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From national laws and policies to local programmes: obstacles and opportunities in communications for adolescent girls’ empowerment in Uganda (Routledge, 2018, Chapter 5)

This chapter examines action for gender norm change within the broader institutional context in Uganda, which has relatively strong national legislative frameworks and policies to support gender equality and adolescent girls. Despite this, change on the ground is slow and in some places appears non-existent. To examine action for change in this context, the chapter considers selected communications initiatives that aim to shift discriminatory norms around adolescent girls in rural communities. The analysis is set against the backdrop of the country’s national legal, policy and programme environment for gender empowerment and adolescent girls, highlighting both the enabling aspects of progressive laws and policies along with some of the ambiguities around adolescent sexual and reproductive health rights and the reform of marriage legislation, as well as significant gaps between policy promises at national level and action on the ground.

Click here for full chapter.

Network Round-Up: Resources and learning for International Day of the Girl (11 October)

11 October marks the UN International Day of the Girl.  The 1.1 billion girls across the world girls face a myriad of challenges – from harmful social norms to lack of educational opportunities. They also have less access to information, communication technology and resources, such as the internet where the global gender gap is growing.

To celebrate International Day of the Girl and highlight some of the ways girls themselves are challenging the status quo, we are sharing the following short list of curated communication for development related publications and thinking relating to girls’ development from our Resources section, which we hope will be useful. If you have a resource to add please do contact us via [email protected]

Empowering adolescent girls in developing countries: gender justice and norm change (ODI Study, 2018)

Digital Empowerment of Girls (Plan International briefing paper, 2018)

Using the Community Conversation Approach to Tackle Gender Inequalities (Save the Children learning brief, 2017)

Social Norms and Girls’ Well-Being: Linking Theory and Practice Report (Data2X, 2017)

How communications can change social norms around adolescent girls (ODI study, 2016)

Guide to Girl-Centered Advocacy (Let Girls Lead, 2016)

Girls’ clubs and empowerment programmes – Knowledge to action: Effective action on gender norms that affect adolescent girls (ODI Research Note, 2015)

I know. I want. I dream. Girls’ insights for building a better world (ICRW report, 2013)

Adolescent Girls Creating Safer Cities: Harnessing the Potential of Communication for Development (UN-Habitat, 2012)

I know. I want. I dream. Girls’ insights for building a better world (ICRW report, 2013)

In 2009, ICRW published Girls Speak: A New Voice in Global Development as the fourth report of the Girls Count report series. Four years later, researchers supported by the Nike Foundation asked more than 500 girls from 14 countries to share their insights and perspectives with global decision-makers. This report synthesizes girls’ voices from around the world and argues that girls’ insights are crucial to designing effective global development policies.

Click here for full report.

Using the Community Conversation Approach to Tackle Gender Inequalities (Save the Children learning brief, 2017)

Adolescent girls in Kenya face a number of risks and vulnerabilities that can affect their health, education status, and general well-being. The Adolescent Girls Initiative-Kenya (AGI-K) is currently delivering multi-sectoral interventions, targeting violence prevention, education, health, and wealth creation to adolescent girls aged 11 to 15 in two marginalized areas of Kenya.

This learning brief is one of three, prepared during the implementation phase of the project, focusing on key areas of best practices and lessons learn. These briefs aim to share learning with specialists and civil society networks, and help inform future design and management of adolescent girls’ programmes in hard-to-reach, marginalized communities.

Community conversations are a socially transformative approach that galvanizes communities to address the underlying causes of underdevelopment and vulnerability. The approach provides a platform where a cross section of the community members including local administrators, religious leaders, parents, teachers, community health workers, young men and women, converge and reflect on the challenges faced by the girls. They further identify steps to take to resolve these challenges and draw action plans that will eventually lead to a change in attitude, values, beliefs and practices that impede adolescent girls from realizing their full potential or well-being.

Click here for full brief.

Digital Empowerment of Girls (Plan International briefing paper, 2018)

Digital technologies have a strong potential to empower girls and women economically and socially. Girls feel safer and more connected when they have a mobile phone, and they use mobile phones to save time and money and access education opportunities. Yet girls and women are, on average, less likely than men to own a mobile phone, use mobile data, social media apps or SMS.  There is also a stark gender disparity in access to the Internet, which limits the ability of girls and women to benefit from many innovations of the digital economy, such as digital payments and mobile money. The gender disparity in access to technology is compounded by a significant gender divide in terms of career and academic aspirations related to Information and Communication Technologies (ICTs).

This briefing paper argues that promoting girls’ digital literacy and closing the digital gender gap will play an important role in achieving gender equality and promoting the rights of girls and women worldwide. Indeed, bridging the digital gender divide is essential in ensuring girls and women are not left behind in an increasingly digital future. The paper also argues that actions promoting girls’ digital empowerment should be guided by the principle of engaging girls and women as active, capable partners in our work, not merely passive recipients or targets. Rather than making assumptions about what girls want and need from technology, it is important to work together with girls to strengthen and develop their use and creation of digital tools.

Click here for full paper.

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