Football to combat early marriage and pregnancy

Context

According to a 2017 report published by Girls Not Brides in Uganda, 40% of girls are married before the age of 18 and 10% before the age of 15. This trend is confirmed by UNICEF, which ranked the country as number 18 in the world in terms of the early marriage prevalence rate.

The closure of schools in March 2020 as a preventive measure against the COVID-19 pandemic seems to have increased this prevalence rate. A July 2020 survey conducted by NeFCoRD in Kasese District identified over 1,000 teenage pregnancies during that time period.

NeFCoRD is committed to encouraging the empowerment and autonomy of young women in Kasese District through football practice and awareness-raising programmes in schools and the wider community.

Goals

• Reduce the prevalence rate of early marriage and pregnancy
• Foster the empowerment and autonomy of girls through football (in particular by building up self-esteem and self-confidence)
• Improve the physical, economic, mental and emotional health and well-being of individuals and the community as a whole

Activities

• Organising women’s football tournaments and raising awareness among the participants of the consequences of early marriage and pregnancy
• Establishing a support network of 30 girls’ clubs in 30 schools in order to create safe spaces to offer support and social cohesion to girls at risk of early marriage and/or pregnancy
• Training in entrepreneurship for 100 girls from disadvantaged families through a specific support programme

Impacts

• 1,000 girls and 300 boys aged 8 to 19 have directly benefited from the project
• Nearly 300 girls have enrolled in the 30 clubs set up by the foundation
• 50 volunteer coaches have been trained by the Federation of Uganda Football Associations (FUFA) in support of the four coaches recruited by NeFCoRD to develop the programme
• 100 community and government leaders, 100 religious leaders and 20 cultural leaders have been educated about the negative impacts of certain traditional practices

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