Adolescence is increasingly recognised as a critical period for capacity growth, one which presents development actors with a unique opportunity to alter life trajectories across generations. Adolescent girls in particular are seen as key. However, while progress has been rapid on some fronts, with today’s girls far more likely, for example, to attend school than their mothers, gender-discriminatory norms and practices, such as burdening girls and women with the lion’s share of domestic responsibility, continue to limit the options open to tomorrow’s women. By exploring girls’ unique vulnerabilities – vis-à-vis gender, age and culture – it is hoped that we can identify nuanced solutions that will help them shape identities of their own choosing.

These reports present findings from the first round of fieldwork conducted as part of the DFID-funded multi-year policy research programme, ‘Transforming the lives of adolescent girls’ exploring gender justice for adolescent girls in Ethiopia, Nepal, Uganda and Viet Nam.

Through these country reports, the Overseas Development Institute (ODI), in partnership with national researchers, explores the key vulnerabilities that shape girls’ current wellbeing and future potential. These reports focus on five capacity domains – educational, economic, reproductive/bodily integrity, psychosocial and civic and household participation –drawing on the first year of work from this research, they aim to render visible the all too often hidden experiences of adolescent girls and identify how policy and programme actors can better respond to their needs and priorities.

Nicola Jones, Fiona Samuels, Paola Pereznieto, Grace Bantebya, Florence Muhanguzi, Carol Watson, Bekele Tefera, Guday Emirie, Anita Ghimire, Sanju Wagle, Elizabeth Presler-Marshall, Tran Thi Van Anh, James Hamilton Harding