Her Choice

Her Choice is an alliance of four Netherlands-based organisations: Stichting Kinderpostzegels Nederland, The Hunger Project, International Child Development Initiatives (ICDI) and the University of Amsterdam. These organisations combine their efforts with 27 local partner organisations to combat child marriage in ten countries. The programme ran from January 2016 to December 2020 and was implemented in partnership with the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of the Netherlands: Bangladesh, Benin, Burkina Faso, Ethiopia, Ghana, Mali, Nepal, Pakistan, Senegal and Uganda. The long-term goal (2016-2020) is to support the creation of child marriage-free communities in which girls and young women are free to decide if, when and whom to marry. The 6 intervention strategies are based on evidence, which shows that the most consistent results of targeting child marriages are achieved by fostering information, skills and networks for girls in combination with community mobilisation. Therefore, strategies focus on both areas: Increasing girls’ control in decision-making 1. Investing in girls, their knowledge, skills related to Sexual and Reproductive Health and Rights (SRHR) and participation in society: enhancing their comprehension of the negative effects of child marriage and of alternative options. 2. Keeping girls in school: improving access to formal education for girls by supporting girl-friendly schools and building knowledge through schooling in general, and on SRHR in particular. 3. Improving access to youth-friendly SRHR services for girls: improving health services and by actively referring girls to health workers. Mobilising relevant community actors 4. Strengthening the economic security of girls and their families: creating and supporting women’s self-help groups with training and access to (financial) resources. 5. Transforming social norms and traditional practices: mobilising and supporting communities, including boys, men, women, leaders to promote girls’ rights and gender equity, to achieve gender equity in education, decision making, and access to services. 6. Creating an enabling legal and policy environment on preventing child marriage: supporting traditional leaders and (local) authorities to enforce national policies on preventing child marriage.