Intisar* was only 15 years old when her parents forced her into a marriage. She described it as an act of commerce: They sold her to another family to pay off a debt. “It is the worst feeling in the world to be traded off like that by the people who are supposed to protect you,” said the now-37-year-old Intisar, during a recent interview.

The Government of Japan contributed US$ 1.3 million towards UNFPA interventions for integrated lifesaving reproductive health and gender-based violence services to vulnerable women and girls in five governorates across Iraq.

Statement by UNFPA Executive Director Dr. Natalia Kanem