Edward Musonera Foundation (EMF) is continuing its work to strengthen sexual and reproductive health and rights (SRHR) knowledge, legal literacy, protection, and community support for adolescent girls and young women in rural Rwanda.
Through the project “Our Bodies, Our Rights: Feminist SRHR Legal Literacy and Protection for Adolescent Girls in Rural Rwanda,” EMF is working to ensure that adolescent girls understand their rights, know where to seek appropriate health services, and are supported by communities and institutions to exercise those rights with dignity and confidence.
The project is supported by Urgent Action Fund Africa and implemented by the Edward Musonera Foundation as part of its broader commitment to advancing the rights, dignity, protection, and empowerment of marginalized girls and young women in Rwanda. EMF is a grassroots, community based foundation working in Bugesera and Ngoma Districts with a strong focus on adolescent and young mothers, SRHR, menstrual dignity, economic empowerment, and youth leadership.
Bridging the Gap Between the Law and Girls’ Everyday Lives
A major focus of the project is ensuring that legal progress becomes meaningful in the everyday lives of adolescent girls, particularly those living in rural communities.
The project seeks to increase adolescent girls’ knowledge of their legal and SRHR rights, reduce stigma and misinformation surrounding adolescent sexual and reproductive health, and strengthen community accountability for the implementation of relevant laws.
To achieve this, EMF is implementing a range of activities, including community sensitisation dialogues, age appropriate SRHR and rights education sessions, engagement with health providers and community gatekeepers, media and public awareness activities, and the strengthening of EMF Safe Space groups as platforms for continued peer education and support.
At the centre of this approach is a simple but powerful belief: a right that is not understood cannot easily be exercised.
Taking SRHR Legal Literacy Directly to the Community
As part of the ongoing implementation of the Our Bodies, Our Rights project, EMF recently conducted a Safe Space sensitisation and awareness creation session in Gikundamvura Cell, Ruhuha Sector, Bugesera District.
The activity brought together 24 Safe Space members, including teenage and young mothers, for an interactive discussion focused on SRHR, legal literacy, health information, protection, and access to appropriate services. The session was facilitated with support from volunteers from the Youth Advisory Network (YAN), supported by UNICEF Rwanda, alongside EMF staff.
Rather than delivering information through a one way lecture, participants were encouraged to ask questions, share what they had previously heard, discuss real life situations, and challenge myths and misinformation.
The discussion covered practical issues including family planning, HIV testing, sexually transmitted infections, antenatal care, menstrual health and hygiene, safeguarding, and referral pathways for survivors of violence and abuse. Participants were also introduced to the legal provisions governing adolescents’ access to health services and discussed how these rights apply in real life situations.
Challenging Misinformation and Building Confidence
One of the important elements of the session was creating a safe environment where participants could openly discuss myths and misinformation surrounding sexual and reproductive health.
By allowing young women to express what they had heard from friends, peers, and the wider community, facilitators were able to address misconceptions respectfully and provide accurate, practical information. The discussions reinforced the importance of making informed decisions and seeking reliable information from qualified health professionals. The session also went beyond simply sharing information. Participants explored how they could support other girls in their communities by sharing accurate information, encouraging appropriate health seeking behaviour, and helping peers access professional support when necessary.
From Participants to Community SRH Champions
A key component of the Our Bodies, Our Rights project is strengthening the leadership of young women themselves.
During the Gikundamvura activity, seven participants were identified and prepared as community based SRH Champions. These young women will contribute to sharing accurate information within their communities, encouraging peers to seek appropriate services, and helping connect girls to professional support and referral pathways when needed.
EMF’s approach recognizes that sustainable change requires more than a single training or awareness session. Through its existing Safe Space groups, participants can continue meeting, learning, supporting one another, and sharing knowledge beyond the life of an individual activity. The Gikundamvura Safe Space group will continue to serve as a platform for peer education, mentorship, follow up, and referral support.
Building Communities Where Girls Know Their Rights
The Our Bodies, Our Rights project is ultimately about transforming knowledge into confidence, confidence into action, and individual awareness into stronger community support.
By engaging adolescent girls, young mothers, parents, community leaders, health workers, and other stakeholders, EMF is working to reduce the gap between legal rights and the reality experienced by girls in rural communities.
The project aims to reach 250 adolescent girls aged 15–19 in Ruhuha Sector, Bugesera District, while also engaging parents, caregivers, community leaders, and frontline health workers as important stakeholders in creating more informed, supportive, and adolescent friendly communities.
As implementation continues, EMF will build on the lessons from activities such as the Gikundamvura Safe Space session to strengthen peer education, community dialogue, referral pathways, and advocacy.
Acknowledging Our Funder
Edward Musonera Foundation sincerely acknowledges Urgent Action Fund Africa for supporting the implementation of the Our Bodies, Our Rights: Feminist SRHR Legal Literacy and Protection for Adolescent Girls in Rural Rwanda project.
Through this support, EMF is able to bring SRHR education, legal literacy, protection information, and community based engagement closer to adolescent girls and young women in rural Rwanda.
Together, we are working toward communities where girls are not silenced by misinformation, stigma, fear, or lack of knowledge but are informed, supported, and empowered to understand and exercise their rights.
Our Bodies. Our Rights. Our Voices.