Zainab Gurin Aminu
- Gender and Sexual and Reproductive Health (2019)
- Civic Leadership and Management, Mandela Washington Fellowship (2018)
- UNFPA Advocacy training certificate (2018)
- Civic Leadership and Management, YALI Regional Leadership Center (2017)
I have been working to delay age of marriage and onset of first child birth by reducing socio economic barrier to female education through group based mentoring and support there by empowering them to make strategic life choices in context where this ability was previously deprived. I live in a community where early marriage thrives and accessibility to family planning is highly frowned at. Through CGE we have helped enroll and retain more than 20,000 marginaized adolescent girls in school there by delaying the age of marriage by 2.5 years and delay the onset of child birth. I have trained about 80 community girl advocates who are advocating for girls right to access to SRH information and free safe and quality education for all girls to major stakeholders within their communities
I lost a close COusin at the age of 14 due to pregnancy related complications and working as a volunteer with the CGE I came across girls in rural communities whose dreams where shattered due to early marriage, they were not given the oppurtunity to go to school or had to drop out because their parents married them off at a very young age making them mothers at tender ages. this informed my decision to help marginalized girls stay in school thereby delaying age of marriage and onset of childbirt
I have trained and led adolescent girls on advocacy visits to relevant stake holders; ministry of health, women affairs and the state government on the importance of women and girls having access to free and quality RMNACH and ASRH services in their communities. I have trained more than 695 mentors who mentor marginalized girls in girls only mentored safe spaces in rural communities on ASRH, Life skill and Literecy and numeracy to help girls reach their maximum potential in life.
after an outreachin a secondary school, an adolescent girlcame and asked me what Menstruation is, it came as a shock as most of her peers had started menstruating and some were already asking about intimate relations with boys. if named a winner I would use the grant to conduct holistic outreach to various secondary schools within my community to provide girls with SRH information to guide them make informed decisions in thier lives so that they are able to live heathy and productive lives
