the protest reached out to more 3.5 million people via the Facebook and Twitter messages of almost 8000 people.

"It was tough to be a child bride. Everything was so wrong, but it was also so important. Luckily, we stopped the wedding in time. I think it just so terrible that 39,000 girls are made to be child brides every day, and I'm glad that I have given them a face. I want all the world's girls to be able to go to school, to play with friends, and to be children - just like me," says Maja Bergström, which is the real name of Thea the child bride. She is herself 12 years old, lives in Stockholm, and will thankfully not be getting married for many years.

"Seeing myself as a child bride has made me think"
Maja Bergström says that it has been strange to see herself in the role of a child bride as Thea's wedding blog has gradually become a world phenomenon.

"It has been exciting to follow it on the blog and in the media around the world. It was a really big deal when Ashton Kutcher supported the campaign, and I am glad the issue has received so much attention. Seeing myself as a child bride has made me think about all the people who have to go through this every single day. It's absolutely awful that this actually happens in reality," says Maja Bergström.

A real child bride
The most powerful moment of the ceremony was when Shahida Akhter Shorna, an 18 year old from Bangladesh, stood to speak on behalf of real child brides.

"I was almost a child bride. At the age of 14, my family said I had to marry a grown man. I said no. I was scared and cried, but the pressure in the little community was huge. I told my family that it was wrong to marry off a small child, and finally I persuaded them that I didn't have to get married. Today I am proud to say I have helped four other child brides out of child marriages. Thea, don't say yes. You're still a child. Stop the wedding," said Shahida Akhter Shorna before a deeply moved audience.

"Norway should take on an international leading role"
Olaf Thommessen, National Director of Plan Norway, is now calling for even greater political will from world leaders to do something in the fight against child marriage.

"It is incredibly powerful to experience how an entire nation, and the world around us, has mobilised in the campaign against child marriage. People now no longer want to sit idly by and watch as somewhere a girl is forced to become a child bride every two seconds. It is a sign that the leaders of the world must take seriously, so that all the forces of good unite in the fight against child marriage and on behalf of girls' rights," says Thommessen.

"It is important that Prime Minister Erna Solberg is personally involved in the struggle for girls' rights and schooling. We know that she will continue to engage in this work, and we hope that Norway can take on an international leading role in the fight against child marriage. The fact that young girls are married off is one of the most important reasons why there 65 million school desks empty," says Olaf Thommessen, National Director of Plan Norway.

Playing Geir grotesque
The man, who for several weeks has played the role of Geir, one of the world's most hated men, is actually actor Halvard Holmen.

"It felt completely grotesque to stand at the altar and know that the unhappy little girl was walking up the aisle to marry a character that had been played by me. I've been to Bangladesh myself, and seen how child marriage destroys the lives of young girls. As the father of a 16 year old girl, this has been a powerful experience, but I don't regret a second of it, because this issue is so incredibly important," says Halvard Holmen.

Thea's wedding has engaged an entire world
For the last month, Plan Norway has carried out a campaign against child marriage that has engaged an entire world. Through Thea's wedding blog, people from all walks of life, across all cultures, nations, and parts of the world have joined the international fight against child marriage. During the child wedding there were performances from Marion Ravn, Marie Klåpakken, Ine Hoem, and the Norwegian Girl's Choir, while prominent politicians, business leaders, sports and cultural figures were present in church. Audun Lysbakken, Knut Storberget, Inga Marte Thorkildsen, Anita Krohn Traaseth, Einar Tørnquist and Mari Maurstad were among those in attendance at the church who turned up to help in the fight against child marriage.

Media from around the world have covered the issue, among them the BBC, Huffington Post, Buzzfeed, La Republica, as well as thousands of other news providers. A large number of well-known figures have been involved in the #StopTheWedding campaign on social media, including Ashton Kutcher, who encouraged his 18 million Facebook fans to stop the wedding.

"During the course of this campaign we have given the world an insight into how brutal a child marriage is. Thea's wedding blog has provoked and engaged people from around the world, and we have had responses from, among others, South Korea, Russia, and Australia, as well from world stars like Ashton Kutcher to world leaders. We are right, and have reached around the world with Thea's wedding and #StopTheWedding. Today we have taken a step away from child marriage by shouting so loudly that Thea and Geir's wedding was called off. We hope that this protest will help to open the eyes of the world community and show that we must join forces in the fight against child marriage and to secure girls' rights," says Olaf Thommessen, National Director of Plan Norway.

Read Thea's wedding blog here: www.theasbryllup.blogg.no
Participate in the campaign against child marriage here: www.stoppbryllupet.no

Facts about Plan Norway's campaign against child marriage
Every two seconds a girl is forced to be a child bride. Child marriage is one of the world's most widespread and serious abuses of children. It is one of the leading causes of death during pregnancy, the spread of HIV/AIDS, and lost schooling. Through Thea's blog, Plan Norway has told a story that affected 39,000 girls every single day. The blog became the biggest in Norway in less than 12 hours, and is now read by over one million people.

Facts about Plan and their girls campaign
Plan Norway works to ensure that more girls have access to good quality schooling, and that more girls complete their secondary schooling. Giving girls an education is the most important investment that can be made to fight world poverty. Through Plan's global Because I Am A Girl campaign, the focus is put on the situation of girls and their right to nine years of education through information and political advocacy. 11 October is the UN's International Day of the Girl Child, when Plan Norway will award the Jenteprisen [Girl Prize] for 2014.

Plan is a global aid organisation engaged in development work to provide children with a better future. We have a presence in 70 countries. We work to improve the situation for children by fulfilling children's rights to health services and education, by protecting them against violations, violence, and abuse - and by participating in decisions that affect their lives. 128,000 people have sponsored a child through Plan Norway. Plan is one of the biggest and most effective child sponsorship organisations in Norway. Plan was established in 1937, and reaches out to 165 million people, including 78 million children in over 90,000 communities.

For more information, please contact: Gørill Husby Moore, Tel.: + 47 452 84 870 or email: GorillHusby.Moore@plan-norge.no