Child Protection Uganda Project #18515

Delay Marriage Promote Schooling for Ugandan Girls

by Joy for Children-Uganda

Project Report | Sep 26, 2023
EFFORTS TO PREVENT CHILD MARRIAGE IN UGANDA

By Atim Racheal | Fundraiser

As the international day of a girl child is due to be celebrated soon come 11^th October 2023, Uganda is ranked the 16^th out of 25 countries with the highest prevalence of child marriage in the world, and 10^th highest absolute number of child brides totaling to an estimated 4million, current statistics indicate that 34% of the women are married before the age of 18years and 7.3% before the age of 15(UNICEF).

Section 42a (1) of the children’s (amended) Act of Uganda provides for the protection rights which requires that children should be safe guarded against all forms of abuse, neglect and exploitation which include child marriage, child trafficking female genital mutilation , child labor, defilement and other forms of physical or emotional abuse to a child .

With all the laws, policies and the legal age of consent to marriage in Uganda set at 18 years according to the constitution and the Children’s (Amended) Act of Uganda, child marriage continues to thrive unabated usually arranged or perpetuated by parents, relatives or guardians who do not even report the act since they will also be held liable for aiding and abetting defilement.

This harmful practice has affected most girls by exposing them to sexual practices which they have no consent to and knowledge about or even control over leading to unwanted teenage pregnancies which has led to a large number of deaths of young girls due to hardships in childbearing or the pregnancy process, some of these old men are exposed to sexual transmitted diseases like HIV/AIDS and STDS and end up transmitting the disease to the girl child.

To stop child marriages in Uganda , Joy for Children Uganda (JFCU) is working with members of parliament most especially Uganda parliamentary for children (UPFC)and Uganda women parliamentary association (UWOPA) to support process for the enactment of the sexual offences bill and advocacy for implementation of the existing laws and policies to end child marriage.

The government of Uganda has as well developed a National strategy to End child marriage and teenage pregnancies 2022/2023- 2026/2027. This strategy outlines government’s commitment to revert the current negative trend with a goal to end child marriage and teenage pregnancy in Uganda for. The key strategic focus areas are improved policy and legal environment to protect children and promotion of the girl child’s rights, changing dominant thinking and social norms related to child marriage in the communities and many more.

Joy for Children: The Delay marriage promote schooling for children in Uganda project calls for action and need to create more awareness on child marriages, the existing laws against the vice and reporting procedures and helplines which will help in the delay of early child marriage and most children in Uganda will be exposed to or even complete their education, as we all know education is key and every child in our nation has a right to it, and clearly it is a powerful strategy to end child marriage and ensure girls can fulfill their potential.

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Jun 8, 2023
GIRLS IN INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY

By Tukwasibwe Sandra | Fundraiser

Joy for children - Uganda joined the rest of the world to commemorate nternational Women’s’ Day 2023, the day explored the impact of the digital gender gap on widening economic and social inequalities and to recognize the importance of protecting the rights of women and girls in digital spaces and addressing online and ICT-facilitated gender-based violence. With Agenda 2030 commitment to gender equality across all sectors of development, how innovation and digital technology empower women and girls must be understood.

Promoting girls’ digital literacy and closing the digital gender gap will play an important role in achieving gender equality and promoting the rights of girls and women worldwide. The COVID-19 pandemic opened our eyes on how the use of technology is the “new normal”. The technological advancement can be noticed in the increased uptake of online shopping, as well as the introduction of digital contactless payment systems, remote working and video conferencing, the technological advancement has also caused to shine more light on how serious the gender gap in Information communication and Technology is and how the lack of digital literacy has increased all economic and social inequalities.

The event was held at Parliament of Uganda and organzied by Uganda Women Parliamentary Association, we were represented by our Executive Director who called on stakeholders to amplify the voices of girls in the digital space.

"As CSOs and policy makers, we need to Identify and address key obstacles to digital access for young girls", Ntenga

There is a gender digital divide: Women girls are disadvantaged when it comes to digital adoption, have lower levels of access to and use of digital technology than boys and men, and often are not benefitting from digital technology in the same way as boys, there is also a large gender gap in the number of women and men employed in the ICT sector with unequal economic outputs, fewer opportunities for professional growth, and difficulty in accessing leadership positions. Failing to tackle these challenges will lead to the absence of women and girls at all stages of technological use and design and reproducing digital inequalities.

Call to Action

Adopt a gender-responsive approach to innovation, technology and digital education to increase the awareness of women and girls regarding their rights and democratic engagement.

There is need for inclusive and transformative technology and digital education for a sustainable future.

Make socio-cultural factors central to every solution and challenging limiting gender stereotypes in digital inclusion design.

Empower girls and women to participate meaningfully in the design, research and development of tools and approaches that will address this digital divide, when women and girls play an active role, solutions are more equitable and holistic.

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Jan 12, 2023
National Girl Summit

By Tukwasibwe Sandra | Fundraiser

On the 30^th of November 2022, Joy for Children –Uganda organized the National Girl Summit t intensifying policy and legal advocacy to protect girls from child marriage and amplify the urgency for adopting girls’ /children’s rights at community and national level.

Joy for Children intentionally gears towards empowerment of both girls and boys with correct information to enable them recognize child marriage and early pregnancy as a gross violation of their rights, and support them to take mitigating actions. Child marriage is one of the significant drivers of adolescent pregnancy in Uganda. 8.9 million Girls aged 10–19 are at risk of harmful practices, including child marriage. This represents nearly 27% of the country’s total population of 35 million; and in a country with the world’s lowest median age of 15 years. A whopping 34% and 7% of girls in Uganda are married before their 18th and 15th birthdays respectively; while 6% of boys are married before their 18th birthday. Child brides are also at major risk of contracting sexually transmitted infections (STIs) including HIV. The risk of maternal death is about 28% higher for mothers aged 15 to 19 than that of mothers aged 20 to 24 (UNFPA, 2020). COVID-19 pandemic led to closure of schools for 2 years which sparked child marriage cases, UNESCO 2021 projections showed that school closure increased the risk of child marriage by 25 per cent per annum.

The event was graced by the presence of the Vice President of Uganda, her Excellency Rtd. Hon.Jessica Alupo who re assured governments commitment towards ending child marriage.

“Child marriage is one of the most known forms of sexual and gender-based violence amongst girls. No child is physically or emotionally ready to become a wife, a husband or a parent”. VP Alupo.

“Uganda ranks as one the countries with higher rates of child and forced marriage. Available statistics indicated that 10% of girls are married off before the age of 15 and 40% of girls are married off before their 18th birthday which constitutes to 50% of young girls indulged into such”. VP Alupo added.

Speaking at the summit, Moses Ntenga who doubles as the National Coordinator of Girls Not Brides Uganda and Executive Director of Joy for Children Uganda stated that about 24% of already married women did it before the age of 18 and about 15% were married at 18, as well there are some cases where boys get married at a tender age.

“We think that this summit should continuously create a platform for stakeholders reflect on issues of child marriage and teenage pregnancy but also commit to address the vice”. Said Mr. Ntenga

The summit aimed at amplifying voices of children and duty bearers in advocating for an end to child marriage and teenage pregnancy, increased learning and knowledge management in tackling the vice and enhanced partnership of stakeholders

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