“Kicking the football for the first time felt really good!,” Pooja Yadav shares with much zeal. This is the first time she has played football in nineteen years of her life. A resident of Bairghat VDC in Rupandehi, Pooja’s parents had arranged for Pooja to wed just last year. In keeping with the social norms of her community, they had arranged for her to marry at such a young age ‐ this was not an uncommon phenomenon for her near and dear ones. CARE’s Tipping Point Project has been partnering with Siddhartha Samudayik Samaj (SSS) in Rupandehi to allow for positive shifts in social norms that contribute to adolescent empowerment.
The Gates Foundation’s Gender Norms Learning Agenda (GNLA) funded research in three states in Nigeria and three counties in Kenya to identify which social norms influence key gender-based violence (GBV), sexual and reproductive health (SRH), economic empowerment (EE), and child early and forced marriage (CEFM) behaviors of adolescent girls and young women, how these norms influence girls’ behaviors, and who enforces and upholds these norms. CARE’s Gender Justice team, CARE Nigeria, CARE Kenya, and partner University of California, San Diego’s Center on Gender Equality and Health, collected qualitative data with married and unmarried girls and boys, and those influencing the norms that most impact their lives and wellbeing between March and June, 2024. Read More
The potential of savings groups goes beyond money. CARE sees savings groups as an effective platform for greater gender equality beyond women as individuals. This learning report aims start a conversation about the role of savings groups in addressing systemic gender inequities in markets. Read More
Comprehensive VSLAs which address root causes of gender inequality are underpinned by a strong foundation within the program team. This brief outlines the prerequisites CARE believes it is important for VSLA projects to consider before engaging on gender equality. Read More