Adolescents and the Rule of Law

Farzana Kashfi

BRAC Bangladesh

SoFEA stands for Social and Financial Empowerment of Adolescents. The word means "Wisdom" in Persian. The project symbolizes its namesake by enhancing knowledge level of vulnerable adolescent girls in rural Bangladesh on issues that are crucial for them to understand, not just as adolescents, but as individuals partaking in a complex society.

It is crucial that adolescent girls, who are among the most vulnerable in the society, are fully aware of the laws protecting them. Hence, through life-skills based education in SoFEA, adolescent girls are exposed to existing laws on aspects that are dominant in the local context, such as laws protecting them against child marriage, dowry, gender based violence, polygamy, child trafficking, gender equity/discrimination as well as laws on inheritance and divorce. They also learn about human rights, the positive role of adolescents in the society, importance of education, sexual and reproductive health including puberty, risk of early pregnancy,   family planning, birth spacing, STIs etc. Life-skills based education is provided through peer-to-peer learning methodology.

SoFEA was initiated by BRAC in 2009, with support from the Nike Foundation. It currently covers around 13,000 girls between the age of 11 and 21 years. Drawing from its 40 years of experience of working with the most vulnerable communities, BRAC understood that it is important to assist girls in not just enhancing their level of awareness, but also with the tools to translate awareness into action. Hence, SoFEA was designed to have six components such that they complement each other to create a complete support structure for the target population. These components include a clubhouse providing a safe place for girls to socialize in, play games, read books and support each other in times of need; life-skills based education to provide the girls with the knowledge to make informed decisions; livelihood training for girls to learn a skill that they could utilize to earn a good living; financial education to equip them with skills for better money and micro-enterprise management; savings and credit facilities to offer them with the opportunity to empower themselves economically; and community sensitization, that not only creates awareness about the needs of the girls, but also attempts to install a sense of ownership towards the club among the community members.

One girl from each club is trained in the course. She is then responsible for conducting the course among her peers in the club over 27 sessions across the year. So far, over 70% of the girls in the program have received the course.

However, Bangladesh is a country that is still struggling with its rule of law. Laws are in place but there is a lack of proper implementation. And without implementation, there is minimal respect for the law in place.  In a situation such as this, it becomes even more important to that girls are empowered as individuals so that they can protect themselves in times of need. Therefore, along with awareness, they need to have the tools to apply their learning and claim their rights when needed.

One such tool is financial empowerment. Better financial literacy, employable skills, savings and access to capital could help an individual become economically more empowered. Along with life-skills based education, SoFEA is providing adolescent girls with these support services so that they can have access to justice and be financially empowered. A holistic support structure that helps a girl to be socially empowered through improving her social network, raising awareness and giving her a voice within her community while providing her with the tools to become financially empowered, is crucial for not only helping a girl to protect herself but also to become an empowered citizen who can then contribute to establishing the rule of law in the country.