Club of Young Girls Leaders of Guinea

The Club of Young Girls Leaders of Guinea (French: Club des Jeunes Filles Leaders de Guinée, abbreviated CJFLG or CJFL-Guinée) is a Guinean activist association for the rights of women and children, founded on 28 February 2016 and based in Conakry. It operates nationally across the Republic of Guinea. Its stated mission is to combat forced marriage, domestic violence and female genital mutilation, and to promote the rights and sexual and reproductive health of girls and young people. The organisation runs awareness-raising activities such as educational talks on the protection of girls and on sexual and reproductive health services adapted to adolescents and young people. It also carries out community communications on the protection chain against gender-based violence (GBV) and on integrated care for victims. Its two main thematic areas of intervention are sexual and reproductive rights and health, and the fight against gender-based violence. The club was created in a context described as alarming: according to a 2017 government survey cited by the organisation, 63% of Guinean women are victims of domestic violence, 29% of sexual violence, 22.8% of girls are married before the age of 15 and 55% before the age of 18. The association conducts lobbying activities with public institutions in favour of more equitable legal frameworks, and it has submitted a document to the head of government Ibrahima Kassory Fofana requesting that the legal age of marriage for girls be raised from 16 to 18 in Guinea. Among its flagship initiatives is the Forum de la jeune fille guinéenne (Forum of the Guinean Girl), first launched on 5 February 2021 in Conakry under the theme "Young girls, victims and actors of change". A third edition was held from 25 to 26 October 2024 under the theme "Gender-based violence in Guinea: progress made, persistent challenges", officially opened by the Minister for the Promotion of Women, Children and Vulnerable Persons, alongside international partners and diplomats accredited to the Republic of Guinea. The organisation also announced a projected African Forum of the Young Girl, presented at a press conference on 7 December 2019 as a framework for consultation on the harms faced daily by young girls in Guinea and across the continent. In 2023, the club was a laureate of the Freedom Prize (prix Liberté) at the 5th edition of the prize, awarded in the framework of the Normandy World Peace Forum (Forum Normandie pour la Paix) supported by the Normandy Region. The organisation is documented as an NGO in Guinea and appears in the Féministes En Action directory of civil society organisations.

The Club of Young Girls Leaders of Guinea (Club des Jeunes Filles Leaders de Guinée, CJFL-Guinée) was created on 28 February 2016. It is an activist association for the rights of women and children in the Republic of Guinea, based in Conakry and operating at national level. According to the organisation, it was established with the support of international structures that helped set up community awareness frameworks and listening units, in response to an alarming situation. The context that motivated its creation is documented through a 2017 government survey cited by the club: 63% of Guinean women are victims of domestic violence, 29% of sexual violence, 22.8% of girls are married before the age of 15, and 55% before the age of 18. Against this backdrop, the association's main activity is the fight against forced marriage, domestic violence and female genital mutilation. The organisation carries out awareness-raising actions such as educational talks on the protection of girls and on sexual and reproductive health services adapted to adolescents and young people. It also ensures community communications on the protection chain against gender-based violence (GBV) and on integrated care for victims. Its declared thematic areas of intervention are sexual and reproductive rights and health, and the fight against gender-based violence. Beyond direct awareness work, the club conducts lobbying activities with public institutions in favour of more equitable legal frameworks. A notable advocacy effort concerned the revision of the children's code: the club submitted a document to the head of government Ibrahima Kassory Fofana requesting that the legal age of marriage for girls in Guinea be raised from 16 to 18. A central vehicle of its work is the Forum de la jeune fille guinéenne (Forum of the Guinean Girl). The first edition was launched on Friday 5 February 2021 in a hotel in Conakry, under the theme 'Young girls, victims and actors of change', expressing the idea that the struggle for the empowerment and fulfilment of the Guinean girl must be conducted with her and by her. The event ran over two days. A third edition was held from Friday 25 to Saturday 26 October 2024 under the theme 'Gender-based violence in Guinea: progress made, persistent challenges'; its proceedings were officially launched by the Minister for the Promotion of Women, Children and Vulnerable Persons, accompanied by international partners and diplomats accredited to the Republic of Guinea. The organisation has also projected a continental extension of this work. At a press conference on Saturday 7 December 2019, the Club of Young Girls Leaders of Guinea presented its project for an African Forum of the Young Girl, conceived as a framework for consultation on the harms faced daily by young girls in Guinea and on the African continent, including gender-based violence, excision, early marriage and rape. In 2023, the club received external recognition as a laureate of the Freedom Prize (prix Liberté) at its 5th edition, awarded within the framework of the Normandy World Peace Forum (Forum Normandie pour la Paix) supported by the Normandy Region. The organisation is listed as an NGO in Guinea and appears in the Féministes En Action directory of civil society organisations.

• Club of Young Girls Leaders of Guinea founded in Conakry.

• Government survey cited by the organisation reports high rates of domestic violence, sexual violence and child marriage in Guinea.

• Project for an African Forum of the Young Girl presented at a press conference.

• First edition of the Forum de la jeune fille guinéenne launched in Conakry.

• Laureate of the Freedom Prize (prix Liberté) at its 5th edition, within the Normandy World Peace Forum.

• Third edition of the Forum de la jeune fille guinéenne held from 25 to 26 October 2024.

A national Guinean civil society organisation and activist association focused on women's and children's rights, gender-based violence and sexual and reproductive health.

1. 1Club des Jeunes Filles Leaders de Guinée - Féministes En Action !feminaction.fr
2. 2Club of Young Girls Leaders of Guinea - Wikidatawikidata.org
3. 3Club des jeunes filles leaders de Guinée - Wikipédiafr.wikipedia.org