Excellences, Minister, Ladies and Gentlemen,

Good afternoon.

It is a great pleasure for me to take part in the launch today of the #Childmothers book. The book shares the individual stories of 17 young girls, who have become mothers while still being a child. It gives insight into their lives with all its’ challenges and hopes, in a very respectful way.  I had the privilege of meeting one of the young mothers; Kiswendsida, whom I visited in her home in Burkina Faso last spring.

Allow me to share with you her story in her words and to introduce you to some of the themes of the book.

The story of Kiswensida

Kiswendsida explains; I got pregnant at fourteen. I had a boyfriend who lives nearby. When I realized I was pregnant I told him. We could talk about it but, now I don’t see him anymore. My family reacted badly when they found out. My pregnancy and delivery went well – no problems.

While I was pregnant I continued going to school. The other students were not mean, they were very supportive. I did not know anything about contraception, we did not learn about it in school. One week after I gave birth, I was back in class. I didn’t want to abandon my studies. My grandmother has supported me all this time and she is the one who helps me take care of the baby, so I can go to school.

It’s hard to be a mother. I feel alone and miss my parents. They work on the Ivory Coast and haven’t seen the baby yet. In the future, I would like to have more children, but not now. I think 26 would be a good age. My dream is to become an architect and I would like my daughter to go to school.

From the introduction

The captivating portraits in this book - of Kiswendsida and 16 other young mothers – represent the real-life stories of very young girls, who have become adults before their time.

These are stories about poverty, ignorance, and lack of opportunities in life. About young love, abuse and coercion. About the serious complications that a young girl can risk suffering from when she becomes pregnant and gives birth before her body is fully developed.

Becoming a mother should be a happy event – a positive choice of giving life without fearing for your own. But unfortunately, this is not the case in all parts of the world.

Fistula

In the book, we meet Anita from Bangladesh, who is 15 years old. She was in labour for two days before being admitted to hospital. Her child was stillborn, and she had developed a fistula – a devastating birth injury that left her incontinent. Compared to many others, Anita was lucky to receive reconstructive surgery for her fistula. Her hopes are to return to a normal life after suffering what no girl should endure.

During my visits to Mozambique and Burkina Faso as Patron of UNFPA, I had the opportunity to meet with women who have undergone fistula surgery. The hope, I saw in these women’s eyes was testimony to the unbearable suffering they have endured but, also of how they dreamt of returning to the lives they once knew.

Female Genital Mutilation

Poko, who we also meet in the book, was subjected to female genital mutilation when she was a little girl and she almost died from blood loss when she gave birth. FGM is not only a painful procedure but also a violation of human rights.

FGM has been mistakenly perceived to be based on religion. However, as we know, it is not prescribed by any religion. In fact it is practiced, for example, in both Muslim and Christian communities. That’s why it is so important to engage local imams and priests in the work to eliminate FGM.

Increased awareness and knowledge pave the way for real and lasting change. Parents want the best for their children. And with increased awareness and knowledge, parents can change their beliefs on how to best ensure the acceptance, respect and security of their daughters.

Gender inequality

Several of the young girls we meet in this book find themselves in situations that arise out of inequality between women and men, girls and boys. Some of the girls have experienced gender-based violence. GBV is an extreme expression of inequality and disturbingly, it affects one in three women globally.

Progress

I have seen many examples of programmes that work, and globally, we are making good progress. We have witnessed; a strong increase in the number of girls, who now finish primary school, an increasing number of communities that have stopped the practice of FGM and today, most countries have legislation in place to protect girls from harmful traditions such as FGM and child marriage.

Sexuality education

These are important steps. But if girls like the ones in this book are to have an alternative choice, then we must protect and respect their basic human rights and the vision of young people deciding for themselves when to have children and with whom. It will take a collective effort to break what is perhaps the most widespread taboo of all – comprehensive sexuality education.

Young people need to be knowledgeable about puberty, why their bodies are changing, how children are conceived and how to protect themselves from unwanted pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases.

Research shows that when young people receive accurate, age-relevant sex education and have access to contraception, they are better at protecting themselves and therefore their future.

It is not just a question of factual knowledge. It’s also about building self-esteem – especially for young girls.

The Potential of Girls

The girls in this book have great potential and with everything they have already endured in their lives, they have already demonstrated impressive resilience and strength. The three girls from Syria – Amira, Muna and Zainab – are admirable examples of this.

They have not only managed motherhood at a very young age, they have done so as refugees. Humanitarian crises undermine the lives of everyone but, for pregnant women the situation is even more acute. Tragically, we see examples of women refugees giving birth, literally on the side of the road.

However, becoming a child-mother is not just about surviving and coping with delivery, although a couple of the girls in this book have been frightfully close to dying. Very often, the opportunities in life for young mothers’ become much more limited.

Pregnancy often means that they are unable to continue or finish their education and given that education is often the key to breaking the cycle of poverty, they end up perpetuating it and passing it on to their own children.

Like every parent, the girls in this book want the best for their children. Some have already given up on their own dreams of getting an education and a job – and are now hoping that their children will have the opportunities they had to abandon.

In engaging with women and girls around the world there are two things that strike me. On the one hand, how disturbing it is that we continue to witness abuse and violation of women’s basic human rights and on the other hand, how very encouraging it is that in every community I visit, I meet amazing women with huge potential to make positive change – if only they get the chance.

These women give us hope for the future and this book contributes to giving these often ‘invisible’ girls a voice.

Thank you.