Dear friend,

To end child marriage at scale, we need a multitude of committed leaders, like you, to pave the way for a better future for girls and young women.

April marks an important juncture in our Power to Girls campaign, where we’ve seen Girls Not Brides member organisations leading trailblazing national-level campaigns across 9 countries around the world.

From Ecuador to India, and Pakistan to Zambia, decision makers and key stakeholders are engaging with Power to Girls campaigns at the national level, including girls, religious leaders, journalists, parents and politicians, to urgently address child, early and forced marriages and unions.

Everybody can take action for girls to access their rights and their power.

Since launching the global campaign in September 2021, Power to Girls has seen many successes and exciting campaign wins through the work of our members around the world.  

Changemakers from over 48 countries have made more than 500 commitments to end child marriage and as a Partnership we’ve garnered an incredible 10,000 pledges from the campaigning of Girls Not Brides member organisation, Pratigya, in India.

Another generation of girls will never have the chance to be children if we don’t act now. Thanks to this campaign, thousands of people have stood up and demanded change but we need to see words turned into action.

As we move into the next stage of the campaign, we will hold individuals and organisations  to account to deliver on their promises. This is a vital stage of the Power to Girls campaign, to ensure that urgent, tangible commitments that have been made are followed up and actioned.

Girls Not Brides member organisations in Ecuador, India, Mozambique, Liberia, Mali, Nigeria, Pakistan, Senegal and Zambia are running Power to Girls campaigns at the national level, working in innovative ways to advance an end to child marriage and girls’ access to their rights and power.

We will keep you updated on the latest actions that our member organisations are taking to ensure girls can access their power and live free from child marriage.

In solidarity,

Girls Not Brides

Further reading

New framework! Girls' sexuality and child, early and forced marriage and unions – This new conceptual framework supports gender-transformative advocacy and programming to prevent child marriage and advance adolescent girls’ rights and agency.

Watch: Girls Not Brides champions in conversation with Malala Yousafzai – Girls Not Brides’ co-founder, Mabel Van Oranje, and champion Graça Machel spoke during an event arranged by King’s College to remember the late Archbishop Desmond Tutu, who co-founded Girls Not Brides in 2011.  They were joined by Malala Yousafzai who shared her own experience of seeing child marriage affect the education of a classmate as she spoke about leadership, education and the rights of girls everywhere.

Resource round up: Child marriage and cash transfers, adolescent pregnancy, and intersectionality – We have compiled several new briefs to spotlight key evidence and recommendations for developing gender-transformative approaches to child marriage that respond to different contexts.