Afrika Tikkun Young Urban Women fearlessly #ChooseToChallenge gender inequality, biases and violence everyday. Our Young Urban Women program helps them fight gender-based violence and social exclusion; two great roadblocks to their progress. The program empowers them to campaign for change wherever services, systems and attitudes exclude them or violate their human rights. Your support for this project will help us empower 30 girls to become agents of positive change for their communities.
Women living in the 6 townships where Afrika Tikkun operates, face challenges on a number of different levels.They are single parents: 46-50% of the households we serve monthly are headed by single, unemployed and unskilled mothers, who rely on child support grants for an income. They are less educated and are the first to drop out of school. Additionally, they are victims of high teenage pregnancy and gender based violence with 31% HIV prevalence rate for women between the ages of 15 and 39.
Afrika Tikkun Young Urban Women (YUW) Program mobilizes young women to form self-led advocacy groups that focus on promoting agency, knowledge about human rights and gender equality. They are exposed to training and education that promotes active citizenship and are therefore, empowered to effect change in their own lives, those of their families, their communities and even at different levels of South African government.
The program trains young activists and fosters strong peer support systems to act against human rights violations. Through this project, 30 Young Urban Women will be empowered to challenge inequality and take action against social issues in their communities. They will be able to actively lead in their self-liberation, that of their families, and other marginalized people in South Africa, ultimately benefiting generations to come.
