Rosillah picture

Rosillah 

Nominated By Too Young to Wed

All 2020 Children’s Peace Prize Nominees

Rosillah was only 9 years old when she was married off with a 55 year old man chosen by her father. She was forced to undergo Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FMG/C) on the day of her wedding ceremony. She wants to end the harmful practices that were forced on her in her childhood and make sure girls like her can achieve their full potential. Rosillah was Governor of her school and she is currently the Speaker of Children’s Assembly in Samburu County, advocating for survivors of child marriage and FGM/C. In 2017, she participated in Tehani Photo Workshop, which brings together former child brides for a confidence-building leadership program. Rosillah shared her story at the closing ceremony and photo exhibit. Her photographs from the workshop were distributed across mass media making more than 6.8 billion impressions globally. She also shared her story and advocated for girls during an International Day for Zero Tolerance to FGM in 2018 at Maasai Mara University. Rosillah led a delegation of 5 former child brides and FGM/C survivors in the 2019 UNFPA Nairobi Summit. There, they shared their stories with world leaders to address urgent human rights and reproductive health issues. She met with the Kenyan president and his wife to advocate against FGM/C, sharing her survivor story as a testimony to the harm it brings young girls. President Uhuru was so moved that he vowed to create a special position for Rosillah in his administration to work for the empowerment of women and girls, once she completes her schooling.In the future, she intends to continue her studies and become a doctor.