A Gender Analysis of NGOs’ Advocacy and Program Reports with Respect to Child Marriage

Abstract

This thesis looks at the issue of child marriage and the discourse used by major international NGOs in their program reports and briefs to promote the end of child marriage. Through this thesis, it is argued that there is a need for a more prominent gender analysis that takes into account the current structural conditions which perpetuate gender inequality and reinforce notions of vulnerability and disempowerment of the child forced to marry (girl or boy). Child marriage programming fails to fully address the transformative changes needed to end – or to significantly impact - this global problem and to fully address the denial of human rights arising from child marriage. Using a qualitative content analysis and discourse analysis, this thesis examines 10 publicly-available documents based on a continuum of impacts from essentialism, to gender mainstreaming, to transformative change. The findings shows that there is a prevalence of gender mainstreaming discourse, although still often employed in conjunction with some gender essentialist language. To see real change in the world, there needs to be a switch towards transformative language within the discourse of organizations that are trying to make a change on the ground.