Pope Francis blesses a child as he attends a meeting with the Family Promotion Association "Marriage Encounter" in Paul VI hall at the Vatican, September 9, 2023. REUTERS/Remo Casilli TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

Pope Francis blesses a child as he attends a meeting with the Family Promotion Association "Marriage Encounter" in Paul VI hall at the Vatican, September 9, 2023. REUTERS/Remo Casilli 

Pope Francis blesses a child as he attends a meeting with the Family Promotion Association "Marriage Encounter" in Paul VI hall at the Vatican, September 9, 2023. REUTERS/Remo Casilli 

Vivian Tung, 33, who is one of a rising number of women opting to freeze their eggs, rests in bed after her egg retrieval surgery, at home in New Taipei City, Taiwan, June 19, 2023. Even though under current laws women cannot use their frozen eggs unless they are in a heterosexual marriage, demand for egg freezing in Taiwan has surged and more than a dozen centres offering egg freezing services opened last year. "I really have a lot of peace of mind. If there is a chance in the future and I want to have a child, at least I will have the opportunity," Tung said. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "WANG FERTILITY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

Vivian Tung, 33, who is one of a rising number of women opting to freeze their eggs, eats her first meal since the egg retrieval surgery, at home in New Taipei City, Taiwan June 19, 2023. Even though under current laws women cannot use their frozen eggs unless they are in a heterosexual marriage, demand for egg freezing in Taiwan has surged and more than a dozen centres offering egg freezing services opened last year. "I really have a lot of peace of mind. If there is a chance in the future and I want to have a child, at least I will have the opportunity," Tung said. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "WANG FERTILITY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

Vivian Tung, 33, who is one of a rising number of women opting to freeze their eggs, rests in a room after her egg retrieval surgery at the Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan, June 19, 2023. Even though under current laws women cannot use their frozen eggs unless they are in a heterosexual marriage, demand for egg freezing in Taiwan has surged and more than a dozen centres offering egg freezing services opened last year. "I really have a lot of peace of mind. If there is a chance in the future and I want to have a child, at least I will have the opportunity," Tung said. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "WANG FERTILITY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

Vivian Tung, 33, who is one of a rising number of women opting to freeze their eggs, takes painkillers after her egg retrieval surgery, at home in New Taipei City, Taiwan, June 19, 2023. Even though under current laws women cannot use their frozen eggs unless they are in a heterosexual marriage, demand for egg freezing in Taiwan has surged and more than a dozen centres offering egg freezing services opened last year. "I really have a lot of peace of mind. If there is a chance in the future and I want to have a child, at least I will have the opportunity," Tung said. REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "WANG FERTILITY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

Vivian Tung, 33, who is one of a rising number of women opting to freeze their eggs, lays in a hospital bed as she is moved to the recovery room following her egg retrieval surgery at the Shin Kong Wu Ho-Su Memorial Hospital in Taipei, Taiwan, June 19, 2023. Even though under current laws women cannot use their frozen eggs unless they are in a heterosexual marriage, demand for egg freezing in Taiwan has surged and more than a dozen centres offering egg freezing services opened last year. "I'm in a lot of pain," Tung said after the surgery. "I really have a lot of peace of mind. If there is a chance in the future and I want to have a child, at least I will have the opportunity." REUTERS/Ann Wang SEARCH "WANG FERTILITY" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

A child holds a banner which reads "Code Yes" referring to a family code referendum to take place on September 25, during a state organized pro-referendum demonstration in Havana, Cuba, September 17, 2022. REUTERS/Alexandre Meneghini 

M. Letchumy, 36 shaves her hair as a vow for her to have a child after nine years of marriage at Sri Subramaniar Swamy Temple during celebrations of Thaipusam, which resumed with tight health protocols after a one-year hiatus due to the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) pandemic, at Batu Caves, Malaysia, January 18, 2022. REUTERS/Hasnoor Hussain 

Patricia, who is pregnant, and Obelson, who got married in a joint ceremony with another pregnant couple who they did not know, to share the costs of the ceremony, pose for a photo outside the church where they got married in Baie de Henne, Nord Ouest Department, Haiti, October 27, 2018. Obelson, who works as a motorcycle driver, met Patricia while working. When she fell pregnant, her parents insisted that they get married. Protestant churchgoing communities in Haiti favour marriage, especially if a couple is expecting a child with some religious schools only accepting pupils if their parents can provide a marriage certificate. REUTERS/Valerie Baeriswyl TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY SEARCH "HAITIAN WEDDINGS BAERISWYL" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES 

Hafsa Ali Osman, 15, a Somali girl suspected of being forced into marriage as a child cooks inside her makeshift shelter at the Alafuuto camp for internally displaced persons in Garasbaaley district of Mogadishu, Somalia August 14, 2020. Picture taken August 14, 2020. REUTERS/Feisal Omar 

Faadumo Ali Fiidow (R) sits with her daughter Hafsa Ali Osman, 15, who is suspected of being forced into marriage, sits outside her makeshift shelter at the Alafuuto camp for internally displaced persons in Garasbaaley district of Mogadishu, Somalia August 14, 2020. Picture taken August 14, 2020. REUTERS/Feisal Omar 

Zahra Ahmed Bawe, 14, a Somali girl carries her 2-year-old son as she walks within makeshift shelters at the Alafuuto camp for internally displaced persons in Garasbaaley district of Mogadishu, Somalia August 14, 2020. Picture taken August 14, 2020. REUTERS/Feisal Omar 

Nurta Mohamed, 13, a Somali girl stands outside her mother's makeshift shelter after she ran away from a suspected forced marriage at the Alafuuto camp for internally displaced persons in Garasbaaley district of Mogadishu, Somalia August 14, 2020. Picture taken August 14, 2020. REUTERS/Feisal Omar 

Hafsa Ali Osman, a Somali girl, suspected of being forced into marriage as a child walks in front of her makeshift shelter at the Alafuuto camp for internally displaced persons in Garasbaaley district of Mogadishu, Somalia August 14, 2020. Picture taken August 14, 2020. REUTERS/Feisal Omar 

Hafsa Ali Osman, 15, a Somali girl suspected of being forced into marriage as a child sits outside her makeshift shelter at the Alafuuto camp for internally displaced persons in Garasbaaley district of Mogadishu, Somalia August 14, 2020. Picture taken August 14, 2020. REUTERS/Feisal Omar 

Nurta Mohamed, 13, a Somali girl sits inside her mother's makeshift shelter after she ran away from a suspected forced marriage at the Alafuuto camp for internally displaced persons in Garasbaaley district of Mogadishu, Somalia August 14, 2020. Picture taken August 14, 2020. REUTERS/Feisal Omar 

Hafsa Ali Osman, a Somali girl, suspected of being forced into marriage as a child, walks in front of her makeshift shelter at the Alafuuto camp for internally displaced persons in Garasbaaley district of Mogadishu, Somalia August 14, 2020. Picture taken August 14, 2020. REUTERS/Feisal Omar 

A decorative carving of a lion and a child stands in the main entrance hallway next to the staircase of Villa Guardamangia, a former residence of Britain's Queen Elizabeth and Prince Philip, in Pieta, Malta, June 23, 2020. The then-Princess Elizabeth and Prince Philip were in the first years of their marriage at the time and moved to Malta when Prince Philip was based there in command of a Royal Navy frigate. The Maltese government agency Heritage Malta acquired the Villa Guardamangia for some five million euros and hopes not just to restore the villa to the way it looked several decades ago, but also to turn it into a museum of Malta's history as a British colony until independence in 1964, and the links with the British royal family. REUTERS/Darrin Zammit Lupi SEARCH "QUEEN ELIZABETH VILLA" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

Ali al Sayed, local Muslim, prays as his wife Mina Liccione, a Catholic Christian, holds their child at their house in Jebel Ali, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, January 28, 2019. While the local laws do not allow Muslims to marry Christians, mixed-faith couples go on normally with their lives. Picture taken January 28, 2019. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

Ali al Sayed, local Muslim, prays as his wife Mina Liccione, a Catholic Christian, holds their child at their house in Jebel Ali, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, January 28, 2019. Picture taken January 28, 2019. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah 

Mina Liccione, a Catholic Christian married to local Muslim Ali al Sayed, holds her child at St. Francis of Assisi Catholic church in Jebel Ali in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, January 28, 2019.Picture taken January 28, 2019. REUTERS/Ahmed Jadallah 

A child waits for his mother to vote at a polling station during local elections and referendum on same-sex marriage, in Kaohsiung, Taiwan November 24, 2018. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu 

A Syrian refugee woman holds a child in Ain Baal village, near Tyre in southern Lebanon, November 27, 2017. Picture taken November 27, 2017. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho 

A Syrian refugee woman and a child is seen at a window in Ain Baal village, near Tyre in southern Lebanon, November 27, 2017. Picture taken November 27, 2017. REUTERS/Ali Hashisho 

Leber Li (R), 35, a restaurant owner, drives with Amely Chen, 35, and their son Mork, in Yilan, Taiwan, May 15, 2017. "It was our dream to have children. We have a child through artificial insemination, but only one of us can be registered to be the mother, while the other without a blood connection has no way to exercise the legal duty of being a parent. This is so unfair. The baby has the love of two mothers. It does not matter how a family is formed as long as there is love. The baby can face anything in the world if the love between us is strong," said Chen. REUTERS/Tyrone Siu SEARCH "SIU SAME SEX" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. 

Aajibaichi Shaala is not your ordinary school in India. The students at "grandmothers' school" in the village of Fangane are elderly women who are getting the chance to learn to read. India's literacy rate grew to 74 percent in the decade to 2011, according to the latest census, but female literacy continued to lag the rate for males by a wide margin. About 65 percent of women were found to be literate, compared with 82 percent of men, according to the 2011 report. Education experts and researchers have cited outdated attitudes toward women, including a preference for male children over females, and child marriages as main reasons for the lower female literacy rate. At Aajibaichi, afternoon classes in the one-room school are held six days a week for two hours. The lessons are timed so the women can finish their chores, or their work in the fields, before attending class. REUTERS/Danish Siddiqui SEARCH "AAJIBAICHI" FOR THIS STORY. SEARCH "WIDER IMAGE" FOR ALL STORIES. TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY 

A child on rolling skates is seen during a march against the legalization of gay marriage and to defend their interpretation of traditional family values near the Angel of Independence monument in Mexico City, Mexico September 24, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso 

A child runs under a rainbow flag during a march in support of gay marriage, sexual and gender diversity in Mexico City, Mexico September 11, 2016. REUTERS/Carlos Jasso

Syrian refugee Omayma al Hushan, 14, who launched an initiative against child marriage among Syrian refugees, poses with her favorite toy at her residence in Al Zaatari refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Syrian refugee Omayma al Hushan (R), 14, who launched an initiative against child marriage among Syrian refugees, speaks with her family about her initiative at their residence in Al Zaatari refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed 

Syrian refugee Omayma al Hushan (2nd R), 14, who launched an initiative against child marriage among Syrian refugees, and her friends rehearse a play about her initiative at a school in Al Zaatari refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed 

Syrian refugee Omayma al Hushan, 14, who launched an initiative against child marriage among Syrian refugees, helps her mother at their residence in Al Zaatari refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed 

Syrian refugee Omayma al Hushan, 14, who launched an initiative against child marriage among Syrian refugees, poses with her favorite toy at her residence in Al Zaatari refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed 

Syrian refugee Omayma al Hushan, 14, who launched an initiative against child marriage among Syrian refugees, poses as she speaks to her friends about her initiative at school in Al Zaatari refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed 

Syrian refugee students listen to their friend Omayma al Hushan, 14, who launched an initiative against child marriage among Syrian refugees, as she speaks about her initiative at a school in Al Zaatari refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed 

Syrian refugee Omayma al Hushan (R), 14, who launched an initiative against child marriage among Syrian refugees, plays with her friend outside their residence in Al Zaatari refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed 

Syrian refugee Omayma al Hushan (R), 14, who launched an initiative against child marriage among Syrian refugees, plays with her friend outside their residence in Al Zaatari refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed 

Syrian refugee Omayma al Hushan, 14, who launched an initiative against child marriage among Syrian refugees, walks on her way back from school in Al Zaatari refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed 

Syrian refugee Omayma al Hushan, 14, who launched an initiative against child marriage among Syrian refugees, helps her mother at their residence in Al Zaatari refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed 

Syrian refugee Omayma al Hushan, 14, who launched an initiative against child marriage among Syrian refugees, helps her mother at their residence in Al Zaatari refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed 

Syrian refugee Omayma al Hushan, 14, who launched an initiative against child marriage among Syrian refugees, show her certificates to the camera at her residence in Al Zaatari refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed 

Syrian refugee Omayma al Hushan, 14, who launched an initiative against child marriage among Syrian refugees, speaks with her father about her initiative at their residence in Al Zaatari refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed 

Syrian refugee Omayma al Hushan, 14, who launched an initiative against child marriage among Syrian refugees, speaks to her friends about her initiative at a school in Al Zaatari refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed 

Syrian refugee Omayma al Hushan (C), 14, who launched an initiative against child marriage among Syrian refugees, speaks to her friends about her initiative in Al Zaatari refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed 

Syrian refugee Omayma al Hushan, 14, who launched an initiative against child marriage among Syrian refugees, speaks to her friends about her initiative at a school in Al Zaatari refugee camp in the Jordanian city of Mafraq, near the border with Syria, April 21, 2016. REUTERS/Muhammad Hamed 

Children dance during a wedding ceremony for a Free Syrian Army fighter in the town of Douma, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria January 19, 2016. Picture taken January 19, 2016. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh 

Children dance during a wedding ceremony for a Free Syrian Army fighter in the town of Douma, eastern Ghouta in Damascus, Syria January 19, 2016. Picture taken January 19, 2016. REUTERS/Bassam Khabieh 

Sun Huanping, 55, cries as she talks about her dead son at her house in Zhangjiakou, China, November 23, 2015. Sun and her 53-year-old husband Li Guoquan's son, Li Chao, was born in 1987 and died from a car accident in 2013. Sun terminated another pregnancy and couldn't think of having a second child because of the strict application of the one-child policy. After the loss of their son, Sun has suffered from conditions including depression, high blood pressure and diabetes. They live on Sun's pension and Li's monthly salary; it is not enough to cover their medical bills so they rely on the savings they had put aside for their son's marriage. The change to the one-child policy is too late and means nothing to them, they said. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon PICTURE 2 OF 18 FOR WIDER IMAGE STORY "CHINA: WHEN AN ONLY CHILD DIES" SEARCH "KIM ONE CHILD" FOR ALL IMAGES TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Sun Huanping, 55, shows her dead son's "honourable single child certification" which bears the slogan, "For the revolution, have only one child" at her house in Zhangjiakou, China, November 23, 2015. Sun's son with her 53-year-old husband Li Guoquan, Li Chao, was born in 1987 and died from a car accident in 2013. Sun terminated another pregnancy and couldn't think of having a second child because of the strict application of the one-child policy. After the loss of their son, Sun has suffered from conditions including depression, high blood pressure and diabetes. They live on Sun's pension and Li's monthly salary; it is not enough to cover their medical bills so they rely on the savings they had put aside for their son’s marriage. The change to the one-child policy is too late and means nothing to them, they said. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon PICTURE 3 OF 18 FOR WIDER IMAGE STORY "CHINA: WHEN AN ONLY CHILD DIES" SEARCH "KIM ONE CHILD" FOR ALL IMAGES TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY

Parti Quebecois leader Pierre Karl Peladeau rides a tandem bike with his son Thomas as he arrives at his wedding at the Musee de l'Amerique Francophone in Quebec City, August 15, 2015. REUTERS/Mathieu Belanger 

Parti Quebecois leader Pierre Karl Peladeau rides a tandem bike with his son Thomas as he arrives to his wedding at the Musee de l'Amerique Francophone in Quebec City, August 15, 2015. REUTERS/Mathieu Belanger 

Parti Quebecois leader Pierre Karl Peladeau rides a tandem bike with his son Thomas as he arrives to his wedding at the Musee de l'Amerique Francophone in Quebec City, August 15, 2015. REUTERS/Mathieu Belanger 

A child walks posters in favour of same sex marriage in Temple Bar, central Dublin as Ireland holds a referendum on gay marriage, May 22, 2015. REUTERS/Cathal McNaughton

Michigan couple April DeBoer (L) and Jayne Rowse sit together in their home in Hazel Park, Michigan April 19, 2015. DeBoer and Rowse, parents caring for four adopted children and a foster child, say they lead an ordinary life but now find themselves on the frontlines of the same-sex marriage debate as petitioners in one of several same-sex marriage cases that will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court next week. Picture taken April 19, 2015. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook

Michigan couple April DeBoer (L) and Jayne Rowse sit together in their home in Hazel Park, Michigan April 19, 2015. DeBoer and Rowse, parents caring for four adopted children and a foster child, say they lead an ordinary life but now find themselves on the frontlines of the same-sex marriage debate as petitioners in one of several same-sex marriage cases that will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court next week. Picture taken April 19, 2015. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook

Michigan couple April DeBoer (L) and Jayne Rowse sit together in their home in Hazel Park, Michigan April 19, 2015. DeBoer and Rowse, parents caring for four adopted children and a foster child, say they lead an ordinary life but now find themselves on the frontlines of the same-sex marriage debate as petitioners in one of several same-sex marriage cases that will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court next week. Picture taken April 19, 2015. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook

Michigan couple April DeBoer (2nd L) and Jayne Rowse watch as son Nolan (L) puts on his shoe and daughter Rylee jumps up and down in their home in Hazel Park, Michigan April 19, 2015. DeBoer and Rowse, parents caring for four adopted children and a foster child, say they lead an ordinary life but now find themselves on the frontlines of the same-sex marriage debate as petitioners in one of several same-sex marriage cases that will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court next week. Picture taken April 19, 2015. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook

Michigan couple April DeBoer (2nd L) and Jayne Rowse pose with their children (L-R) Rylee, Ryanne, Nolan and Jacob in their home in Hazel Park, Michigan April 19, 2015. DeBoer and Rowse, parents caring for four adopted children and a foster child, say they lead an ordinary life but now find themselves on the frontlines of the same-sex marriage debate as petitioners in one of several same-sex marriage cases that will be heard by the U.S. Supreme Court next week. Picture taken April 19, 2015. REUTERS/Rebecca Cook