This International Women’s Day, CAUSE Canada launches EmpowerHER – and the story of one woman shows exactly why this work matters.
There’s a particular kind of moment in development work that stops you in your tracks. Not a statistic, not a report, but a person. A life that quietly embodies everything you’ve been working toward.
We had one of those moments at the launch of EmpowerHER in Sierra Leone.
Standing before us was Sierra Leone’s Honourable Minister of Gender and Children’s Affairs, passionate, sharp, and utterly committed to protecting the girls of her country. And as she spoke, we were reminded that she was once a CAUSE Canada staff member herself.
The woman now shaping national policy on gender and child protection built part of her foundation with us. That’s not a coincidence we take lightly. It’s a powerful reminder of what’s possible.
What is EmpowerHER?
EmpowerHER is CAUSE Canada’s dedicated program to address child marriage in Sierra Leone, which is one of the most persistent and harmful barriers to girls’ futures in the country.
The numbers are sobering. Today, 30% of young women aged 20–24 in Sierra Leone were married before their 18th birthday. 9% were married before they turned 15. In rural communities, the rate climbs to nearly 42%. Among the poorest families, it reaches 44%. And for girls with no access to education, child marriage is the norm, affecting 46% of women with no schooling, compared to just 19% of those who reached secondary school.
The consequences reach far beyond the wedding day. Teenage pregnancy is deeply tied to child marriage, and pregnancy‑related complications are the leading cause of death globally for adolescent girls. Girls who marry young face a lifetime of reduced agency, health risks, and lost potential.
But the story doesn’t end there.
The Minister spoke candidly in her interview about what child marriage actually looks like from the inside – young girls entering polygamous households, facing bullying and isolation, stripped of bodily autonomy, and told their worth was settled the moment a bride price was paid.
“The woman’s body is not for sale,” she said. “A child should be a child.”
These aren’t just words. In June 2024, Sierra Leone enacted the landmark Prohibition of Child Marriage Bill, making marriage or cohabitation under 18 a criminal offence, with penalties of up to 15 years imprisonment. It’s a seismic shift, and advocates like the Minister have been at the centre of making it happen.
Why EmpowerHER, and why now?
The law has changed. But laws alone don’t change actions. That’s where EmpowerHER comes in.
Working at the community level, EmpowerHER will mobilise men and walk alongside girls, families, faith leaders, and local advocates to shift deeply held norms, enforce new protections, and create real pathways for girls to stay in school and step into their futures. If current trends continue, an estimated 27% of girls in Sierra Leone will still marry before 18 by 2030. With accelerated effort, that number can be brought down, but only if the community-level work keeps pace with policy change.
A full-circle moment
As we celebrate International Women’s Day, the Minister’s story is exactly what empowering a woman can look like over the long arc of a life.
She was invested in. She grew. She led. And now she’s protecting the next generation of girls in her country.
That’s the vision behind EmpowerHER. And that’s the kind of impact your support makes possible.
Sources: UNICEF, Sierra Leone Demographic and Health Survey, WHO, Government of Sierra Leone (Prohibition of Child Marriage Act, 2024)
