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Mengistie Tegenie鈥檚 four sisters were married before the age of 18. Bright and academically gifted, their schooling鈥攍ike that of many young women in Ethiopia鈥攕topped after their arranged marriages.
During his first year at university, Tegenie says he felt guilty that he was able to continue his studies while his sisters were not. For many young women, he adds, child marriage doesn鈥檛 just block them from career opportunities; it comes with the added risk of gender-based violence (GBV).
听鈥淚 saw the impact of child marriage on all our lives, especially for women and girls who are disproportionately affected by violence. I knew it鈥檚 the men who also must speak up; that I鈥檇 have to be the one to make the change.鈥�
Today, Tegenie, a GBV specialist for Norwegian Church Aid, has dedicated his life to ending child marriage and violence against women.
These threats, Tegenie says, have only been growing more severe:听听amid a brutal two-year conflict, drought, and the COVID-19 pandemic, which have trapped women and girls in vulnerable conditions. Child marriages have also听听in the country's four hardest-hit regions.
In response, Tegenie and Norwegian Church Aid have partnered with UN Women and UNFPA to address attitudes and beliefs that perpetuate GBV and gender inequalities in several local Ethiopian communities. The initiative, started in 2021, is supported through a Central Emergency Relief Fund (CERF) global grant allocation on GBV prevention and response that has been implemented in six countries, including Ethiopia.
Changing social norms begins at the grassroots
To change social norms, Tegenie says, awareness raising must begin at the grassroots level. With support from UN Women, Norwegian Church Aid held community conversations led by trained facilitators to discuss the ramifications of child marriage and violence against women. At the end of the dialogue, community leaders were asked to make public declarations denouncing these practices and add sanctions and other consequences into local bylaws.
鈥淲e want to engage men and boys and change their attitudes about these practices. We want them to be aware of how it affects the lives of women and girls and engage in community efforts to end violence against women and girls,鈥� Tegenie says.
Ultimately, he acknowledges, social norm change takes a long time and requires the buy-in of community leaders. In many regions of Ethiopia, that includes faith leaders, some of whom have been promoting harmful practices against women and girls.
Tegenie and Norwegian Church Aid provided trainings for 48 faith leaders across Orthodox, Protestant, and Islamic traditions and encouraged the country鈥檚 top religious councils to issue their own declarations stating that GBV and child marriage have no basis in their religions. 鈥淭hese religious institutions influence the parish priests, the pastors, in the grassroots communities. That鈥檚 what changes norms,鈥� he says.
