Fighting to free teens from the violence of forced marriages

I wonder if you can think back to what were you doing when you were 14 years old? What did your life look like? What was the big event that shaped your 15th year?

BMS World Mission’s Gender Justice Co-ordinator Annet Ttendo-Miller remembers it well, because she became a mother at 14, and survived her father’s attempts to have her married off. Ttendo’s mother was courageous enough to send her back to school, and it really did take so much courage, which made sure Ttendo had a second chance at education.

As Ttendo explains, “Now I use my voice to speak out on behalf of teenage girls in Uganda, and girls across the world, who are suffering from this form of gender-based violence (GBV). Teenage girls who are forced into sex or into marriages that lead in turn to sexual abuse, physical abuse, robbing them of education and the freedom to be girls.”

Girls like the ones Ttendo met on a recent trip back to Uganda to see first-hand the work being done by BMS partner Justice Livelihood Heath (JLH) to combat forced marriages in a country where, according to recent UNICEF figures, ten per cent of girls are married off before their 15th birthday and 40 per cent are married off before they turn 18.

Just like the other two girls in the picture, Sophie* (middle) dropped out of school when she found out she was pregnant at just 14. Her family kicked her out, so she moved in with her in-laws, who took a goat to her family when she gave birth to a son. She still lives with them, receiving the bare minimum of support.

JLH steps into these difficult spaces to offer the same second chance that Ttendo was offered in her own time of darkness. And that is why, thanks to your support, BMS is standing alongside JLH throughout 16 Days of Activism, a global campaign to challenge violence against women and girls, which runs from November 25 through to Human Rights Day on December 10.

“When I asked Sophie about her hopes for the future, she told me she wanted to do a tailoring course, to be able to support her child and become more independent,” said Ttendo.

JLH offers a pathway to return to training and education for girls in Sophie’s situation, which deals with one of the immediate symptoms of GBV. But JLH are also addressing the underlying causes of child marriage, including: a lack of sex education in schools, poverty in rural villages, cultural norms that have such destructive consequences for girls, opening access to legal advice and the court system.

One of places of hope is Light Ray School, where BMS-supported worker Valerie Kisaber has worked closely to train the teachers in child protection. It offers a safe place of learning for vulnerable girls and orphans, it provides free education and, just as importantly, free reusable sanitary pads in an environment where girls are taught that their bodies deserve protection, respect and care.

Throughout the 16 Days of Activism, Valerie’s colleague Jackline Akong, a gender-based violence trainer, has been spearheading community-wide efforts in the district of Kasese to raise awareness, to raise funds and to convince community leaders to make commitments to fund work to fight the scourge of child marriage. The hope is that these actions will last for longer than the 16 Days. They’ll lead to mindset and culture change, where women and girls can stay safe and know their worth as beloved children of God.

*Name changed.