In 2003, when her family appointed Theresa Kachindamot as traditional chief of Dedza, Malawi, she did not trust the decision: she would be the first woman to occupy that throne, always reserved for men.
Everything changed the day she found a girl with a crying baby in her lap; the girl was 11 years old. That moment broke her in two. She gathered her more than 50 sub-chiefs and gave them a simple order: child marriages were over under her jurisdiction. Anyone who disobeyed her would be removed without hesitation — and she ended up doing so with 62 leaders.
She received death threats, shouts, and families who accused her of betraying tradition, but she carried on.
By the end of her life, she had annulled more than 3,500 marriages and sent thousands of girls back to the classroom, many with their studies paid for out of her own pocket.
In 2017, Malawi legally banned marriage before the age of 18.
Theresa died in 2025, but every girl who goes to school in Dedza today instead of carrying a baby unknowingly carries a piece of her legacy.