I’ll Marry when I Want: Young girls Smash Symbols of Marriage in Empowering ActionAid Campaign – Marketing Communication News

Report on the “I’ll Marry When I Want” Campaign by ActionAid

Introduction: A Global Initiative to Advance Sustainable Development Goal 5

The international organization ActionAid has launched a new campaign, “I’ll Marry When I Want,” to address the global issue of early and forced child marriage. This practice affects over 640 million women and girls worldwide, representing a significant barrier to achieving several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), most notably SDG 5 (Gender Equality). The campaign, created by DUDE Milan, aims to raise awareness and mobilize support to eliminate this harmful practice, which is a specific target under SDG 5.3.

Campaign Strategy and Alignment with the 2030 Agenda

Core Message: Empowerment as a Catalyst for Change

The campaign reframes the narrative around child marriage from one of fragility to one of strength and empowerment. It operates as a “manifesto of freedom,” amplifying the voices of young girls who resist imposed destinies. The central creative asset is a film that depicts girls playfully but powerfully destroying symbols of traditional marriage, asserting their right to childhood and self-determination. This approach directly supports the empowerment of all women and girls, a foundational principle of SDG 5.

An Integrated Approach to Sustainable Development

ActionAid’s strategy for combating child marriage is multi-faceted and aligns with several interconnected SDGs:

• SDG 5: Gender Equality: The campaign’s primary objective is to eliminate the harmful practice of child marriage (Target 5.3) and end all forms of discrimination and violence against girls.
• SDG 4: Quality Education: By preventing early marriage, the initiative works to ensure that girls can complete their primary and secondary education, contributing to Target 4.1. The campaign features students from a school supported by ActionAid, highlighting the critical link between education and empowerment.
• SDG 3: Good Health and Well-being: Ending child marriage helps prevent early pregnancies and associated health risks, promoting the health and well-being of adolescent girls (Target 3.7).
• SDG 10: Reduced Inequalities: The campaign addresses a key driver of gender inequality, advocating for the rights and opportunities of a marginalized group.
• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions: The initiative promotes the protection of children from abuse and exploitation (Target 16.2), framing child marriage as a fundamental violation of human rights.

Campaign Implementation and Projected Impact

Authentic Representation and Local Engagement

To ensure authenticity and direct relevance, the campaign was implemented with the following considerations:

1. Location: The film was shot in the Namutumba District of Uganda, a region with a high incidence of gender-based violence, grounding the campaign in the reality it seeks to change.
2. Participants: The protagonists are students from Buwongo Primary School, a beneficiary of ActionAid’s child sponsorship program. Their participation provides a genuine voice to those directly affected by the issue.
3. Inspiration: The narrative is shaped by a poem from Eileen Piri, a 13-year-old from Malawi, ensuring the message is rooted in the lived experiences of young girls.

Dissemination and Call to Action

The campaign launched in Italy on October 28 across multiple platforms, including social media, connected TV, and cinema. The call to action urges public support for ActionAid’s work, which is essential for providing every girl with the right to choose her own future, thereby accelerating progress toward the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development.

Analysis of Sustainable Development Goals in the Article

1. Which SDGs are addressed or connected to the issues highlighted in the article?

• SDG 5: Gender Equality

  This is the most prominent SDG addressed. The article’s entire focus is on the “I’ll Marry When I Want” campaign, which aims to combat early and forced marriage. This practice is described as a “grave violation of human rights” that disproportionately affects girls. The campaign’s goal is to promote “women’s empowerment” and give every girl the “right to make a choice,” directly aligning with the core principles of achieving gender equality.

• SDG 4: Quality Education

  The article establishes a clear link between the fight against child marriage and the importance of education. It mentions that ActionAid’s strategy includes “education” as part of its integrated approach. Furthermore, it highlights that the young protagonists of the campaign film are “students of Buwongo Primary School, one of the elementary schools supported by ActionAid,” underscoring that keeping girls in school is a key component of preventing early marriage and ensuring they have a future of their own choosing.

• SDG 16: Peace, Justice and Strong Institutions

  The article frames early marriage not just as a social issue but as a fundamental injustice. It is explicitly called a “grave violation of human rights.” This connects directly to SDG 16, which aims to end abuse, exploitation, and violence against children and promote just societies. The campaign’s call to “give every girl in the world the right to remain a child” is a call for the protection of children’s rights, a cornerstone of this goal.

2. What specific targets under those SDGs can be identified based on the article’s content?

• Target 5.3: Eliminate all harmful practices, such as child, early and forced marriage and female genital mutilation.

  This target is the central focus of the article. The campaign’s mission is explicitly stated as being to “combat early marriage” and “fight to end child marriage.” The statistic of “over 640 million women and girls around the world who have been forced to marry against their will and before the age of 18” directly addresses the scale of the problem this target seeks to eliminate.

• Target 5.2: Eliminate all forms of violence against all women and girls in the public and private spheres.

  The article connects child marriage to broader gender-based violence. It notes that the campaign film was shot in the Namutumba District of Uganda, a region specifically chosen for its “highest incidence of gender-based violence, particularly early and forced marriages.” This demonstrates that child marriage is being treated as a form of violence against girls, which this target aims to eradicate.

• Target 16.2: End abuse, exploitation, trafficking and all forms of violence against and torture of children.

  The article emphasizes that child marriage “destroy[s] childhood.” By defining the issue as something that robs girls of their right to be children, it aligns with Target 16.2’s objective to end all forms of violence and exploitation against children. The campaign’s message is a direct effort to protect children from this harmful practice.

3. Are there any indicators mentioned or implied in the article that can be used to measure progress towards the identified targets?

• Prevalence of Child Marriage

  The article explicitly mentions the statistic of “over 640 million women and girls around the world who have been forced to marry against their will and before the age of 18.” This figure serves as a direct indicator of the global prevalence of child marriage, which is used to measure progress towards Target 5.3. Reducing this number is a key measure of success.

• Incidence of Gender-Based Violence

  The article implies a measurable indicator by stating that the filming location was chosen because it is “one of the regions in Uganda with the highest incidence of gender-based violence.” The “incidence rate” of such violence, including early and forced marriages, is a key indicator used by organizations like ActionAid to identify high-risk areas and measure the impact of their interventions related to Target 5.2.

• Girls’ School Enrollment and Retention

  While not stated as a formal statistic, school enrollment is an implied indicator. The article highlights that the campaign’s protagonists are “students of Buwongo Primary School” and that ActionAid’s approach includes “education.” This suggests that tracking the number of girls who are able to enroll in and complete their education is a crucial indicator of progress in preventing child marriage and empowering girls, relevant to both SDG 4 and SDG 5.

4. Table of SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

Source: marcommnews.com