How Girls’ Initiative is fighting against early marriage

Msichana Initiative, a Non-Governmental Organisation in Tanzania collaborated with several stakeholders to support school girls in rural areas with bicycles. Through providing an alternative means of transport the organisation also hopes to address the issue of gender-based violence (GBV).

Many of the young girls living in rural areas face distance challenges that prevent them from having equal access to education.

Dubbed ‘One girl, one bike,’ the project is focused on helping secondary school students to attend school safely and reduce the risk of being subjected to sexual abuse such as rape, early pregnancy and child marriage.

Recent events are causing great concern for the impact such issues are having on students.

Rebecca Benjamin was a 17-year-old who committed suicide after becoming mentally stressed from undergoing early marriage and dropping out of school in Geita region of Tanzania.

“Rebecca’s parents believed in the cultural practice of early marriages as a solution to poverty, but she was just a child and if there had been greater support for Rebecca, she probably wouldn’t have reached the point of no longer wanting to live,” Rebeca Gyumi executive director of Msichana (girl) Initiative tells us.

Since the director launched the project in 2017, Msichana Initiative, 40 per cent of school girls have benefited directly from Lindi, Dodoma, Tanga, Coast and Shinyanga regions. Each girl has their own bicycle now that helps them to travel to school smoothly.

According to the information provided by the Police Commander, Henry Mwaibabe from Geita region complained that there was a girl who was subject to early marriage more than once and got divorced.

This girl was Rebecca Benjamin: “When Rebecca died after hanging herself using a rope woven from a net on the porch of her house, she had already been divorced three times,” Mr Mwaibabe said.

According to  UNICEF, this year, there are 129 million girls who are out of school, including 32 million at primary school age, 30 million at lower secondary school age, and 67 million at upper secondary school age.

In countries affected by conflict girls are more than twice as likely to be out of school than girls living in non-affected countries

Girls who have to walk 4 to 10 kilometres to school not only face the issue of gender-based violence but have to tackle discriminating gender norms that deny them access to school and equal learning.

Long-distance walking to school also raises the possibility of sexual violence. The trauma from this leads to young girls losing hope in their ambitions as it disempowers them. At this point, they often decide to drop out of school, seeing no brighter future for their lives.

According to data provided by the President’s Office for Regional and Local Government Administration in Tanzania, the number of secondary school students who dropped out of school increased by 57 per cent in 2019.

To find a solution to this urgent and wide-scale issue, the government has been collaborating with stakeholders in education, social welfare, and national and even international organisations.

The girls’ initiative that defends the Rights of Girls in Tanzania, through its “one bike for one girl project”, has continued to support girls who have survived gender-based violence.

So far it has reached 100 girls in secondary schools from different regions.

Rebeca has persisted in highlighting students’ self-assurance and self-awareness: “In addition to giving them a bicycle,” she continues, “we help girls to understand, that they can have dreams and achieve them with confidence and belief in themselves.”

When a person does not know, who they are and they don’t believe in themselves, even when they are equipped with tools and resources, Rebeca believes they will struggle to develop.

“You have to know who you are and what you want in this life so that even if you see a “Boda Boda” (motorcycle), you can stand firm and say I must study, I am a woman who knows herself and knows what she wants to achieve,” she expresses.

The goal of One bike for One girl goes beyond assisting girls who travel more than 10 kilometres to get to school and lessening the likelihood of sexual violence against girls, it looks to empower and develop young girls into the women they can become proud of.

“Since the commencement of this project in 2017, our group has been able to deliver a total of 448 bicycles,” Rebeca tells us, “we are extremely grateful to our partners Karimajee, Jivanjee Foundation, Partners for Equality, My Ilava InfoBip, and regular Tanzanians who have been dedicated to supporting Tanzanian women in achieving their scholastic ambitions.”

Education is vital to a girl’s and a women’s livelihood.

According to Save the Children 2022 rates of early marriage have substantially increased among children forced by conflict into displacement camps and crowded homes

When a girl gets married, they drop out of school to look after the home, children and extended family.

When discussing the project’s success, a teacher from Zinga secondary school named Sofia Msefu is thankful for the Girls Initiative’s role in helping girls to avoid the risks of being subjected to gender-based violence.

“I would like to thank the Girl’s Initiative for providing this bicycle aid, which has been so helpful for our students to reduce school dropouts and help them realise the potential they have to achieve their career goals,” the teacher states.

Josin Salum, Amina’s parent also shares his gratitude for the initiative’s help in ensuring his daughter reaches school and returns home on time: “My child was not interested to study at that school due to the long distance they had to travel every day to school, but now she is ready to fulfil her dreams,” he said.

Vivian Milonga, a secondary school student at Zinga-Bagamoyo reveals that before receiving the bicycle, she would frequently accept a ride from different “Boda Boda” motorcycle riders because she needed to arrive at school early.

Amina Suleiman, who is a student also says: “I am thankful to the Girls Initiative and all the .sponsors for making it possible for us to attend school and arrive home on time,” she said.

By all people, of all rights established in the Charter of the United Nations and International human rights laws and treaties United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) is mandated to promote and protect the enjoyment and full realization.

Recognising the significance of the challenge, addressing GBV World Bank Group Gender Strategy in operations has been highlighted as a World Bank priority.

As the lives and education of young girls in rural areas in Tanzania continue to be protected, may the efforts to end GBV and violence against them continue until there is no potential risks.

This article is part of the African Women in Media (AWIM) Graduate Trainee Programme in collaboration with Fojo Media Institute