At a young age, 22-year-old Gilda recalls wanting to prevent teen pregnancies: "One of the biggest reasons I embraced activism is that it was an opportunity to encourage other girls not to give up on their studies and dreams, despite the difficulties they face on a daily basis," she highlights.
Wanting to change the lived realities in her community, becoming a role model to champion women’s rights and raise awareness of harmful practices, Gilda embraced the opportunity to become an activist under the sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) program, My Choice, in Tete province.
Funded by the Kingdom of the Netherlands, the UNFPA-supported project, My Choice, aimed to reduce unwanted pregnancies among girls and young women through universal access to family planning and sexual and reproductive health services in Tete and Cabo Delgado provinces.
These efforts were critical against a backdrop of child marriage where girls in Cabo Delgado, for example, were seven times more likely to marry by the age of 18 than girls in Maputo city (Census 2017). In Tete province, more than 35% of girls are married by the age of 17 (Census 2017). Aiming at tackling these challenges, the My Choice program focused on improving youth awareness and knowledge of their rights and choices, while increasing access to services.
Despite these ambitions, however, after joining the program as an activist, Gilda found out she was pregnant, and was forced to stop her volunteer activities. "It was a difficult time for me, but I promised myself that the ‘pause’ would be temporary, which is why I returned right after my daughter was born," she commented while adding: "I always dreamed of being an independent woman, so I fight every day to have a better future and for my daughter to be inspired by my actions."
Having received training on sexual and reproductive health, family planning, and the prevention of gender-based violence, Gilda is empowered to educate other girls in her community.
The work of these activists has paid off: since the program began, more than 50,000 girls have received mentorship support and training in Tete province. Maintaining such momentum, youth have also gained access to the 33 adolescent and youth-friendly services that were reopened through the program support, offering another safe space for youth counseling.
"Unlike what used to happen, today girls are much more informed, which means they are less likely to fall pregnant, get involved in early unions, and finish their studies," commented Lufiness, an activist from Macanga district in Tete province.
"Unlike what used to happen, today girls are much more informed, which means they are less likely to fall pregnant, get involved in early unions, and finish their studies," commented Lufiness, an activist from Macanga district in Tete province.
After four years of implementation, the impact of My Choice is as strong as ever; evident by the commitment of activists and youth to continue awareness-raising activities.
"With the end of the project, our role will be to continue to support the school as a way to discourage practices that are harmful to girls, and ensure the involvement of the younger students to continue the work already done by their peers,” shares Nieta, a school teacher.
