Foreword by the CEO
As I look back at 2020, I feel a mix of pride, privilege and pain. Pride in all we have been able to achieve as a global partnership to end child marriage, privilege to have worked with such a powerful movement of activists and allies around the world, and pain as I have seen how devastating the COVID-19 pandemic has been.
At the start of the year, we made a commitment to deepen our work and redouble our efforts to make a world without child marriage a reality. With the guidance of Girls Not Brides member organisations, partners, donors and allies, we reframed our strategy and embarked on a Pathway to Zero Child Marriages.
However, with the onset of COVID-19, we realised 2020 would not allow for business as usual; it quickly became a time of great uncertainty. But through this uncertainty, one thing remained clear – the work of Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage was needed now more than ever. The realisation that COVID-19 threatened the gains we have delivered over the last decade fuelled our resolve.
Throughout the year, we have seen how pandemic-related restrictions – including lockdowns, school closures, job losses and poverty – are harming women and girls. Although we have been geographically apart, we listened to Girls Not Brides member organisations and allies, heard their stories of hurt and hope, and focused our efforts at the country level to make sure that the girls most at risk will not be left behind when the pandemic passes.
We brought the world closer to our work by launching a new Member Advisory Committee and by diversifying our Board of Trustees to be more representative of where we work. This kept us connected to our members, whose counsel during this time has been invaluable.
Recognising the need to accelerate efforts and respond to this new context, we updated our Partnership Strategy, which sets out a comprehensive framework for the Pathway to Zero; the Girls Not Brides secretariat priorities stem from this and frame our contribution to the movement.
In 2020, we also expanded our work with young people. As leaders and as future and current parents, we believe that young people have the power to end child marriage in their lifetimes. In February, I was personally moved by a group of 36 young women in Rajasthan, all of whom are leading local campaigns to end child marriage. They embodied what it means to be part of Girls Not Brides: brave, bold and inspiring others to join them in their collective work.
As we move into 2021, we will continue to reach out to each other, as we cannot end child marriage alone. We will work to strengthen our global movement, find new allies and continue on our journey to a world where each and every girl is able to live her dreams. I invite you to join us as we continue to build the global movement to end child marriage so that together we can get to zero.
Thank you,
Dr Faith Mwangi-Powell
CEO of Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage