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Before Tamara was married at the age of 12, she had never kissed a boy. She still wore a training bra. She had just gotten her first period.
But Tamara was in a cult in Texas, and the cult leader took a special liking to 12-year-old Tamara. She went to live with him and his family as a domestic servant – and one of the community members began sexually assaulting Tamara, then quickly forced her into a “secret” marriage. She spent nearly a decade stuck in her marriage before she finally escaped her “husband” – and the cult – at age 20.
“In the cult, we didn’t call ourselves child brides. We just called ourselves married,” Tamara said.
“[Later] I understood things so much more… And now I have a community of survivors like myself.”
Tamara enrolled in some local college classes, where she discovered her love of learning. She graduated with a bachelor’s degree in just three years, then went on to earn her master’s degree and a doctorate. Tamara is now a published author, journalist and activist. She also serves on the steering committee of the National Coalition to End Child Marriage that we lead, so she is a leading advocate in the national push to end child marriage.
All donations this week are in honor of Tamara.
Dr. Tamara MC is a multidisciplinary artist with a Ph.D. in Applied Linguistics. Her work, exploring her juxtaposed hybrid identity, has appeared in over 60 prestigious outlets including The New York Times and Newsweek. Dr. MC has been honored with fellowships at renowned institutions like Bread Loaf and Ragdale. She’s traveled to nearly 80 countries and is a polyglot, having studied multiple languages. Learn more at www.tamaramc.com. She can be found on most social media platforms @tamaramcphd..