Finding her voice: Elisabete stands up against child marriage in Cabo Delgado

Mariangone, Cabo Delgado - Behind the multipurpose centre in Mariangone, Elisabete Chafim sits in the shade at a sewing machine, working carefully on a blue dress. Around her, children crowd in to watch, adding their voices to the constant noise of football, skipping, singing and other activities nearby.

White dots painted in different patterns decorate Elisabete’s face. The 17-year-old Grade 8 student has been attending Girls Are In Action (GAIA) activities for about a year.

“I had to leave the community for three months because of the violence and move to Pemba with all my family,” Elisabete says. “Last year our house was destroyed in a cyclone. It has been a difficult time for my family.”

Now back in Mariangone, Elisabete attends GAIA, which combines life skills education with psychosocial support to help adolescents affected by conflict build confidence, understand their rights and make informed decisions about their health and future.

At the centre, adolescents discuss child marriage, gender-based violence, relationships and children’s rights, including where to seek help when those rights are threatened.

For Elisabete, one of the most important lessons has been understanding that girls have the right to decide when to marry and to continue their education.

“After learning about the law, I told my parents not to pressure me or my sisters into child marriage because it is now illegal in Mozambique,” she says.

Felisberto Joao, a community leader in Mariangone, says access to accurate information is helping to change attitudes towards child marriage.

“Many children and parents did not have the correct information about child marriage, about the law, and how authorities can help them,” he says. “Now they have this information and things are changing here.”

Elisabete has a clear message for parents and community members.

“Don’t pressure girls to get married as we need to study and to grow up,” she says. “It is not good for young girls to marry as they leave school early.”

After displacement and the loss of her family home to a cyclone, Elisabete is determined to continue her education and make her own choices about her future.

UNICEF supports the GAIA programme in Cabo Delgado with the generous support of the Government of Norway, helping adolescents affected by conflict understand their rights, challenge harmful practices such as child marriage and make informed decisions about their futures.