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AUGUST 2025
Dear friend,
We were deeply saddened by the passing of 𝗦𝗲𝗻𝗶𝗼𝗿 𝗖𝗵𝗶𝗲𝗳 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗮 𝗞𝗮𝗰𝗵𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗮𝗺𝗼𝘁𝗼 of Malawi — a visionary leader, fearless advocate, and long-standing ally in the global movement to end child marriage.
Chief Kachindamoto will be remembered as a champion of girls’ rights and as a trailblazer to end child marriage in her community, her country, and across Southern Africa. Her leadership has transformed the future for countless girls, averting over 3,500 child marriages and championing girls’ return to school.
Not only has her leadership transformed the lives of countless girls, but she has also inspired a movement. We had the privilege of working with Chief Kachindamoto over many years and were fortunate to spend time with her earlier this year as we work with 𝘎𝘪𝘳𝘭𝘴 𝘕𝘰𝘵 𝘉𝘳𝘪𝘥𝘦𝘴 𝘔𝘢𝘭𝘢𝘸𝘪 and critical partners to accelerate action to end child marriage in Malawi.
Her legacy will continue to guide, inspire and galvanise a movement. May she rest in peace, and may her legacy live on through the lives of the countless girls she has supported.
🔍SPOTLIGHT: ENDING PREMATURE UNIONS IN MOZAMBIQUE
Mozambique has one of the highest rates of child marriage in the world. 53% of girls marry or enter a union before the age of 18, and 17% do so before the age of 15.
The Coligação para Eliminação dos Casamentos Prematuros (CECAP) is a national movement of more than 60 civil society organisations to address child marriage and premature unions in Mozambique. Together, they are advocating for action in four critical areas to accelerate efforts to end premature unions in the country.
MEMBER SPOTLIGHTS
FORCOM
ASCHA
AMODEFA
INTERNATIONAL YOUTH DAY WRAP UP
This month, we celebrated International Youth Day – a day to shine light on the issues that today’s youth face at a global scale and celebrate the contributions young people make to our world.
Highlights from across our membership
Young leaders from our Latin America and the Caribbean membership raised their voices alongside girls, adolescents and young people at the Regional Conference on Women to demand a fair, intersectional and transformative care society.
The Education Out Loud (EOL) Regional Convening in Grand Bassam, Côte d’Ivoire brought together coalitions, partners, and youth leaders from across French-speaking West Africa to develop a regional declaration and strategy for collaborative advocacy to end child marriage.
Girls Not Brides Rajasthan launched a youth-led campaign, which will empower young people in Rajasthan to take the lead in ending child marriage by linking the right to education with the ending of harmful social norms.
MOOL STORIES
NATA PRATHA: FIGHTING FORCED UNIONS AND CHILD MARRIAGE IN RURAL RAJASTHAN
The first story looks closely at Nata Pratha – a widely practiced norm in Rajasthan, northwest India. Under this tradition, formally or informally separated or widowed, men and women can form relationships and live with a partner of their choice without formal marriage. We spoke to our member SARD (Society for All Round Development to find out more about how this practice can have negative impacts on girls.
📝 LEARNING AND RESOURCES
Join the Journey: Shaping a Global Shared Research Agenda to Prevent & Respond to Child Marriage
🗓️ Wednesday, 17 September 2025
⏲️ 7am Mexico City / 9am New York / 2pm London / 4pm Nairobi / 6:30pm New Delhi
📍 Online
🌐Interpretation available in English, French, Spanish, Bangla, Hindi and Nepali
Join us at the next CRANK meeting in collaboration with UNFPA-UNICEF Global Programme to End Child Marriage, UNICEF Innocenti and World Health Programme.
This month, the Regional Conference on Women, held in Mexico, reaffirmed the region's commitment to advancing the care society and achieving gender equality and women's autonomy.
Despite legal reforms in Mexico, such as the prohibition of child marriage since 2019, measures have not addressed the structural and cultural factors that perpetuate child, early and forced marriages and unions (CEFMU).
Data report: Understanding Child, Early and Forced Marriages and Unions in Mexico
Recent data shows that punitive measures have not been a solution, and intersectional, non-punitive policies and actions are needed to address these structural drivers of child marriage.
Options, Not Sanctions: Non-Punitive Approaches to Addressing Child, Early and Forced Marriages and Unions (CEFMU) in Mexico.
We launched a toolkit to support the development of criteria for addressing CEFMU from a non-punitive perspective that prioritises human rights, progressive autonomy, and the evolving capacities of children and adolescents.
OPPORTUNITIES
The Adolescent Girls Investment Plan (AGIP) is inviting applications for its second cohort of the Adolescent Girls Advisory Committee!
Committee members inform the work of AGIP at all levels and have the opportunity to collectively decide how they would like to engage with AGIP’S governance process and Board.
The deadline for applications is 2 September 2025.
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