A young woman with her baby in the maternity unit of the hospital in Gambella, Ethiopia. Early marriage and pregnancy are challenges faced by many teenage girls in Ethiopia

Ariet Obang, 17, who is married and has a one-year-old baby, in the village of Awol, near Gambella. ‘I enjoy school and it is very important for me that my child will also go to school and be able to finish school before she has a child,’ she says

Angae Nugwo, 15, goes about her household chores, which include collecting water

‘Our father died, and I want to stay with my mother and become a nurse here so I can help my community with healthcare,’ says Angae

Ajulu Peter, 13, at her home in the town of Itang, in Gambella

‘It is hard for my family to get support without my father, who is now dead, to help,’ Ajulu says. ‘We cannot get the money we need to get many things, such as exercise books for school’

Nyabuay Bol, 17, who has two children aged three years and 10 months, at her home in Itang, Gambella. She says: ‘When I got married and moved to this village, I could have gone to the ninth grade, but my husband would not let me attend school’

Men walk up a steep road on their way to market near the village of Addis Ge Keble, near Fiche. This village is one of hundreds in the area that are inaccessible by car

Fayetu Mengestu Zeleke, 13, at her home in Fiche. Her older sister was removed from school by their father and was going to get married until she got support from a local NGO to sue her father, who relented

Mestawet Abey, 15 , at her home in the village of Addis Ge, near Fiche. Mestawet got married when she was 13. Her parents forced her to drop out of school to look after their cows, and shortly after that they married her off

Gurdo Shenqut, 14, lies in bed after giving birth to her first child in her mother’s house in Addis Ge. Gurdo married at the age of 11 and was forced to give up school. Her husband is unable to look after her and the baby as he is too poor, so she is staying with her mother. She is scared of him because he beats her when he gets angry

Tensae Belachew with her husband and young son in Addis Ge. Tensae was 13 when she got married and is now 15. She was forced to drop out of school, but wishes she could continue

A young girl clings to her mother’s skirt in their home in Addis Ge

A woman sifts teff flour outside her home in the village of Torban Ashe Fiche, in Gerar Jarso district

Young girls outside their homes in Fiche

Kebebush Girma Abera, 17, poses with her father-in-law in his house in the village of Torban Ashe Fiche

Wozen Deiyesa, 15, makes coffee for her husband’s relatives in their house. Wozen got married when she was 12, and has a son. She says: ‘I know I’m too young to be a wife and mother, but I will make sure my son goes to school’

Jamila Zeyne, 20, has been married since she was 13. Jamila, who lives in Mareko, says: ‘I got married because my father forced me to. I was given two options, either to get married or to be sent to Arab countries to work. I am not happy because I wanted to study. If the government introduces night school in our area, I will go back to learn. Early marriage is bad because when we get pregnant and want to deliver, it is very difficult for our bodies’

Zamzam Kadir, left, with her sister Najiyat in Darecha. Zamzam, 16, has had to give up her education because the girls’ mother can only afford to send Najiyat to school. Zamzam makes pottery, and her dream is to open her own shop one day

Bircha Abea, 10, stands deep in thought in Mareko. She says: ‘Mathematics is my favourite subject. I want to be a teacher so I can teach many students’