Challenging Norms, Changing Futures

Did you know that globally 12 million girls are married before the age of 18 each year?

In Somalia, 45% of girls under 18 are married and 98% of women and girls between the ages of 15 and 49 have undergone some form of Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting. 

Challenging Harmful Attitudes and Norms for Gender Equality and Empowerment in Somalia (CHANGES) was a four-year project by Save the Children, in partnership with CARE International and the International Rescue Committee, co-funded by Global Affairs Canada and the Royal Norwegian Embassy.   

The goal of the project was to strengthen gender equality and the empowerment of women and girls in Somalia, by working to reduce and prevent rates of Child Early and Forced Marriage (CEFM) as well as Female Genital Mutilation/Cutting (FGM/C). 

Save the Children also partnered with national women and girls’ rights organizations (WGRO), to support progress toward gender equality and advance girls and women’s rights in communities around the country. 

This past fall, four representatives from the CHANGES project – two from Save the Children and two from WGRO organization – visited Canada to meet with government officials and talk about the positive impact the CHANGES project had for girls, their families, and communities.

During their visit, we had an opportunity to sit down with Khadra Yusuf Jama (CHANGES Project Director, Save the Children Somalia), Mohamoud M. Aqli (Senior Child Protection Technical Advisor, Save the Children Somalia), Shukria Dini (Founder & Executive Director of the Somali Women’s Studies Centre (SWSC)), and Nefisa Yusuf Mohamed (Executive Director of the NAGAAD Network) to discuss their work and personal experiences, and why it is so critical that we continue to work together to strengthen gender equality now – and in the future. 

Click the video below to hear directly from the amazing women making CHANGES possible!