Delay Marriage Promote Schooling for Ugandan Girls

Most Children especially girls in our community are forced into early marriages by either their parents or guardians due to common factors like poverty, gender inequality, cultural norms and stereotypes which deprives them from their right to education.

Education is one way of delaying child marriage and yet most of these children are not attending school. Due to the lack of education these children become vulnerable leading up to teenage pregnancies, sexual abuse, domestic violence, HIV/AIDS and early marriages.

In September we visited Kitgum prison primary school where Child Marriage and poverty have been reported as the major barriers to girl’s education. The head teacher of the School says many girls have been forced out of school. “A girl, who was supposed to sit for Primary Leaving Examinations (PLE) in 2022, did not sit because she was married off”. He says.   

Poverty coupled with cultural practices has resulted in increased vulnerabilities of children in the northern district of Kitgum, exposing many girls to child marriages.

“I regret getting married at the age of 17 years, I would have stayed at my parents’ home and may be stay in School”- Young Mother in PandWong, Kitgum District

Every child has a right to learn and access quality services to fulfill their potential to enable gainful employment opportunities and empowerment of girls to participate in decision making to build a better future for themselves and their communities.

A lot of young mothers in our community are illiterate because they have failed to go back to school due to underlying issues like lack of school fees and forced early marriages. 

Limited funding, absence of effective, functional monitoring and accountability system from national to local levels makes it difficult to keep track of the implementation and enforcement of the existing laws and policies against child marriage and  Ministry of Gender, Labor and Social Development acknowledges that programs that directly concern communities are underfunded.

Joy for children Uganda provides sponsorship and scholastic materials for young children and mothers to enable them access school to better the future of themselves and their communities.

Delay child marriage, promote schooling for Ugandan girls project empowers young girls at risk of marriage or already in union and also promotes education among young and teenage girls to fight the practice of early child marriage.

By supporting the project you’re building the skills and knowledge of young girls at risk of child marriage.