A 2016 survey found that more than 91,000 girls between the ages of 12 and 17 were married, divorced or cohabiting with men. Photo: File
The stage was set for a critical dialogue. Ten young women — some as young as 15 — stood before 50 adults, including representatives of the traditional authority, community leaders and parents. It was April 2019 in Loskop, a rural isiZulu-speaking community in KwaZulu-Natal, where these brave activists, who call themselves the Social Ills Fighters (SIFs), addressed the complex issue of early and forced marriage (EFM).
Using digital stories they had created, the SIFs introduced their work. Their purpose was simple, yet profound: “To fight social ills that are affecting us as girls in the community, like forced and early marriage [and] the dropping out of school of girls due to parents wanting cows.” This powerful statement cuts to the heart of the issue, exposing the way traditional practices like lobolo — the exchange of gifts, including cattle, for a bride — are being twisted into a mechanism for trafficking young girls.
This August, as we observe Women’s Day and Women’s Month, we must look beyond celebrations and confront the harsh realities many girls face.
The statistics are alarming: a 2016 national Community Survey revealed that more than 91,000 girls between the ages of 12 and 17 were married, divorced or cohabiting with men. Data from Unicef’s 2022 statistical overview on child marriage in Eastern and Southern Africa show that South Africa is home to 1.6 million women who were married as children, highlighting the ongoing scale of the crisis.
Moreover, a groundbreaking 2024 study by the Human Sciences Research Council found that more than one in three South African women have experienced physical or sexual violence in their lifetime, while nearly 70% of men surveyed believed a wife should obey her husband. These figures underscore the deep-seated societal attitudes that fuel gender-based violence (GBV) and practices like early and forced marriage.
Activism
Our partnership with the SIFs began in 2016 as part of a larger project called “Networks for Change and Well-being: Girl-led ‘from the Ground up’ Policy Making to Address Sexual Violence in Canada and South Africa”, which was co-led by Professor Relebohile Moletsane (University of KwaZulu-Natal / Witwatersrand) and Professor Caludia Mitchell (McGill University) and funded by the International Development Research Centre in Canada. Concluded in 2020, this project powerfully illustrates how youth can be partnered with to lead social change from the ground up, particularly in addressing GBV.
Through participatory visual methodologies — using tools like digital storytelling and drawing — we work with these girls not as subjects, but as co-researchers and experts on their own lives. We quickly learned that early and forced marriage was not an abstract problem — it was deeply personal. The principal of a local high school confirmed that eight girls had left school due to early and forced marriage in just the first eight weeks of 2019. In our three years with the SIFs, four of their own members were directly affected.
One case brought the issue into sharp focus. In January 2019, we learned that a group of men abducted a 16-year-old SIF member to force her into marriage. Her friends, confident she did not want to get married, acted immediately. They alerted a local community-based organisation, Thembalethu Care Organisation, and urged the girl’s mother to intervene. With the support of Thembalethu and the police, the girl was rescued. This incident was a testament to the agency and determination of these young women.
But this kind of activism is not without its risks. As Moletsane has argued, “in contexts that are hostile to girls and young women due to unequal gender norms, girls are often silenced, and activism is met with disapproval and even violence”. She notes further that “where activism does occur, the voices of girls and young women engaged therein are often ignored”. This is the perilous landscape these young activists navigate.
Collaboration
Our role as adult allies was to provide a supportive framework. The girls identified early and forced marriage as a key issue and created powerful visuals to expose it. They organised an awareness march, leading it with posters that declared, “Stop Early Marriage” and “No More Vows for Cows.” We provided the logistical support to ensure they could do so lawfully.
As one of the SIFs reflected on her involvement, “I learned a lot as well, because like when we were here, we felt happy. There was no one discriminating against us or other people.” She added: “I also learned that if it happens that you see someone in a difficult situation, I can be able to help them … we are able to talk amongst each other and find a solution.”
Through this collaborative process, the SIFs created anaction brief called Akuphele Ukulotsholwa kwezingane ezincane (“You must stop forcing young children into marriage to gain bridal wealth”). In it, they describe the coercive and aggressive manner of these abductions: “Men who want to marry you will just force you into a car and abduct you even if you say ‘no.’”
They also highlight a painful truth: the complicity of mothers and the devastating consequences for their education. “If girls are forced to get married, they don’t get to finish school and become who they want to be.”
They asserted their rights with stunning clarity and political awareness, stating: “Any person, including parents, who forces a girl to get married must be arrested because forced marriage is a crime.”
This collaborative work laid the foundation for a draft protocol to address early and forced marriage, which the adult research team led in developing and presenting to the Amangwe Traditional Authority. While some elders initially denied the problem and saw the protocol as a threat to tradition, the iNkosi, the local chief, expressed a willingness to support social change. This intergenerational partnership was vital.
As adult researchers, we also had to confront our own biases and power dynamics. We made the conscious decision to not have the girls physically present at the initial meetings with the traditional authority. We questioned if this was an act of protection or a form of gatekeeping — an example of “tokenism”. We were mindful of the traditional context where children’s voices, particularly those of girls, are often marginalised. Our caution was warranted, as Moletsane’s observations suggest.
But we also recognise the “relational messiness” that comes with this work. We must continuously reflect on when to be fully present to support, and when to relinquish our control and power to let the girls lead.
Safer future
Working with the SIFs showed us the power of girl-led activism and the need for supportive partnerships. The fight against forced marriage, GBV, and all forms of oppression is not the sole responsibility of girls; it requires allies.
We should strengthen legal accountability for those who facilitate forced marriages, including parents. We should also invest in girl-led initiatives by providing dedicated funding and resources to support these organisations and projects. This includes access to technology, mentorship, and safe spaces where girls can develop their advocacy skills and lead change in their communities.
We need to work with traditional leaders as partners to help them understand that these harmful practices distort tradition. Dialogue, while difficult, can lead to a willingness to support social change.
Because many girls are forced into marriage as a result of poverty and a lack of educational opportunities, we must ensure they have access to quality education, skills training, and economic empowerment initiatives that enable them to envision a future beyond early marriage.
We also need to build a broader network of support that includes parents, teachers, police officers and other community stakeholders who are committed to protecting girls and amplifying their voices.
The fight is far from over, but in Loskop, a new generation of activists is rising, armed with digital cameras and a fierce determination to be free. The question is: are we, as a society, ready to stand with them?
Dr Astrid Treffry-Goatley is a senior researcher at the Centre forEpidemic Response and Innovation at Stellenbosch University. Dr Sadiyya Haffejeeis an associate professor and practising psychologist at the Centre for Social Development in Africa at the University of Johannesburg. This article is based on their chapter in Girls Take Action: Activism Networks by, for, and with Girls and Young Women (Berghahn Books, 2025), co-authored with Dr Lisa Wiebesiek and Nkonzo Mkhize from theUniversity of KwaZulu-Natal.