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Champions to End Child Marriage in Africa
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Champions leading to end child marriage in Africa

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Meaza Ashenafi, Advisor on Women’s Human Rights for the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and founding executive director of the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association.

Aberash Bekele’s rapist was following local Ethiopian tradition when he kidnapped the 14-year-old girl on her way home from school, sexually assaulted her and then declared that she would become his wife.

But the teen fought back, shooting and killing her abductor as she escaped. For her courage, she was jailed and charged with murder. Ethiopian attorney Meaza Ashenafi successfully defended the teenager, a tale that inspired the 2014 film “Difret.”

Now an adviser on women’s human rights for the UN Economic Commission for Africa, Ashenafi knows that most efforts to advocate for women and girls are unlikely to end up on the big screen. Advocacy at the grassroots level—in schools, town halls and community forums—is as much a catalyst for change as headlines and high-level debate, she said.

“Change comes from within,” said Ashenafi. “All big social problems need multiple levels of intervention. There is no, you know, silver bullet to solve the problem. It also takes time.”

“Africa is a big continent, and it’s very difficult to talk uniformly about the progress. But there is hope,” she said. “Because this is 2015, and we shouldn’t be talking about child marriage, female genital mutilation . . .. We should be talking about development, investment, technology, women’s participation in leadership.”

For a portrait series on champions leading to end child marriage in Africa. All images made at the first-ever African Girls’ Summit on Ending Child Marriage, held in Lusaka, Zambia. The meeting aimed to facilitate exchange of good practices and challenges in ending child marriage, and to secure and renew commitments from African stakeholders.

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Meaza Ashenafi, Advisor on Women’s Human Rights for the UN Economic Commission for Africa (UNECA) and founding executive director of the Ethiopian Women Lawyers Association.<br /> <br /> Aberash Bekele’s rapist was following local Ethiopian tradition when he kidnapped the 14-year-old girl on her way home from school, sexually assaulted her and then declared that she would become his wife.<br /> <br /> But the teen fought back, shooting and killing her abductor as she escaped. For her courage, she was jailed and charged with murder. Ethiopian attorney Meaza Ashenafi successfully defended the teenager, a tale that inspired the 2014 film “Difret.”<br /> <br /> Now an adviser on women’s human rights for the UN Economic Commission for Africa, Ashenafi knows that most efforts to advocate for women and girls are unlikely to end up on the big screen. Advocacy at the grassroots level—in schools, town halls and community forums—is as much a catalyst for change as headlines and high-level debate, she said.<br /> <br /> “Change comes from within,” said Ashenafi. “All big social problems need multiple levels of intervention. There is no, you know, silver bullet to solve the problem. It also takes time.”<br /> <br /> “Africa is a big continent, and it’s very difficult to talk uniformly about the progress. But there is hope,” she said. “Because this is 2015, and we shouldn’t be talking about child marriage, female genital mutilation . . .. We should be talking about development, investment, technology, women’s participation in leadership.”<br /> <br /> For a portrait series on champions leading to end child marriage in Africa. All images made at the first-ever African Girls’ Summit on Ending Child Marriage, held in Lusaka, Zambia. The meeting aimed to facilitate exchange of good practices and challenges in ending child marriage, and to secure and renew commitments from African stakeholders.