Burkina/Abandonment of child marriage and excision: Communities in Bazèga province make a public commitment

In the province of Bazèga, communities have joined forces to fight child marriage, female circumcision and violence against children. They affirmed their commitment to abandoning these harmful practices in a public declaration made this Thursday, January 23, 2025 in Kombissiri. For the NGO Mwangaza and its partner, the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF), this commitment is a step towards the future.

Kombissiri, Place du 2 juin. This is the place chosen by the NGO Mwangaza Action to host the public declaration of abandonment of child marriage, excision and violence against children in the Centre-Sud region. Children, women and community leaders from the communes of Kombissiri, Toecé, Doulougou and Gaongo gathered to reaffirm their stand against practices that are recognized as human rights violations, even though they are deeply rooted in certain traditions.

"May our integrity be guaranteed!"

"Never again against us. We, children, demand that our rights be protected! May our integrity be guaranteed!" declared Roukiatou Ouédraogo, the children's representative. She went on to say that the teenagers, organized into clubs, had benefited from awareness-raising sessions on life skills, such assuch as self-esteem, listening skills, problem-solving, leadership, abstinence, child marriage and female circumcision. "From these exchanges, we understood that child marriage, violence against us and female circumcision all have consequences for our social life, our health and our self-esteem.on our social life, our health and our development", said the 1st D student.

The representatives of the four communes followed in her footsteps, acknowledging that child marriage and excision have serious repercussions on the physical and mental health of girls. "Early marriage deprives young girls of their childhood and education, and often exposes them to violence. As for excision, it can lead to long-term medical complications, interminable pain and reproductive health problems," the communities acknowledged.

"This is not the end

"For us, the public declaration is a high point, of the educational process because it is the culmination of consultation between the communities and should rather be seen as an intention to abandon child marriage and excision. So, it's not the end but rather the beginning of the behavioral changes we need to support", declared Ms. Kaboré Mariam, the project's field coordinator for the Centre-sud region.

According to her, taking a public stance is a "courageous but also empowering act" in the sense that in the villages concerned, the critical mass of people affected must work to convince the whole community of the need to abandon these practices. She urged the communities to keep the flame burning, and to keep their word.

Commendable achievements

Summing up the project's activities, Mariam Kaboré noted that 20 community support technicians, five supervisors and one field coordinator had been trained in child marriage, exclusion and violence against children, as well as in communication techniques. In addition, 9,736 adolescents aged 10 to 19 were identified and placed in clubs in the 150 intervention sites, and 5,013 girls aged 0 to 9 were identified for protection against female circumcision. 1,336 educational talks were given in 300 clubs, and 150 imams were trained in the use of a preaching guide on child marriage. In addition, 600 pupils received support in the form of school materials or school fees.

Continued support

Witnessing the public declaration, the high commissioner of the Bazèga province, Téné Justine Kientéga/Ilboudo, praised the efforts deployed by Mwangaza Action and its partners through advocacy and proximity communication, which have enabled the population to become agents of change. She expressed the hope that this public declaration would reflect the determination to create an environment where every child grows up with dignity and respect. "I attach great importance to the follow-up mechanisms that will be put in place to support communities in respecting this commitment," she said.

In this respect, Célestin Ouédraogo, project assistant, pointed out that the NGO Mwangaza Action will be strengthening the capacities of the community child protection units that have been set up in the villages.In this connection, project assistant Célestin Ouédraogo indicated that the NGO Mwangaza Action would be strengthening the capacities of the community child protection units that have been set up in the villages, so that they can continue their work to achieve zero child marriages and zero female circumcision in Bazèga.

As a reminder, the public declaration is the result of actions carried out by Mwangaza Action as part of the project "Building community consensus to end child marriage, female circumcision and violence against children in the Centre-Sud region".

Source: lefaso.net/