“We want our sisters to know their rights too”: How the Community Girls Network is Spreading Empowerment

Community Girls Network leader Katumu (left) with a young mother of the network

The AdAmi Project has always sought to empower young women so they can have greater control over their own lives and better care for themselves and their children. But what has surprised us is how passionate the girls on our programme are about using the skills and knowledge they’ve gained to support other women in similar situations. A clear example of this comes from the Community Girls Network, which brings together a group of AdAmi Project participants, alumni and other young mothers in their community. 

Together, these young women lead awareness-raising activities on topics close to their heart (such as teenage pregnancy, early marriage, girls’ rights and gender-based violence). They have also, on their own steam, started to proactively reach out to and support other young women in their community who are experiencing exploitation or abuse.  To support both of these activities, the Network has been building relationships with parents and leaders in their communities. This means that the young women are able to use those leaders’ influence when intervening in another girl’s case, and they can ultimately drive change across the whole community in how girls and young women are seen and treated.

One of the Community Girls Network leaders, Tiangay, explains how this advocacy work came about: “We began to notice other young mothers in the community who were struggling and dropping out of school, and who weren’t receiving any support or encouragement. We wanted to do something to help them, to pass on all the knowledge and learnings we have been lucky to gain thanks to the AdAmi Project”.

Musu with her son

Musu, another of the Community Girls Network leaders, added “We are fortunate to be educated now thanks to the AdAmi Project. We have learnt about our rights and how to defend these. We want our sisters to know their rights too and to give them the courage to speak up in their community. Through the network we are ensuring that it is not just us who benefit from the work of the project, but other girls and young women too.” 

Depending on the situation, the Community Girls Network have intervened in various ways to support other young women. This includes providing mentoring; persuading a family to let their daughter return home after she got pregnant and they kicked her out; preventing an early marriage; and finding the money for a girl to buy uniform and books so she could return to school.  

Members of the Community Girls Network in Bo district

Already, the Community Girls Network is having a huge impact. The girls who are part of the network have grown in confidence as a result of speaking up for their own rights and those of their peers. They are increasingly seen as role models within their community and, as they are able to practically help other young women and bring about change in the community as a whole, they have a new sense of identity and purpose.

As 18-year-old Hawa, who is not enrolled in the AdAmi Project but part of the Community Girls Network, explains: “I wanted to become part of the network because I felt inspired by the girls of the AdAmi Project and how they had transformed their lives through the project. They are like role models to us. I have benefited from the network in so many ways. Before I could not talk to anyone, now I am not shy and can speak up for myself. I have even learnt to write some letters, before I didn’t even know how to hold a pen but the other girls have taught me how to do it.”

We are bursting with pride to see how the girls involved in the AdAmi Project have been empowered to not only improve their own lives, but to lift others up with them. We’ll be bringing you stories of cases the Community Girls Network have helped with so you can see what a difference they are making in their community.