Girls Not Brides is a global partnership to end child marriage, bringing together non-governmental organisations from around the world that work to tackle child marriage at the grassroots, national and global levels.
Girls Not Brides now has over 200 members across more than 40 countries. Members are based throughout Africa, South Asia, the Middle East, Europe and North America and are united by a commitment to end child marriage and enable girls to fulfil their potential.
Girls Not Brides and its members believe that we can be more effective working together than working alone. We aim to raise our collective voice to shatter the silence that has long surrounded the issue of child marriage and draw attention to its harmful impact.
Together, we aim to give a voice to girls at risk of child marriage, to defend their rights to health and education, and to give them the opportunities they need to fulfil their potential.
We also aim to support children who are or have been victims of child marriage, to increase awareness of the scale and impact of child marriage, and to mobilise the support and resources needed to end child marriage. Our partnership will maximise our collective impact by pooling efforts and resources, energies and experience.
To view find out more about our members and the work they do, visit ‘Our members’.
We are building our partnership and we welcome new members. For information on how to become a member, please contact us at info@GirlsNotBrides.org or click here to download our membership form: Girls Not Brides – Membership sign-up form – 2012_09_18. Membership is open to non-governmental organisations only.
Members of Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage are committed to ending child marriage, a harmful traditional practice that affects millions of children, predominantly girls, every year. As members of Girls Not Brides, we are joining together to accelerate efforts to prevent child marriage, and to support girls who are or have been married, all over the world.
Girls Not Brides will amplify the voices of girls at risk of child marriage and defend the rights of girls to health, education and the opportunity to fulfil their potential. In line with the UN Convention on the Rights of the Child, we believe that 18 should be the minimum age of marriage for boys and girls.
In working to end child marriage, we believe that social change cannot succeed without community engagement. Members of Girls Not Brides will work together to enhance and strengthen efforts to end child marriage at community, local, national and global levels. Specifically, Girls Not Brides aims to:
We will be more effective in achieving our objectives by working together than by working alone.
Members of Girls Not Brides will:
Girls Not Brides members vary in size, location, and the type of work they do – from the grassroots groups working to end child marriage and support child brides in their communities, to international NGOs seeking to bring global attention to this neglected problem. Each brings their own wealth of experience and knowledge to inform efforts to end child marriage.
Girls Not Brides was founded in 2011 by The Elders, a group of independent leaders using their collective experience and influence for peace, justice and human rights worldwide.
Members of Girls Not Brides are encouraged to participate in working groups that examine key internal issues for the partnership such as strategy, advocacy and communications.
Members are invited to organise national or regional partnerships as appropriate to further the work and objectives of Girls Not Brides in their region.
Girls Not Brides is not a funding mechanism. The activities of its members are financed by their own means.
The work of Girls Not Brides is facilitated by a small support team based at The Elders Foundation in London.
Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage would like to thank the following donors for their support: Ford Foundation, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, Nike Foundation, NoVo Foundation, Open Society Foundations, Sabanci Foundation, Human Dignity Foundation and The Elders Foundation.
Our donors’ support funds a small secretariat for the partnership, to undertake communications work and to enable members to stay in contact.
Girls Not Brides is a global partnership of more than 200 non-governmental organisations committed to ending child marriage and enabling girls to fulfil their potential.
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