Reflections from the 8th National Girl Summit Uganda– A renewed call to End Child Marriage

The 8th National Girl Summit Uganda brought together girls, youth leaders, parents, community members, government representatives, civil society organizations and advocates from across the country. We all gathered with one purpose; to talk honestly about the challenges girls face and to find better ways to protect them. The entire event was a reminder that ending child marriage and teenage pregnancy is something all of us must work on, not just organizations or leaders.

Young girls and different partners shared what they expected from the summit. Many girls said they wanted a safer Uganda where they can grow without fear, go to school without being pressured into marriage and have people who believe in their dreams. Hearing their expectations made everyone feel the importance of involving young people directly in decisions that affect them.  The young girl gave us a performance through a powerful skit, telling the story of a girl named Charity who got pregnant at 13 years old. Because of the pregnancy, she dropped out of school and her future changed. Through their acting, the girls showed the pain many young girls experience like shame, loneliness and even health problems like fistula. They explained that while all this is happening, many adults and leaders look away. The performance moved everyone and reminded us that child marriage is not just a topic for discussion, it is affecting real children whose lives could be bright if only they received love, protection and opportunities.

We hosted a side event that focused on something very important on how organizations can continue working to protect girls even when funding becomes limited. With USAID cuts affecting many programs, organizations like Raising Teenagers Uganda wanted to discuss how to survive and continue helping girls. During the discussion, our team leader Hope Nankunda explained that although donors may be reducing funding, the problems affecting girls have not reduced. Girls are still being married off, still dropping out of school and still facing violence. Because of that, we must find new ways to get funding, build partnerships, involve communities and keep programs running. Everyone agreed that this is the time to become more creative and not give up.

Many leaders shared important messages during the summit. Ms. Phoebe Kasita, the country director of Plan International Uganda, explained that child marriage is not something one organization or one person can stop alone. She said it clearly: ending child marriage is a shared responsibility for everyone. She also pointed out that Uganda has many good laws and policies that could protect girls, but the biggest challenge is that they are not being implemented well. A policy in a book does nothing if the community does not follow it, the school does not enforce it or leaders do not support it. Her words were a reminder that the solutions are already there, we just need to put them to work.

Ahmed from CEDO Uganda also challenged everyone with a very strong message. He said helping girls is not charity, it is our responsibility. Too often, people think supporting girls is an act of kindness or something they can choose to do when they feel like it. But his message made it clear that supporting girls is something we must do because it is the right thing. Girls deserve safety, respect and opportunities because they are human beings with dreams and rights, not because someone is being generous.

Another important moment came from the issue brief shared by Hajji Abdallah Byabasaija, the Executive Director of CEDO Uganda and the secretariat of Girls Not Brides Uganda. He shared findings from regional girl summits held in different parts of the country. These findings showed that child marriage and teenage pregnancy continue to affect thousands of girls and unless Uganda takes this issue seriously, it will be difficult to achieve national development goals like Vision 2040. He reminded everyone that if Uganda wants to benefit from its large young population and compete in a modern world, the country must protect its girls. The evidence is clear, the economic sense is strong and the suffering girls go through is too big to ignore.

Young people also took centre stage at the summit. One powerful voice was that of youth advocate during the children’s panel who reminded us of the fact that girls experience violence but are often threatened not to report it. She warned the audience that silence is very dangerous. When communities, leaders or even advocates stay silent about issues affecting girls, they become part of the problem. Her message was clear ‘silence is not innocence, silence is violence’ which hit hard and encouraged everyone to speak out more boldly.

Throughout the summit, one common idea kept coming up: every individual, every parent, every leader, every teacher and every community member has a role to play. Ending child marriage is not the work of NGOs alone, it starts in families, in schools, in villages and in conversations people have every day. Protecting girls should become part of our culture, not something we only talk about at national events. The summit was more than just an event, it was a movement that reminded us why this work matters. When a girl is protected, given education and supported, she becomes a strong woman who contributes to her family, her community and the nation. But when a girl is married off early, her future is cut short and the entire country loses. The summit may have ended, but the work continues. Every girl in Uganda deserves a chance and grow, learn and lead without fear and our role is to make sure she gets it.