Teenage actress takes on child marriage in role mirroring real life

In a powerful new film, 15-year-old actress Michelle Lemuya Ikeny takes on the role of Nawi, a 13-year-old girl who faces the harsh reality of child marriage in her community in north-western Kenya. The film, set in Turkana county, tells the story of Nawi, who is forced to marry an older man named Shadrack. Despite the potential backlash from her community, Michelle is passionate about her role and hopes the film will encourage discussions about child marriage, a topic that is often avoided. 'I want the movie to spark conversations about this topic, because it's really not something people want to talk about,' she tells the BBC. In Turkana, the United Nations reports that one in four girls are married before they turn 18, and Michelle shares that many of her friends have had to leave school because their fathers married them off. Her performance as Nawi was so impactful that she won the Africa Movie Academy Award for best promising actor last November. Michelle had never acted before this film, and when she first joined the project, she thought it would be a simple school drama. 'It has changed my life, but I don't want it to change my personality,' she says. In the film, Nawi learns that her father is selling her to Shadrack in exchange for a large number of livestock, including 60 sheep, eight camels, and 100 goats. Instead of accepting her fate, Nawi cleverly fakes her period on her wedding night and escapes to pursue her dream of attending high school in Nairobi. Her father and Shadrack are furious and try to find her, but with the help of her brother, Nawi manages to outsmart them. However, she later returns home to confront her father and Shadrack when she discovers that her baby sister has been promised to Shadrack as a replacement bride. The film highlights the widespread issue of child marriage and how it is often accepted despite being illegal. According to Kenya's 2014 Marriage Act, individuals must be at least 18 years old to marry. In one scene, when Nawi's classmate Zawari does not show up for an exam, the boys in the class joke that she is 'busy making babies. ' The story was written by Milcah Cherotich, who drew inspiration from her own childhood experiences in Turkana. Milcah's sister was forced into marriage at the age of 14 and faced a difficult life. 'She ended up living a life that was not hers,' Milcah explains. She hopes that her film will change people's perspectives on child marriage. Milcah has already seen a shift in her uncle's views, who was a strong supporter of child marriage. After watching an early screening of the film, he was moved to tears, and Milcah felt a sense of joy knowing that her story had touched him. 'I realized the importance of storytelling, the power it has,' she says. Child marriage is not just a Kenyan issue; it is a significant problem across sub-Saharan Africa, where one in three girls marry before the age of 18, according to UNICEF. The United Nations has set a goal to end child marriage by 2030, but UNICEF warns that significant progress is needed to achieve this target. While the global prevalence of child marriage is decreasing, regions like West and Central Africa have made little progress over the past 25 years. At the current rate, it could take over 200 years to eliminate the practice in these areas. Toby Schmutzler, one of the directors of Nawi, emphasizes the passion of everyone involved in the project, but he acknowledges the challenge of getting the film seen by a wider audience. 'The message can be super beautiful but if no one sees the film then no one hears the message,' he explains. The film was screened at the UN headquarters in New York and was selected by Kenya for its Oscars submission, although it did not make it to the shortlist. Nevertheless, the directing team is optimistic about an international release in the US, Canada, Europe, Central Africa, and Australia. The film had a successful run in Kenyan cinemas, and Apuu Mourrine, one of the film's directors, has organized free screenings in Turkana, particularly at the Kakuma refugee camp. The response has been largely positive, especially among young audiences. The team plans to show the film to older community members in local villages to gather their reactions. In collaboration with Learning Lions, a new school has been built where 300 girls are already enrolled. This school is free to attend and provides meals for the girls, which is crucial in an area that has faced droughts. Michelle believes that if more people watch the film, it can change lives. 'When you watch the movie, try to put yourself in the shoes of Nawi, put yourselves in the shoes of all those 640 million girls,' she says. 'When you are young, you have so many dreams. I have so many dreams. When somebody comes and takes it away - it's the worst feeling ever.