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1. Breaking the Silence: The Fight Against Gender-Based Violence in Tanzania

Author:
Wilifrida S. John
Publication Date:
07-2025
Content Type:
Policy Brief
Institution:
Centre for the Study of Violence and Reconciliation (CSVR)
Abstract:
This policy brief examines the ongoing issue of gender-based violence (GBV) in Tanzania, despite the country's ratification of comprehensive international, regional, and national legal frameworks. It explores how harmful cultural practices such as unyago, vigodoro, and chagulaga; alongside entrenched patriarchal norms and contradictions between statutory and customary laws, continue to undermine protections for women and girls. The brief argues that legal commitments alone are insufficient without effective enforcement, structural reform, public education, and stronger institutional accountability. It offers evidence-based recommendations to better align the legal system with cultural change, survivor-centred support services, and coordinated, cross-sector responses. By situating Tanzania's case within the wider Sub-Saharan African context, it illustrates how legal pluralism, and socio-cultural dynamics contribute to the persistence of GBV across the region.
Topic:
Education, Culture, Reform, Women, Gender Based Violence, and Girls
Political Geography:
Africa and Tanzania

2. Pathways to Prosperity for Adolescent Girls in Africa

Author:
Kehinde Ajayi and Estelle Koussoubé
Publication Date:
11-2024
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Center for Global Development (CGD)
Abstract:
Africa stands at a crossroads, with its future prosperity hinging on the policy and investment decisions it makes today. The continent has an opportunity to shape the trajectories of generations to come by investing in the success of a pivotal population: its adolescent girls. With over 145 million adolescent girls calling Africa home, the potential for transformative change is immense. Yet challenges persist: from high rates of child marriage to limited educational opportunities. Over half of African girls ages 15 to 19 are out of school or married or have children. How can African countries overcome these challenges to ensure that adolescent girls enter adulthood empowered to thrive? Pathways to Prosperity for Adolescent Girls in Africa offers a groundbreaking roadmap for change. This landmark report outlines concrete, actionable policy recommendations; provides a comprehensive review of evidence-based interventions; presents a data-driven categorization of African countries to guide investments in adolescent girls; and introduces an innovative framework for understanding and measuring adolescent girls’ empowerment. Drawing on extensive research and consultations with adolescent girls, policymakers, and practitioners, the report reveals that investing in adolescent girls can yield a tenfold return in economic impact. It outlines six key areas for targeted action: building human capital, enhancing economic success, focusing on the most vulnerable girls, adopting a holistic approach, addressing data and evidence gaps, and mobilizing diverse stakeholders.
Topic:
Education, Women, Inclusion, Girls, Empowerment, and Gender Equality
Political Geography:
Africa

3. Redesigning U.S. Assistance to Africa in the Post-Pandemic Era

Author:
Mark Wentling
Publication Date:
11-2020
Content Type:
Journal Article
Journal:
American Diplomacy
Institution:
American Diplomacy
Abstract:
It is my opinion that the interest of the United States is best served in most African countries by improving the basic welfare of their people. The effectiveness of U.S. aid in Africa can be enhanced by focusing on the least developed countries. Helping address basic human needs, notably in the areas of education and health, should be top priority, especially the education of girls. Increasing agricultural production to improve nutritional health also deserves greater attention. Assistance funding needs to be stable and independent of political and diplomatic considerations. The composition of U.S. overseas missions and cumbersome bureaucratic processes must be revised to permit the effective and timely implementation of this new strategy. These changes are necessary to raise hopes for a better future for millions of Africans and to strengthen the role of the U.S. in Africa.
Topic:
Education, Health, Foreign Aid, Pandemic, and Girls
Political Geography:
Africa, North America, and United States of America

4. Working to Empower Girls in Nigeria: Highlights of the Educating Nigerian Girls in New Enterprises (ENGINE) Program

Author:
Jeni Klugman, Jennifer Parsons, and Tatiana Melnikova
Publication Date:
05-2018
Content Type:
Special Report
Institution:
Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security (GIWPS)
Abstract:
The Coca-Cola Company, together with the UK Department for International Development and local partners, undertook a multifaceted effort to educate and economically empower marginalized Nigerian girls, who face significant social and cultural barriers to realizing their potentials. The program offered training, mentoring, and support to girls aged 16-19 in four Nigerian states who were out of school or at risk of dropping out of school or facing an early marriage. An important component involved efforts to shift traditional norms among community leaders and others, to help open up opportunities for girls. This report from Georgetown’s Institute for Women, Peace and Security – which reviewed evaluations of the program – concluded that the results were encouraging on a number of fronts. More than 10,000 out-of-school participants (out of 13,024) were linked to employment as a result of the program, with more than half joining the Coca-Cola value chain. Program participants were more likely to run their own business or manage a business, hold a savings account, and report higher levels of self confidence and better knowledge of the skills required to run a small business compared to non-participants. “The results highlight the potential to empower girls, even in very challenging circumstances, with the support of partners that deliberately address overlapping constraints,” said Dr. Jeni Klugman, managing director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. “We also welcome the focus on rigorous evaluation of the program, to better understand what works, as well as persistent constraints.” The Educating Nigerian Girls in New Enterprises (ENGINE) program is part of The Coca-Cola Company’s 5by20 program, designed to leverage the company’s resources and reach to empower five million female entrepreneurs along its value chain by 2020. “Women and girls are a central pillar in global development,” said Ambassador Melanne Verveer, executive director of the Georgetown Institute for Women, Peace and Security. “Many companies, including The Coca-Cola Company, have been playing leadership roles to improve the status of women, to accelerate economic opportunities, and to enhance sustainable development.” The ENGINE program ran from 2014-2016 and involved multiple partners: The Coca-Cola Company, Nigerian Bottling Company, Mastercard Foundation, Nike Foundation, and the UK Department for International Development’s Girls’ Education Challenge. Mercy Corps led the implementation of ENGINE, with support from Girl Effect Nigeria, d.light solar social enterprise, Action Health Incorporated, Community Action for Popular Participation, and Society for Women and Development and the Empowerment of Nigeria. Reports and data were collected by Preston Health Care Consulting Ltd.
Topic:
Development, Education, Women, Girls, Empowerment, and Schools
Political Geography:
Africa and Nigeria

5. The Complexity of Applying UN Resolution 1325 in Post Conflict Reintegration Processes: The case of Northern Uganda

Author:
Grace Maina
Publication Date:
05-2011
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes (ACCORD)
Abstract:
The United Nations (UN) Security Council Resolution 1325 calls on all actors involved to address the special needs of women and girls during rehabilitation, reintegration and post-conflict reconstruction. This study endeavours to analyse the reintegration experience of women and girls in post-conflict Uganda. In this country, the recruitment of combatants by the Lord’s Resistance Army (LRA) has been characterised by the forcible abduction of young boys and girls, and the eventual deployment of child soldiers. The government of Uganda, in its attempt to defeat the LRA and in recognition of the fact that the LRA forcibly conscripted children to wage their cause, offered amnesties to all individuals who returned or were rescued from the LRA. This process has had consequences for the general female population of the Acholi community in northern Uganda. There has been scant research done on the long-term impact of the LRA war on the Acholi community, and more especially on those who were abducted. While little is known about the war’s impact on the male population, even less is known about the female children abducted and forced to become servants and “wives” of LRA male combatants. It is vital to note that the experiences of abduction, violence and even return for women and girls have been different to that of men and boys. This paper explores these issues.
Topic:
United Nations, Women, Conflict, Abductions, Girls, and Post-Conflict
Political Geography:
Uganda and Africa

6. Incentives to Learn

Author:
Michael Kremer, Edward Miguel, and Rebecca Thornton
Publication Date:
10-2004
Content Type:
Working Paper
Institution:
The John F. Kennedy School of Government at Harvard University
Abstract:
We report results from a randomized evaluation of a merit scholarship program for adolescent girls in Kenya. Girls who scored well on academic exams had their school fees paid and received a cash grant for school supplies. Girls eligible for the scholarship showed significant gains in academic exam scores (average gain 0.12-0.19 standard deviations) and these gains persisted following the competition. There is also evidence of positive program externalities on learning: boys, who were ineligible for the awards, also showed sizeable average test gains, as did girls with low pretest scores, who were unlikely to win. Both student and teacher school attendance increased in the program schools. We discuss implications both for understanding the nature of educational production functions and for the policy debate surrounding merit scholarships.
Topic:
Education, Human Capital, Girls, and Scholarships
Political Geography:
Kenya and Africa