Malawi and Zambia
Eliminating Child Marriages in Malawi and Zambia and Offering Scholarships to Child-marriage Survivors – Pilot Project
Overview
The project contributied to accelerating the implementation of the African and global commitments to ending child marriage as a way of achieving the broader development goals of gender equality, freedom from poverty and a just world. The project empowered young women and girls who had experienced child marriage by providing scholarships and support to re-enrol in school, leveraging the transformative power of traditional institutions. Through coordination and capacity-building of Government and civil society, the project strengthened accountability and efficiency in the efforts to eliminate child marriages.
Beneficiaries
Young women and girls in Malawi and Zambia
Partners
Regional: African Union Commission (AUC); UN-Women Ethiopia. In Malawi: Ministry of Justice and Constitutional Affairs; Ministry of Gender, Children, Disability and Social Welfare; Malawi National Partnership to End Child Marriage; UN-Women Malawi; national women’s rights organizations; and community and religious leaders. In Zambia: Ministry of Justice; Ministry of Gender; Ministry of Youth, Sport and Child Development; UN-Women Eastern and Southern Africa Regional Office; Campaign for Female Education; national women’s rights organizations; and community and religious leaders
Budget
$1,000,000
Duration
April 2019–December 2020
Mostly contributing to
Key Results
Over 2,000 child marriage survivors were re-enrolled in various schools with scholarships, providing a second chance for education. Over 1,200 of those child marriage survivors, who live in areas distant from their schools, received a bicycle for transportation to attend classes. The project supported the participation of six child marriage survivors at the Regional Pre-Consultation Meeting to Review the African Union Campaign (AUC) to End Child Marriage 5 Year Strategic Plan (2019–2023).
Under an initiative to create favourable social norms and behaviours towards the education of child marriage survivors, awareness campaigns reached over 1,285 traditional and religious leaders, chiefs, police, health workers and community members in Zambia and Malawi. 592 traditional/faith leaders and community members in Zambia and 813 in Malawi were trained in gender relations, gender-related laws and harmful social norms.
The campaign scaled up with 52 community advocacy initiatives in addition to the distribution of awareness materials in the community. A total of 395 community-level volunteers were trained and mobilized to raise awareness and to discourage girls’ dropping out of school. A total of 62 young women in 10 communities were identified as mentors and community role models.