Adolescent Girls Empowerment (AGE)

Adolescent Girls Empowerment (AGE) project aims to change the socio-cultural norm of early marriages for adolescent girls in the province of Sindh through awareness raising, advocacy and legislative change.

The rates of early marriage and pregnancy are highest in Sindh, the second most populous province of Pakistan.

Early marriages and pregnancies lead to women disempowerment and affect their physical, mental, sexual and emotional health and well being. Malnutrition amongst adolescent girls also intensifies the complications of early conception. The objectives of AGE are:

  1. To create awareness and acceptance at the community level regarding the harmful social, economic and health consequences of early marriage
  2. To minimise opposition and mobilise support through strengthening the advocacy efforts of civil society for catalysing the passing of the Bill on increasing the minimum age of marriage for adolescent girls from 16 to 18
The primary focus of the project is advocating with community - adolescent girls and boys, parents, family elders, religious leaders and decision makers within the community; and relevant policy-makers - members of the Provincial Assembly of Sindh and the Provincial Assembly Women’s Caucus. Advocacy with these groups aims to push for an end to the practice of early marriage and to amend the Child Marriage Restraint Act 1929 in Sindh.
This will make a significant contribution towards empowering adolescents to demand their right to decide when to get married and to have children and consequently delaying the trend of teenage marriages and pregnancies which will ultimately lead to the improved MNH indicators. Adolescent Girls Empowerment is a project funded by the Maternal and Newborn Health Programme Research and Advocacy Fund, and is implemented by Rutgers WPF Pakistan.

This project is funded by RAF: Research & Advocacy Fund (www.rafpakistan.org).