A 15-year-old girl became one of millions of child brides worldwide before managing to flee the horrific sexual abuse inflicted upon her by a 35 year old man.
Latifa, from a family of six in Tanzania, was sold into marriage at just 15, where she was forced to share a bed with a complete stranger. The schoolgirl adored learning, particularly science and physics, but she frequently went to bed hungry and only had sufficient food twice daily.
She aspired to become a doctor, telling Plan International: "Every time I walked past the large hospital in my hometown, I thought that one day I'll be working in there in a white coat and helping young children who have become ill with malaria and other things.
"I worked hard, listened to the teachers and did my homework every day.", reports the Express. Then one day her father informed her she shouldn't attend school the following day - instead of a day of lessons, she was sold to a man called Salum. Her father said the man had paid to marry her, though she didn't comprehend what this meant.
Her stepmother then gave her a purple sequined wedding dress and explained what would be required of her once married. Latifa couldn't understand and wept throughout the entire week.
She said: "On the day Salum was due to come, I packed all my clothes into a small red bag then a lady from the village arrived to draw henna paint on my arms and legs. I put on the dress and waited."
Salum whisked her off to the capital, Dar es Salaam, by bus. The man attempted to engage her in conversation but it was too overwhelming for the young girl.
She said: "I sat silent, looking down at the floor of the bus and cried. Salum asked why I was crying. I was silent. Once we got into our new home, he stopped talking. He took off my dress and laid me down on the mattress. What happened afterwards hurt and felt weird and wrong. I was just sad."
Her days were spent in solitude while Salum earned his living as a car mechanic. She shared: "I was expected to do everything in the house, go to the market and cook. Everything was new and I found it difficult. I was still sad and cried a lot. I missed school and my friends."
Then began the sexual abuse. Latifa said: "He started coming home later in the evenings, often drunk. Then he beat me and forced me to have sex again and again. I wanted to leave him but I had nowhere to go. After nine months, I gave birth to a baby. The birth took 11 hours and at the end I went to the local hospital built by Plan International.
"The doctor who was there was kind and helped me. He told me that I could do this. They had to cut me to get the baby out because I was so young. When Zainabu was born, I was happy to see her. She was healthy and weighed 3.5 kg. That same day, my neighbours took me back home with my new baby. I was confused and happy at the same time. Salum was not home and he did not see his daughter until late in the evening. He did not seem happy."
Following her child's birth, Salum kicked her out onto the streets. Latifa returned home to discover her possessions outside the locked flat.
She said: "Salum had disappeared without notice or explanation. I stood there alone with my two-month-old baby strapped onto my back and cried. The next day I took the suitcase and the baby and went to Burunguri market where I begged for food from market stalls.
"Those who worked there gave me some rice, beans and occasionally some fruit. I was hungry all the time - hungry, scared and alone. At night I slept with the baby. We lay on the ground with a thin red kanga below us. I held her close to me. We lived like this for two months and fortunately Zainabu did not get sick."
Fortunately, Latifa was taken in by a woman called Happy. Latifa said: "Since I've been living with Happy, life has been a little better. Now I'm not alone anymore. There is someone I can talk to, laugh with and feel that someone cares about me."
Latifa now earns her own income, putting some aside through Plan International's local savings group. She said: "My baby is now almost one year old and I hope that her life will be better than mine. I'll do what I can to ensure that she gets to go to school and she will not be married to a man against her will."