United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA) organized a canvas painting event at Meskel Square on 7 & 8 March 2008 under the theme “Stop Early Marriage.” The painting of a 100 meter canvas, which is the largest piece of painting ever painted in Ethiopia, was undertaken on the two consecutive days by 30 of Ethiopia’s prominent artists and the painting was launched on March 8, the International Women’s Day, which was commemorated this year with the theme “Investing in Women and Girls”. The event was attended by His Holiness Abuna Paulos, Aba Gebremedhin, [illigitimate] Patriarch of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church and President of the World Council of Churches; Mr. Abdoulie Janneh, Executive Secretary of the Economic Commission for Africa (ECA); members of the diplomatic corps; and other high level dignitaries.

The canvas painting event was one major activity forming part of a national campaign entitled “Stop Early Marriage.” The “Stop Early Marriage” campaign was graciously kicked-started under the auspices of Ethiopia’s First Lady, H.E. Wz. Azeb Mesfin, at the recent summit of the African First Ladies. The campaign was conceived a few months ago by UNFPA, the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Population Council. This unique, participatory and big-impact canvas painting event was believed to be a key milestone in enhancing the understanding of the public, policy-makers and development stakeholders on early marriage.

Making a remark during the event His Holiness Abuna Paulos condemned the practice of early marriage and noted that his church would not bless any instance of early marriage.

“Early Marriage is one of the prevalent forms of gender-based violence in Ethiopia with negative consequences on women’s and girl’s reproductive health, including maternal deaths, fistula, HIV/AIDS and other negative psycho-social problems,” remarked Dr. Monique Rakotomalala, UNFPA Representative to Ethiopia. She also underscored that rural-urban migration and susceptibility to poverty, physical and sexual abuse are consequences of early marriage established by research.

The team of artists who participated in the canvas painting are Ethiopia’s celebrated artists, who brought together an interesting mixture of styles, ages and gender to express their feelings for the fight against early marriage. The canvas painting event took place in full view on the public.

Gender is one of the core mandates of UNFPA and the organization has built operational experience in preventing early marriage and addressing the consequences of the practice in urban Ethiopia. With funding it secured from the Nike and United Nations Foundations, UNFPA has in the past two years been supporting a successful early marriage prevention project in the Amhara Region where half of all girls get married by the age of 15. The project has been implemented by the Ministry of Youth and Sports and the Amhara Youth and Sports Bureau, with technical assistance provided by Population Council. The practice of early marriage is also prevalent in two other regions of the country namely Benishangul Gumuz and Tigray Regions.

The “Stop Early Marriage” campaign will also be linked to some key publicity events in 2008, including the Women’s First Run taking place on March 23rd; the Sixteen Days of Activism Against Gender Based Violence (November 25-December 16); and World Population Day. Currently UNFPA is running radio and TV spots on national and regional radio and TV stations as part of the campaign and the spots will be aired for three consecutive months to come.

UNFPA, the United Nations Population Fund, is an international development agency that promotes the right of every woman, man and child to enjoy a life of health and equal opportunity. UNFPA supports countries in using population data for policies and programmes to reduce poverty and to ensure that every pregnancy is wanted, every birth is safe, every young person is free of HIV/AIDS, and every girl and woman is treated with dignity and respect.

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