Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage has been awarded a grant to support its work to address child marriage from Nationale Postcode Loterij, the largest charity lottery in the Netherlands. Girls Not Brides is a partnership of more than 550 civil society organisations based in over 70 countries, united by a commitment to end child marriage and enable every girl to fulfil her potential.
“Child marriage continues to be a reality for millions of girls around the world. Every year, 15 million girls are married as children. The impact is devastating. Child marriage forces many girls to drop out of school and they face an overwhelming pressure to have children when they themselves are still children,” said Heather Hamilton, Interim Executive Director, Girls Not Brides.
“The Nationale Postcode Loterij grant will be used by Girls Not Brides to provide our member organisations with the support and resources needed to help strengthen their work to ensure that all girls have the opportunity to fulfil their potential,” added Heather Hamilton. “Together we will continue to put child marriage on the agenda and call for the laws, policies and programmes needed to end child marriage within a generation.”
Child marriage facts:
“This grant from Nationale Postcode Loterij is recognition that this is the time to accelerate our efforts to end child marriage. We have seen huge progress, particularly with global, regional and national actors making strong commitments to end child marriage. We now have a crucial opportunity to help ensure that these commitments are translated into real change for girls around the world,” said Mabel van Oranje, Chair of the Board of Trustees at Girls Not Brides.
- 1 in 3 girls in the developing world are married before the age of 18.
- 1 in 9 girls in the developing world are married before the age of 15.
- 720 million women alive today were married or entered into union before their 18th birthday, equivalent to 10% of the world’s population.
- If there is no reduction in child marriage 2 billion women alive in 2050 will have married as children, equivalent to the entire population of India.
About Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage
Girls Not Brides is a global partnership of more than 550 civil society organisations from over 70 countries committed to ending child marriage and enabling girls to fulfil their potential.
Members are based throughout Africa, Asia, the Middle East, Europe and the Americas. We share the conviction that every girl has the right to lead the life that she chooses and that, by ending child marriage, we can achieve a safer, healthier and more prosperous future for all.
Stronger together, Girls Not Brides members bring child marriage to global attention, build an understanding of what it will take to end child marriage and call for the laws, policies and programmes that will make a difference in the life of millions of girls.
Find out more about Girls Not Brides at www.GirlsNotBrides.org
Follow the Chair of Girls Not Brides on Twitter @MabelvanOranje
Follow Girls Not Brides on Twitter @GirlsNotBrides
Interviews are available with Heather Hamilton, Interim Executive Director of Girls Not Brides.
Media contact: Maryam Mohsin, media@GirlsNotBrides.org, +44 20 3725 5867
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