Thirteen and just married: China's teen brides

This could well be a leaf from India's known (and unknown) realities. Teenage brides have been embedded in history of states such as Jharkhand, Bihar, UP, Rajasthan and others. While child marriage is illegal, the practise is flourishing. Now turn to China, where thirteen year olds are pregnant with babies of a sixteen year old dad. A CNN report by Katie Hunt notes the trend of child marriages across China's villages.

It sounds like a scene from China's feudal past, when early marriage was customary, especially for girls, but teenage brides and grooms aren't uncommon in some poor and rural parts of the country's hinterland.

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"It's like something they think is normal to do -- it comes from the teachers, from the parents, from the kids," the report notes.

Married Young—#photography by Muyi XIao of teenage moms & dads in south Yunnan https://t.co/SA3zWS0TRK pic.twitter.com/0d64u24B95

— ChinaFile (@ChinaFile) February 2, 2016

A series of images taken by photographer Muyi Xiao in rural China feature young newlyweds, including some brides as young as 13.  The series got Xiao a prestigious photography fellowship with the Magnum Foundation.

Here's Katie Hunt's full story