Adolescent girls in Malawi attended AGANET's National Meeting in September 2012

Malawi

Malawi joined the global community in celebrating the International Day of the Girl Child with various activities organized under the banner of "Ending Child Marriage." Activities organized by AGANET and AGALI Fellows highlighted the plight of girls in Malawi, and included advocacy interface meetings with politicians and religious leaders, and adolescent girl's forums. AGALI Country Coordinator Dr. Howard Kasiya participated in a national televised debate on the age of marriage moderated by the Minister of Gender. Panelists included a Traditional Authority, the Principal Secretary of the Ministry of Gender, and a Judge and the audience included a mixture of adolescent girls, the public, the civil society, the donor community and the media. Following the debate, AGANET and UNICEF formed a task force to monitor fulfillment of promises made during the debate and to ensure that the Marriage Bill is taken up by Parliament and the Judiciary before the end of the year.

Press conference in Guatemala

Lead by AGALI Fellow Miguel Ángel López, Executive Director of CONACMI (The National Association Against Child Abuse), a group of 15 girl-focused organizations held a press conference to highlight the lack of opportunities for girls in Guatemala and to bring attention to the growing problem of teen pregnancy in many communities throughout the country. Four AGALI Fellows, including Miguel Ángel, participated in the press conference, and  four television stations and a variety of indigenous community radio stations provided coverage. Immediately following the press conference, the 15 organizations held a roundtable discussion of their work with girls, as a first step towards increased collaboration and knowledge-sharing among institutions working on girls' issues in Guatemala.