Our work on
GENDER JUSTICE
SDG Goals 5: Gender Equality
Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation
What is child marriage?
CHILD MARRIAGE IS ANY FORMAL MARRIAGE OR INFORMAL UNION WHERE ONE OR BOTH OF THE PARTIES ARE UNDER 18 YEARS OF AGE.
Major causes of child marriage
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Poverty
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Culture & tradition
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Religion
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Ilitracy
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Social presures
Our approach to ending child marriage in Cameroon
1. Create clubs in schools
We partner with schools across the country, creating clubs made up of both boys and girls.
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These kids oriented on the dangers of child marriage and are encouraged to be become advocates against the practice.
2. Engage traditional and religious leaders.
One of the major causes of child marriages in Cameroon is culture/tradition. Therefore we bring all these traditional leaders onboard so that they can abolish this practice in their various communities.
3. Engaging the media
The media is a powerful tool when it comes to disseminating information. We have taken this to our advantage, partnering with national TV stations, newspapers and radios to educate the public against child marriage.
4. Capacity workshops
We have built communities with victims of child marriage across the country. We help rebuild the self esteem of these girls and also help them acquire skills that will help them be independent.
We also train these girls to become ambassadors against child marriage.
5. Partnering with the government
We have partnered with Cameroon's Ministry of Women Empowerment and the Family to fight against child marriage.
One of the major success of this partnership is the creation of a draft law on child marriage which will soon be adopted by the parliament.
"Voices on Child Marriage in Cameroon"
A documentary by WAA Cameroon