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International Partnerships

Choosing school over marriage

Fifteen-year-old Tenin* still remembers the day, two years ago, when she raised her hand in class. In a soft clear voice, she told her teacher and her classmates: “Go see my father: they intend to give me in marriage.” In a country where nearly half of the girls are married before their eighteenth birthday, it was a courageous act of self-defence.

"I didn’t want to get married. I wanted to continue going to school"

Tenin*

"Behaviour change takes a lot of time. Thanks to the involvement of the village chief, village leaders, traditional leaders and religious leaders, we believe that one day early marriage will be completely abandoned in our community. It creates a lot of health problems for the women and girls here."

Birama Ouologuem, Kemeni committee president