This Teen Girl Helped End Child Marriage in Sierra Leone

The West African country of Sierra Leone is home to approximately 800,000 child brides —half of whom were married before the age of 15. The cultural practice of early marriage has stopped generations of girls from following their dreams, pursuing an education, and reaching their full potential. But not anymore. 

In July 2024, Sierra Leone officially outlawed child marriage, making it a jailable offense to marry a girl under the age of 18. This monumental win for girls was the result of decades of work from countless activists and organizations. But it was also the result of the fearless advocacy of teenage GLOW Club members who have been raising their voices to speak out against the practice for years. 

Through a Global Girls Glow-funded Girls’ Radio Program, GLOW Club members in Sierra Leone deliver educational content about girls’ rights issues, live, on-air, through a local radio station, reaching over 10,000 listeners. Since the program’s inception in 2017, more than 200 girls have spoken extensively about the negative effects of child marriage in their community, and in their own personal lives, in an effort to convince parents, community members, and government leaders to officially ban the practice. 

Not only were they successful — they were officially recognized by the First Lady of Sierra Leone as having helped make the law possible: an incredible example of what can be accomplished when girls are given the opportunity to become powerful advocates and confident leaders. 

We recently spoke to Monica, a 17-year-old GLOW Club member and radio program advocate, about what this new law means for her. Read on to hear her story. 

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity. 

“A Girl Should Not Be a Mother”

My name is Monica. I’m a GLOW Club member, and I’ve been a part of the Girls’ Radio Program for the past few years. It has created a lot of positive impacts on my life and the lives of other young girls who have been listening to us on the air.

Before the introduction of this program, there were a whole lot of cases of teenage pregnancy, especially in this part of our community. You could see a very young girl below the age of 18 getting pregnant and being forced to marry early. So many forms of difficulty and hard work were being put on those young girls. 

Monica (yellow shirt) hosting a Girls’ Radio Program session with fellow GLOW Club members in 2019.

But with the help of Global Girls Global and this Girls’ Radio Program, those cases have been minimized. We are so happy that the government has now passed a law to end child marriage. Passing that law was the result of our own GLOW Club efforts. 

Because we’ve been advocating. We’ve been crying to the government, crying out to them that we need a law on early marriage. We need something implemented to help stop teenage pregnancy. Because a girl below the age of 18 should not be a mother. She’s still a child and must be sent to school. They’ve been hearing our voices, hearing our personal stories. So, this Radio Program has created a whole lot of impact on young lives, and even on the lives of us GLOW Girls. 

“I Know That My Voice Has Created an Impact”

When the law passed, I personally felt overwhelmed. In fact, I don’t even have a word to describe my feelings. I was overjoyed to hear that the government of Sierra Leone has passed a law to ban early child marriage.

Because back in the day, my community was one of the most vulnerable communities when it comes to early marriage, teenage pregnancy, and all of the negative things you hear about girls.

Before, you would see a girl of 12 years old. Can you imagine? You would pass a specific area and you see people there to engage in a wedding. How old is the girl? 12. How old is the man? 60 or 40. Can you imagine? All that trauma. A lot of harm has been done to girls through this practice. What do you expect a girl of 12 years old to be doing in a marriage? What do you expect of her?

“We’ve been crying to the government that we need a law on early marriage. Because a girl below the age of 18 should not be a mother. She’s still a child and must be sent to school.”

So I’m so happy that the government has passed this law that there will be no form of child marriage in this country again. I know that we helped make this happen. We did that. I don’t think so – I know so. Because we’ve been going on the radio and discussing issues affecting girls. We’ve been putting all of our efforts towards that. 

In Sierra Leone, girls like Monica are taking the lead in planning and broadcasting powerful messages about girls’ rights on local radio station.

And I feel powerful because I know that my voice has created a positive impact on the world. I feel powerful, and I know that I’m powerful because I’m now able to speak for myself, and also to advocate for other girls who have not had the chance to be a part of these programs. 

I feel powerful, and I feel happy. And I want to keep working to improve my community so that girls have rights. I want to keep advocating and fighting for the rights of girls and women who have been marginalized. 

Global G.L.O.W. mentors girls around the world to become powerful advocates and confident leaders. Since inception, our GLOW Clubs have ignited the power of over 91,000 girls to do 3 transformative things: increase their confidence, strengthen their voice, and build their power. 

This transformation story has been made possible through our collaboration with Child Welfare Society, who coordinate GLOW Clubs for girls throughout Sierra Leone. We’d like to extend a special thanks to Monica for sharing her advocacy story. You can support powerful advocates and confident leaders like Monica at globalgirlsglow.org/donate.