Gender Equality Morocco Project #55512

Give Girls' Rights For Life in Morocco

by Project Soar

Project Report | Feb 1, 2023
#EndChildMarriage in Morocco

By Rita Chraibi | Communication & Development Coordinator

Soar Girls advocating to #EndChildMarriage

Hi Friends,

We are incredibly grateful to all of you for continuing to support our mission to Give Girls Rights for Life in Morocco, helping them to become the leaders of today and tomorrow.

Combating child marriage is one of the ways we ensure that girls continue to have their rights in Morocco. According to Girls Not Brides, in Morocco, 14% of girls get married before they turn 18; the practice is more common in rural areas, where the rate is considerably higher. It is clear that this has a negative impact on young girls' health, education, and general well-being, which is why Project Soar is attempting to put an end to it with your support.

Through a variety of initiatives aimed at educating girls and their families about the dangers and consequences of early marriage, we hope to eradicate child marriage in Morocco by 2025. To accomplish this, we have been holding workshops aimed at ensuring that girls stay in school and are aware of their educational options for achieving their goals. In 2022, less than 1% of Soar girls were married before the age of 18, demonstrating the initiative's success thus far.

Another way we make sure girls are aware of their options outside of marriage is through the implementation of community dialogues within the local neighborhood to encourage alternative paths for girls and to spread knowledge of the negative consequences associated with marrying young. The significant impact child marriage has on young girls' lives is extremely damaging making them more susceptible to domestic violence, high-risk pregnancies, and dropping out of school. However, with your continued support, we can keep working to eradicate this harmful practice and grant girls the rights and opportunities they deserve.

Soar Girl Soumia states “I see classmates wasting their futures, forced to get married and often soon divorced. Marriage is not meant for children - it is meant for adults.”

We want to thank you for helping Soar Girls to gain access to the knowledge they need to overcome gender inequality. By supporting this campaign you are helping girls overcome these challenges. Never doubt you are making a difference!

Warmest wishes,

The Project Soar Team

Soar Girl Soumia

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Oct 10, 2022
Strong Girls know their Rights

By Ujala Syed | Development Coordinator

Dear Friends,

We are so very thankful for you, our supporters, and your ongoing allegiance to teen girls realizing their rights and potential in life.

Giving girls the knowledge of their rights is key to them breaking free of unjust cultural practices leading to setbacks in life. As a Soar girl progresses through the Soar empowerment workshops provided by your generous support, amazing things happen: in the Value and Rights modules, she learns to understands her right to be free from violence, sexual harassment, and early or forced marriage. She is also taught how to speak up for her newfound sense of self through the Voice module, and start the journey of protecting her holistic health in the Body module.

Providing each teen girl the opportunity to learn about her rights is a lifelong investment.
And how do we know this investment works?

Our impact data collected in 2021/22 from our Soar girl tells an amazing story:

With their newfound commitment to stay in school, we found 90% of Soar Girls passed the school year compared to the national rate of 85.15% of all students¹. For girls taking the end of high school exam, an amazing 100% of Soar Girls passed the BAC2 Exam compared to the national rate of 66.28% of all students².
Knowing their rights to be free from early or forced child marriage allows Soar girls to be self-advocating agents of change, allowing them to speak up for themselves and negotiate out of difficult situations they are placed in. Less than 1% of Soar Girls married underage compared to the national rate of 14% of girls³.

With these incredible feats and revolutionary shift in thinking with believing they can, Soar girls achieve self-actualization whilst forming a strong sisterhood during the workshops.
Speaking of her experience, Fadwa, a Soar Girl from Tantan, said: “I like the girl that I have become now, strong and confident. I like the way Project Soar is structured. It brings different girls all together, and each one has a story to tell that becomes a lesson for others. This program built such a strong bond between all of us and that makes us even stronger.”

We are so proud of the dedication and drive seen by our Soar girls who have shown us how impactful our empowerment program is in giving them the tools to succeed and grow stronger.

As ever, we wish to thank you for helping Soar Girls access this knowledge to their rights in life and realize their newfound strength. Your support means more girls are accessing life-changing rights-based programming and Soaring to new heights!

Warmest wishes,

The Project Soar Team

Sources: 1, 2, 3

Links:

http://www.projectsoar.org

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Jun 14, 2022
When Girls know their rights, they Soar!

By Jenna Lacey | Development Coordinator

Soar Girl Maryam from Biougra, Morocco

Hi Friends!

We are sending gratitude to you, our supporters, for your commitment to help teen girls be the leaders of today and tomorrow.

During Curriculum Module 4: Rights. A Soar Girl embraces her right to an education and understands her right to be free from violence, sexual harassment, and early or forced marriage. In this module, Soar Facilitators lead 5 workshops including I have the right to pursue an education and I have the right to be free from forced & underage marriage. Girls learn about their universal rights after already learning about their Value in Module 1, how to use their Voice in Module 2, and how to maintain their physical and mental wellness in Module 3, Body.

In the Rights Module, Soar Girls learn critical skills for negotiation, especially when it comes to fighting to stay in school:

Soar Girl Maryam is 15 years old from Biougra, a rural community in the south of Morocco. With little support from her family to continue her education, she became introverted and considered dropping out of school.

“Before the Soar program, Maryam was isolated,” Soar Facilitator Leila shared. The day Leila invited Maryam to attend Soar workshops, Maryam began a journey to rebuild herself, focusing more on her mental health, her grades in school, and her future. “After attending the Soar workshops, Maryam has regained her confidence, and played a key role at our Community Dialogue. She is now excelling in her studies.” This year, Maryam received the highest grade in her class. We are so proud of what she has accomplished despite the barriers that have stood in her way.

Our team of staff and women facilitators across Morocco and Syria are dedicated to supporting girls like Maryam every day, giving them the tools to succeed and encouraging them to NEVER stop soaring to reach their goals.

We want to thank you for helping Soar Girls to gain access to the knowledge they need to overcome gender inequalities. By supporting this campaign you are helping girls overcome these challenges. Never doubt you are making a difference!

Warmest wishes,

The Project Soar Team

Soar Girls in Douar Laadam, Morocco at a workshop

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