A little girl in India, dressed as a bride, waits for her groom.

Be it going to school, playing with friends or listening to stories from your grandparents- all these memories of childhood bring a profound feeling of happiness. But everyone is not fortunate enough. For hundreds of girls throughout the world childhood comes to an end sooner than it should.

A woman kneels in prayer at a mosque in Kashmir, India.

Dargah Haji Ali is a famous landmark in Mumbai and attracts thousands of visitors every year. The glittering marble structure is laid out on a rocky bed 500 yards into the Arabian sea off the coast of South Mumbai. The iconic shrine has inspired odes from Bollywood and has been sought out by people of all religions over the decades, but soon, women will be denied entry into the famous shrine.

“I shudder each time when I hear of the Taliban’s heinous activities. Malala Yousufzai’s story reminds me of the thousand crimes this extremist and ferocious group has perpetrated. None of these have any justification.” Marina Zaffari on the Taliban and the women of Afghanistan.

“I believe that success in life is a matter of work and faith, like walking along a long road until we reach our aim. Nothing can define me, neither my shape, nor size, nor weight, because I trust my emotions and believe in my dreams.” Our reader from Africa, Ferhat Bezazel, shares his story with us.

To curb the increasing incidents of rape in Haryana, the local village leaders have come up with a solution. They have suggested that the marriageable age for girls be lowered to 16 years. According to Indian law, girls cannot get married before they turn 18. This shocking statement has come a day after a teenaged girl from a lower caste immolated herself after being allegedly raped in Jind district in Haryana, India’s state notorious for being unsafe for women.

An Indian father cut off his daughter’s head and paraded it around his village after becoming enraged over her relationships with men, police in the western state of Rajasthan said Tuesday.

Afghanistan has been suffering from internal conflict and violence for the last three decades. This, combined with extreme poverty in many cases, has caused people to lose their mental stability. Several cases of violence illustrate how women routinely become victims of violence in patriarchal Afghan society.