Creating Supportive Environments to End Child Marriage

This project aims to empower girls at risk of child marriage by building their skills and assets so that they have the capabilities to determine their own futures especially choices about if when and who they marry. It empowers married girls in Zimbabwe and Bangladesh to realize their full potential and become advocates and mentors for younger unmarried girls. In addition it mobilizes communities to transform the attitudes and practices that drive child marriage while taking actions to support girls’ rights create opportunities and promote education and sexual and reproductive health. The project supports an enabling and protective environment to effectively respond to child marriage through implementation of laws policies and local child protection systems. And finally it builds a knowledge base on prevention and responses to child marriage to facilitate evidence informed programming and policy/institutional responses. The project reaches approximately 151 933 beneficiaries in the areas of Tsholotsho Kwekwe and Mutoko in Zimbabwe and in the area of Nilphamari In Bangladesh. Project activities include: (1) supporting youth leaders/champions to campaign in schools and supporting older out-of-school girls (including married girls) through the creation of safe spaces for them building their life skills and creating income generation opportunities for them through a mix of technical/vocational training and piloting savings and loans associations; (2) improving public awareness using different tools and methods involving men and boys as active agents of change regarding child early and forced marriage and gender equality promotion; (3) engaging religious and traditional leaders various existing community committees (including school committees and child protection committees) marriage officials health workers and law enforcement agencies to implement relevant laws and promote positive social norms/cultural norms against child marriage; and (4) enhancing the c

The expected intermediate outcomes for this project include: (1) national and local level child protection systems address and respond to child marriages; (2) improved agency and resilience of girls to determine their own futures; and (3) communities in project areas take action to prevent child early and forced marriage.