On International Day of the Girl Child, I was able to meet five young girls who are changing how young women are perceived in society here. These five, vibrant girls make up Ethiopia’s first girl band ‘YEGNA’, which means ‘ours’. I met them backstage as they were preparing for their debut live concert.
Yegna is funded by Girl Hub Ethiopia, a collaboration between the UK Department for International Development and the NIKE Foundation. The focus of the project is to shift the attitudes and behaviours of girls and those around them. Yegna is a complete brand that contains a radio drama, talk show and of course music.
The five girls are at the heart of the project, which aims to create stories that will appeal to girls and society in general and to campaign for girls’ education.
The first catchy single by the band (“Abet”, which I’ve had on my iPod for some time) was recently voted ‘single of the year’ at a local Listeners Choice Awards. This demonstrates that the band and the message are getting across to Ethiopian youth – their increasing popularity will help mainstream girls’ issues in Ethiopia.
The excitement of the thousands of girls and boys who attended the concert, all wearing ‘Yegna’ branded t-shirts, proves that people relate to the stories and are inspired by the sounds of ‘Yegna’.
The event perfectly matched the theme of this year’s International day of the Girl Child which promotes applying innovative and creative means to drive girls’ education. Projects like ‘Yegna’ can have a tremendous impact in transforming perceptions and creating a space for girls themselves to feel confident and aspire to fulfill their dreams.
Dreams that could transform not only their lives but that of their societies.