ETHIOPIA: Berhane Hewan “Light for Eve” Project for Girl Youth Empowerment to Deter Child Marriage

PROJECT
ETHIOPIA:
 Berhane Hewan “Light for Eve” Project for Girl
Youth Empowerment to Deter Child Marriage

In the Amhara region of Ethiopia, rates of child marriage are among the
highest in the world. Half of all girls in Amhara are married before their 15th
birthday. Population Council researchers conducted a survey of more than 2,900
adolescent boys and girls in Amhara and Addis Ababa, where many girls flee when
they are trying to avoid arranged marriages or to escape marriages that have
already occurred. As described by girls in Amhara, marriage effectively forced
girls into having unwanted, uninformed sexual relations with a relative
stranger. Ninety-five percent of the girls surveyed did not know their husband
before marriage, and 85 percent were given no forewarning that they were going
to be married. More than two-thirds of married girls reported that they had not
started menstruating when they had sex for the first time. Not surprisingly,
many of these marital unions are unstable, and 12 percent of girls in Amhara
aged 10–19 are already divorced.

Berhane Hewan (meaning “Light for Eve” in Amharic) is a new program underway
in Amhara designed to assist unmarried girls by imparting the knowledge, skills,
and resources they need to avoid child marriage. The program promotes functional
literacy, life skills, reproductive health education, and opportunities for
saving money. In developing the project, local Ministry of Youth, Sports and
Culture staff felt strongly that the program needed to address the economic
motives for the practice of child marriage. Accordingly, economic incentives
were added to encourage families to allow their daughters to participate in
girls’ groups that meet five days per week, and to remain in school.

The project has already received an enthusiastic response from the
community—over 750 girls have joined Berhane Hewan. In addition, a parallel
activity is offered for married girls, who meet once a week to obtain
much-needed health information, peer interaction, and social support.

Location

Amhara, Ethiopia

Duration

December 2004–June 2008

Population
Council researchers

Annabel
Erulkar, Tekle-Ab Mekbib

Non-Council
collaborator

Ethiopian Ministry of Youth,
Sports and Culture

Donors

UK Department for International
Development

United Nations Children’s Fund
(UNICEF)

United Nations Population Fund
(UNFPA)

The Turner Foundation, Inc.

Publications/Resources
on this project