Changing minds: how awareness programmes help end child marriage
Laws matter, but minds must change too. Awareness programmes help families and communities to understand the harm of child marriage and to find better choices. This article explains how they work.
Why awareness matters
On 13 September 2013, the Yemeni minister Hooria Mashhour told the BBC she believed there was more chance of progress on child marriage in Yemen than ever before. Progress of this kind depends on people understanding why change is needed.
Talking with families
Good awareness work starts with listening. It respects families' worries about poverty, honour and safety. It offers honest information about the risks of early marriage.
Many voices
- Parents who chose to wait share their experience.
- Teachers and health workers explain the facts.
- Religious and community leaders speak up for protecting girls.
- Girls and young women talk about their own hopes.
From words to action
Awareness is most powerful when it leads to action: a girl kept in school, a marriage delayed, a family supported. Each change encourages others.
Awareness programmes are at the heart of Nada Foundation's work to protect girls.