​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, written by ODI in partnership with national researchers, present findings from the third and final 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. 

In the first year, the study explored the key vulnerabilities that shape girls’ current wellbeing and future potent. In the second year these findings were used to focus on two key issues, education and early marriage. In the third and final year of fieldwork the same country research teams used the findings from years 1 and 2 to focus on communication initiatives aimed at shifting social norms that restrict the lives of girls.

Nicola Jones, Elizabeth Presler-Marshall, Tran Thi Van Anh, Dang Bich Thuy, Dao Hong Le, Nguyen Phuong Thao,Grace Kyomuhendo Bantebya, Florence Muhanguzi Kyoheirwe, Carol Watson, Bekele Tefera, Taveeshi Gupta, Guday Emirie, Bethelihem Gebre, Kiros Berhanu