Girls Take Over: Mariam’s journey from risk to leadership

“Good morning, UNICEF Tanzania, and welcome to today’s Monday Morning Meeting!”

The cheerful voice filling the conference room was not one the staff were used to. It belonged to 15-year-old Mariam, a confident girl from Tabora, who was taking over the role of UNICEF Representative to mark the International Day of the Girl Child.

Her smile left a lasting impression. Yet, behind that confident voice is a story of courage and transformation.

Just a year ago, Mariam’s life looked very different.

She was preparing for her Form 2 exams at her mother’s house (her parents are divorced) when her father and stepmother arrived unexpectedly. They told her they wanted to take her to Kigoma, promising her a better education. Filled with hope, Mariam believed them.

However, once at Kigoma to live with them, things quickly changed, and she was not taken to school as promised.

“The mistreatment and shouting were too much. While others were being told to go to school, I was forbidden from going,” Mariam recalls.

Her stepmother often forced her to work in the fields. Mariam vividly remembers the pain of watching other children walk to class while she laboured under the scorching sun, her dreams fading with each passing day.

“The more they made me work on the farm, the more I knew they had no intention of taking me to school,” she says quietly.

When she finally gathered the courage to ask about returning to class, her father’s reply broke her heart.

“What is the point of taking a girl like you to school?” he shouted. “We will find you a husband instead!”

That moment changed everything. The next morning, while her father and stepmother were away, Mariam packed a small bag, put on her shoes, and ran.

At the bus station, she borrowed a stranger’s phone and called her mother in Tabora.

“I’m coming home,” she said.

Her mother sent her just enough money for the bus fare through mobile transfer. When Mariam arrived, her mother was waiting. For a year, Mariam remained out of school. Her dreams felt out of reach.

But her story began to change when she was introduced to the Integrated Programme for Out-of-School Adolescents (IPOSA) in Tabora, an initiative supported by UNICEF and funded by Global Affairs Canada through the Government of Tanzania.

At the Kaliua IPOSA Centre, Mariam finally found what she had been denied for so long: an opportunity. She chose tailoring, inspired by her older sister, and soon began learning computer skills and soap-making, expanding her knowledge and confidence.

“Here, I feel like I belong,” she says with a small smile. “I can be anything! Employed or self-employed. I believe I can do anything I set my mind to.”

Launched in 2019 by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, IPOSA and its Zanzibar counterpart, ZIPOSA, have reached more than 80,000 adolescents, 68 per cent of them girls like Mariam.

The programme combines literacy, life skills, entrepreneurship, and vocational training, giving young people who never attended school, or dropped out early, a second chance to learn, earn, and lead.

In Tabora alone, more than 500 adolescents have enrolled.

When UNICEF began preparations for the International Day of the Girl Child, Mariam was selected to take over the role of UNICEF Representative for the week.

“It was so inspiring  to lead the Monday Morning Meeting! It made me feel like I, too, can be a leader one day and that my voice matters,” Mariam said proudly.

During her week in Dar es Salaam, Mariam visited TAI Tanzania, where she explored the Oky Tanzania App. A digital innovation developed by UNICEF and TAI Tanzania that helps girls track their menstrual cycles and access accurate health information in a youth-friendly platform.

She met the creative team behind the app and got a behind-the-scenes look at how the app is being customized to better serve girls in Tanzania. A perfect example of how technology can empower girls to make informed choices about their health and well-being.

The week culminated at the Girls Takeover Main Event, where Mariam joined UNICEF Representative Ms. Elke Wisch and other changemakers to celebrate girls’ leadership and advocate to end child marriage.

“Mariam, who has been taking over my role as UNICEF Representative this week, was almost a victim of child marriage herself. But through the IPOSA Programme Mariam found a second chance.” said Ms. Wisch. “Her courage reminds us that when a girl is empowered to learn, she not only transforms her own life but also becomes a beacon of change for others.”

Across Tanzania, thousands of girls like Mariam are proving that when given the opportunity, they can rise — as learners, leaders, and changemakers.