Abidjan - ‘I've learnt that you have to be a role model in society, be respected, not give in under duress and reject violence of all kinds’, declared Kouakou Aya Bertine, the mentor from Abigui. Her words reveal her deep commitment and determination to change mentalities.

She was one of 60 women and 20 men gathered for a training session in Dimbokro, a dynamic town in the centre-east of the country. Among them were male and female mentors from the N'Zi region. 

Their mission: to promote gender and life skills for the socio-economic empowerment of young girls who have dropped out of or are not attending school. The training is part of an ambitious project aimed at reducing early and forced marriages through empowerment and community mobilisation.

After this intensive training, the mentors will prepare to run Safe Spaces (SS). These warm and welcoming places will become sanctuaries for young girls aged between eight and thirty. There, they will receive training in life skills, sexual and reproductive health, family planning, gender and financial education.

These Safe Spaces will not only be centres of learning, but also refuges where young girls can feel valued and safe.

Positive masculinity

For the male mentors, the transformation is just as profound. They will head up the Husband Clubs (CM) and Future Husband Clubs (CDFM), safe spaces for young boys and teenagers aged between 12 and 30.

These young men, whether they are husbands, fiancés, friends or brothers of the beneficiaries of the Safe Spaces, will learn to become respectful and supportive partners.

Dupuy Yao Saint Michel, a mentor from Kouassi Kouassikro, described his personal change with touching sincerity: ‘After this training, I've become a new person. I see things differently now. Men and women are equal. Helping my wife at home, educating the children without scaring them, these are values that I now carry with me.

After Dimbokro, the spirit of this project will spread to Daoukro, where mentors from the Iffou region, also 90 including 60 women, will be trained from 4 to 12 June. This training continues to spread its roots, promising a future where equality and empowerment will be the cornerstones of a fairer, more prosperous society.

To find out more Discover SWEDD's best practice guides on Safe Spaces and the Development of Husbands' Clubs and Future Husbands' Clubs.