Survivor Advocacy

I am a survivor of forced child marriage in the United States. I use media advocacy to raise awareness of this often-overlooked human rights abuse. I share my lived experience through interviews, op-eds, documentaries, and public speaking. This is done to humanize the issue. I also aim to highlight the urgent need for policy reform. Media has become a vital platform in my advocacy—breaking silence, shifting narratives, and building momentum for change. By amplifying survivor voices and informing the public, I aim to help end child marriage in the U.S. once and for all.

Documentaries

Watch the full film here: https://www.knotsthefilm.com/home#watch

Children Forced Into Marriage: A National Disgrace

Red Table Talk Episode available on FB Watch: https://fb.watch/y_RkLQyyVq/

News Articles and Features

2025

2024

2023

• Seattle Times, Minors can still get married in WA, though some want that to change, April 17, 2023
• King 5 Seattle News Bill to ban child marriage in Washington stalls again in the Senate, April 20, 2023
• Washington Post, As advocates push for child marriage bans, some states resist, March 17, 2023
• Lynn’s Warriors, Sara Tasneem, Child Bride Survivor Does Not Want Any Other Girl to Go Through This March 22, 2023
• USC Story Space, The Child Marriage Next Door: ‘My father introduced me to a man in the morning and I was married to him that same evening. Tannistha Sinha

2022

• Frankie Files Podcast ~ Ep. 35 ~ Sara Tasneem, a Sufi Cult (USA) Child Bride Survivor & Activist, September 26, 2022
• Liberty Counsel, CA Forced Child Brides Could Spread If… July, 28, 2022
• Feb. 5: Zonta Club of SCV Hosts Virtual Empower Hour on Child Marriage, January 25, 2022
• Story Of A Fighter, Gain Love Live Life
• AHA Foundation Blog, Sara’s Story, Part 1: A Survivor of Child Marriage in the U.S. On Her Ordeal and How She Won Her Freedom, November 7, 2022
• Partnered with Students Against Child Marriage

2021

• Independent New York only just ended child marriage – but what about the rest of America? by, Lucy Anna Gray. August 10, 2021
• California Health Report California Laws Don’t Prevent Minors from Marrying Adults by, Claudia Boyd Barret, September 10, 2021
• The Guardian Knots: A Forced Marriage Story review – bleak overview of marital coercion in America by, Adrian Horton, June 1, 2021
• The Hill Rhode Island governor signs bill banning child marriage by, Joseph Choi, June 7, 2021

2020

• Knots: A Forced Marriage Story released on multiple digital platforms: Apple TV Link, free on Tubi TV
• An Interview With Child Marriage Activist Sara Tasneem: Global Hope 365
• Orange County Register, Should any child be allowed to marry? These women say no. by Theresa Walker, August 8, 2020

2019

• Coming soon! A full length documentary about 3 survivors of forced marriage, featuring Sara, Fraidy, and Nina: KNOTS: A Forced Marriage Story preview the trailer here:https://www.knotsthefilm.com/home/#trailer
• Red Table Talk appearance by Survivors, Sara, Genevieve, and Sherry. Watch the FB show here: https://www.facebook.com/redtabletalk/videos/1605541956245874/
• OPRAH Magazine, Jada Pinkett Smith Talks to Two Former Child Brides on Red Table Talk, 6/28/19: https://www.oprahmag.com/entertainment/a28219810/red-table-talk-clip-forced-marriages/
• Nevada bill would end exceptions for child marriages, Las Vegas Sun March 5, 2019: https://lasvegassun.com/news/2019/mar/05/nevada-bill-would-end-exceptions-for-child-marriag/
• NV Independent, March 6, 2019: LEGISLATURE Women forced into wedlock as teens urge lawmakers to ban marriage for people under 18
• FRANCE24 FOCUS, October 2019: http://f24.my/3sHE

2018

• Why only two states ban marriage for people under 18 years old, Deseret News October 12, 2018: https://www.deseretnews.com/article/900024618/why-only-two-states-ban-marriage-for-people-under-18-years-old.html

• Marriage at 15 Ends US Teen’s Career Dreams, VOA News September 4, 2018 : https://www.voanews.com/usa/marriage-15-ends-us-teens-career-dreams
• Study Examines Child Marriage in US, VOA News September 5, 2018: https://learningenglish.voanews.com/a/study-examines-child-marriage-in-us/4557595.html
• IRIS 2018 Online Video, Survivors of Child Marriage Share Their Stories: https://www.facebook.com/heyirisdotcom/videos/1718381364895876/UzpfSTY4MjkyODczMToxMDE1NTYzMzkzNzM0MzczMg/
• This American Girl Was Forced to Marry a Stranger in a Religious ‘Cult’ at Age 15, Global Citizen June 28, 2018: https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/child-marriage-survivor-california-sara/
• Child Marriage Is Legal In 48 States. These Women Are Asking Why., BuzzFeed News June 23, 2018: https://www.buzzfeednews.com/article/jtes/child-marriage-usa-legal-debate-abortion-new-jersey
• UNLV Law Journal RESTRAINING FORCED MARRIAGE, May 30, 2018: https://scholars.law.unlv.edu/cgi/viewcontent.cgi?article=1754&context=nlj

2017

• Men Are Finding Loopholes in US Law to Marry Children, August 30, 2017 VICE NEWS: https://www.vice.com/en_us/article/evv8bj/men-are-finding-loopholes-in-us-law-to-marry-children
• Effort to bar child marriage in California runs into opposition, SF Chronicle July 6, 2017: https://www.sfchronicle.com/bayarea/article/Effort-to-bar-juvenile-marriages-in-California-11268497.php
• BBC Radio Looks at Child Marriage in the U.S., June 24, 2017, BBC Radio: https://youtu.be/O-daaip-P4I
• The Stream Al Jazeera, June 16, 2017: http://stream.aljazeera.com/story/201706232247-0025459
• California lacks minimum marriage age, puts children in danger, June 15, 2017, The OC Register: https://www.ocregister.com/2017/06/15/california-lacks-minimum-marriage-age-puts-children-in-danger/
• Child Marriage Survivor: I Was Introduced to Him in the Morning and Handed Over That Night, Motto (TIME), June 6, 2017: https://time.com/4807611/us-child-marriage-survivor-story/
• OpEd, The Daily Californian, By Sara Tasneem, May 31, 2017: https://www.dailycal.org/2017/05/30/child-marriage-laws-ca-act-loopholes-allow-statutory-rape/