Adolescents Girls Empowerment (AGE)

Background
Early marriages and pregnancies lead to women disempowerment and affect their physical, mental, sexual and emotional health and well being. Adolescent Girls Empowerment (AGE) project aims to change the socio-cultural norm of early marriages for adolescent girls through awareness raising, advocacy and legislative change.

Goal
The overall goal is to contribute to improved maternal health indicators among adolescent girls in Sindh by reducing the incidence of early marriages and pregnancies. This contribution will be made by mobilising communities to prevent early marriages while strengthening civil society advocacy efforts to raise the legal age of marriage for adolescent girls from 16 to 18.

Objectives
The specific objective of the project are:

1. To create awareness and acceptance at the community level regarding the harmful social, economic and health consequences of early marriage
2. To minimise opposition and mobilise support through strengthening the advocacy efforts of civil society for catalysing the passing of the Bill on increasing the minimum age of marriage for adolescent girls from 16 to 18