ADDIS ABABA: On International Day for the Girl Child, Ethiopia women's rights and children's rights activists have pushed forward in calling for an end to child marriage in the country. Activists told Bikyamasr.com that there is a need for a concerted effort to end the practice as it “is a threat to the economic security of the country and the future end to gender discrimination.” They argued that on the first-ever day for the girl child, the Ethiopia government must re-affirm their commitment to ending what activists described as a “regressive and dangerous problem.” The ICRW also issued a report on child marriage in Ethiopia: AMHARA REGION, Ethiopia – Almaz and Wube-Alem, both 10, are neighbors who cleaned house and fetched firewood before going to school this morning. After classes, they will likely head to the fields to feed cattle and gather more wood for cooking. They don't play much, Wube-Alem says. Both girls want to leave their rural village here in northern Ethiopia once they finish school – if not before. They have their eyes on the capital, Addis Ababa. “If I go to Addis, [my parents] will stop bothering me about getting married," Almaz says through an interpreter. “They tell me school or education will not be my lunch or dinner. They tell me there are men asking for me to marry and that will be my plan for the future." Last year Wube-Alem's parents had also been considering marriage for their daughter. She's not alone. Despite laws in Ethiopia against early marriage, the Amhara region has one of the world's highest rates of child marriage. However, when a handful of adults got word of what was being planned for the Wube-Alem and her friend, they broke with tradition and halted the nuptials. Almaz and Wube-Alem were two of more than 40 girls who were saved from early marriage this year by adult “gatekeepers" who serve as liaisons between a joint International Center for Research on Women (ICRW) and CARE-Ethiopia program and the villages in which it takes place. Stopping marriages has been an unexpected outcome of the program, which was designed to empower girls who have already married. That nuptials are actually being prevented as a byproduct of the program provides promising evidence that the program's messages about the consequences of child marriage are resonating in communities where the age-old tradition continues. Called TESFA, which means “hope" in Amharic, the program targets 5,000 married girls – most are between ages 14 and 19 – with information about sexual and reproductive health, saving and investing money and tips on how to communicate effectively. It is one of the few efforts globally that focuses on the often overlooked population of married adolescent girls, who number more than 60 million worldwide. Critically, TESFA aims to teach child brides how to advocate for themselves within the confines of a life they did not choose. By doing so, these girls are likely to have a better chance of not only growing into healthy, productive adults, but also mothers who one day may stand against their own daughters being forced to wed. In the program, one group of girls receives lessons on health issues, another solely on financial habits and a third receives both. The curriculum and approach were designed by CARE, which also implements the program in partnership with local organizations, while ICRW designed the research plan for the program and is leading TESFA's evaluation. The key goal of the evaluation will be to determine whether combining programming around sexual and reproductive health with financial training results in better health and livelihood outcomes than providing each alone. Among other things, ICRW will look at whether the program has affected the percentage of girls who are better informed about the reproductive process, contraception, visits to health centers and sexually transmitted infections. Researchers also will determine whether young wives increased their savings and investments, started an income-generating activity and gained more control over household assets. There's reason to believe that the combined approach will prove more beneficial for married adolescent girls, says Jeffrey Edmeades, a social demographer who directs TESFA for ICRW. “Healthier girls are more likely to be able to plan their economic future and take risks, however small, and wealthier girls are more likely to be able to access health services," he says. “This project should provide evidence about whether this is actually true." The key to success One of the more noticeable changes in the behavior of the girls is in their self-confidence. Program staff attributes this to the life skills training girls receive in all three arms of the project and the mere fact that they are included in a program that is valued by their communities. The financial literacy aspect of TESFA appears to be particularly attractive to participants, likely because the girls' family sees it as a bonus for them, according to Edmeades. TESFA also trains girls how to communicate and negotiate with others around health and financial matters. This is critical as child brides worldwide have little say over household decisions, let alone their life's path – husbands and in-laws tend to make those decisions. The communication training is proving to be a vital element of the curriculum for girls, which was not what researchers expected. “It's really teaching them how to talk to other people who are more powerful than them and giving them a framework to do that," Edmeades says. Indeed, many girls involved in TESFA appear to be gaining a voice in their households. Some are now advocating for themselves and even convincing their husbands and in-laws to, for instance, let them return to school. “That's pretty significant," Edmeades says, “because having these kinds of skills will affect all aspects of their lives." Meanwhile, support from TESFA's adult “gatekeepers" – husbands, in-laws, village leaders and others – has helped legitimize the program and girls' participation. Edmeades contends the program would not work without them. Gatekeepers were chosen by the community and take part in discussions on a variety of topics related to married girls' well-being and their environment. Discussion topics are fashioned in a way to highlight certain issues and challenge adults – the influencers in girls' lives – to question what has been the norm, understand its consequences and seek alternatives to it. With new information, adult leaders like health worker Semegie Haile are speaking out. “I try to teach the community that if girls marry before 18 they could face problems like fistula. Going to school and finishing their education is more beneficial," says Haile, who adds that residents often challenge her, saying they need to marry girls young because it helps a family benefit economically. But gatekeepers continue to push back. And their influence is potentially changing the course of girls' lives here – girls like Almaz and Wube-Alem.
