Moving the goalposts

May 26

Today we visited an organization called “Moving the Goal Posts,” (MTG) located in Kilifi near the port city of Mombasa, that uses football (soccer) as a tool to help young girls empower themselves and take control of their lives. The coastal area near Mombasa is very conservative and girls rarely attend school beyond the primary level (up to 8^h grade; students must pass a rigorous test to attend secondary school and it is not publicly funded and most parents in the coastal area cannot afford to pay the fees). The Kilifi area is very poor and many families have no working adults. As in other areas in Kenya, there are high rates of HIV-AIDs and other STDs, drug and alcohol abuse, and incidents of violence against girls and women.

From a very young age girls are expected to help with domestic chores which include cleaning, cooking, working on the family's farm plot, washing clothes as well as selling items to supplement the family's income such as charcoal, corn, and chapatis. Since families cannot afford to buy sanitary pads, girls stay home from school during their menses out of embarrassment Most girls are pregnant or married by the time they are fifteen or sixteen. The options for pregnancy prevention and family planning are abstinence and abortion. Since abortion is illegal in Kenya except in the case of rape or the health of the mother, the majority of abortions are self-induced with the help of older women using traditional methods.

MTG works with about 3000 girls and young women managing football teams and organizing tournaments; but it does much more than this. The organization has developed a number of peer-led programmes around issues of reproductive health, menstruation, sexuality, HIV and AIDS, education, and the development of self-esteem. The footballers are trained to counsel and educate their peers; they begin as volunteers but some are now working as staff members for MTG. Others have gone on to secondary school while still playing football. Some are planning to go to university; others are enrolled in vocational programmes and hope to eventually set up their own business in tailoring, dressmaking, or hairdressing. The girls we interviewed are absolutely amazing. They are very self-assured, self-aware, realistic about their options and opportunities, and are working to develop a plan for their lives so that they can establish healthy relationships and contribute to their families' well-being. And they are also working to be the best football player they can be!