Gender Justice
May 21, 2022Sexual Reproductive Health Rights –Marriage: No Child’s Play (MNCP) project in Pakistan:
The brief summarizes key achievements of the More than Brides Alliance (MTBA) project “Marriage: No Child’s Play” (MNCP) in Shikarpur and Larkana districts of Sindh province.
The More Than Brides Alliance brings together international partners to empower girls to decide if and when to get married and to make informed choices about their sexual and reproductive health and rights. This alliance aims to reduce child marriages and its adverse effects on young women and girls in India, Pakistan, Malawi, Niger and Mali. The Alliance thus offers a multi-pronged approach of equipping adolescents with necessary skills and information, increasing their access to services and opportunities, and building their capacity, while at the same time shifting social norms related to marriage formation, Sexual Reproductive Health Rights, and gender equality.
The key objective of the MTBA’s program “Marriage No Child’s Play” was to help young people decide if and when to marry and pursue their sexual and reproductive rights in a supportive environment. The project’s main components include different training on life skills, advocacy, girls’ education, economic empowerment, and community awareness.
The Achievements of the MNCP program focused on treating the community and included activities related to seven key outcome areas, namely:
Outcome 1: Young people are better informed about SRHR, including adverse effects of child marriage and empowered to voice their needs and rights4800 Young people have access to peer support networks9600 Young people have access to CSE, SRHR information and9600 in-school youth of class V in 4800 sessions will get LSE information Part9600 out of school youth in 200 sessions will get LSE / SRHR information PartSRHR information and LSE to 3840 young people, especially girlsEngage 4800 adolescents in a range of contextualized activities to enable them to utilize life skills including sports, public speaking, art & craft, and street plays through UC networks and IDCs
Outcome 2: Increased access to formal education for 4000 girls at risk of and affected by child marriage5760 Parents of 40 communities understand the importance of girls’ educationStrengthen 48 School Management Committees through sensitization and mobilization.Mobilize 32 local opinion leaders to promote formal education for girlsPromote counseling of 1000 parents of girlsOrganize 80 9-months bridge course programs for approximately 800 out of school/drop-out girls to improve literacy and numeracy skillsSensitize approximately 4800 adolescent girls on existing social protection schemes through40 CPCs
Outcome 3: Increased access to economic opportunities for girls at risk of and affected by child marriage1480 at risk-, and married girls have financial literacy skillsprovide financial literacy training to 960 girls at risk of and affected by child marriageSensitize 480 families on the importance of having savings account for girlsConduct or provide vocational training (market-oriented skills training) for 800 adolescent girls based on need assessment
Outcome 4: Increased access to child protection systems for girls at risk of and affected by child marriagePromote CPCs taking action against child marriage (obtaining information on child marriage in the community, counseling families
Outcome 5: Increased utilization of SRHR services that are responsive to the needs of young people, particularly girls at risk of-, and affected by child marriage400 Young people (including unmarried and married girls and boys) can access YFSRH services80 sessions in each district on sensitization of parents on YFHSTraining of 49 Health Care Providers on YFHS
Outcome 6: Increased engagements and collective social action against child marriage and in support of ASRHRIdentification and formation of 40 village level CPCs and 2 district level task forces20 events of two days training of CPCs (25 members each)CPC quarterly meetings and developing community-led (GALS) information systems for advocacy, 160 meetings per yearOrganize awareness campaign led by adolescentCreate awareness among all 100 duty bearers
Outcome 7: Supportive rights-based legal and policy environment against child marriageCapacity building session with 130 police and judiciary in two districtsConsultative meetings with 75 duty bearers starting from the 3rd year of the project