She Leads Mali SUMMARY
In Mali, girls and young women (GYW), particularly GYW from socially excluded and exploited groups, are denied the opportunity to voice their interests and to participate in decision-making. 
She Leads is a joint programme of Plan International Netherlands, Defence for Children - ECPAT the Netherlands (DCI-ECPAT), African Women’s Development and Communication Network (FEMNET), and Terre des Hommes the Netherlands (TdH). Equal Measures 2030 is a technical partner. In Mali, Plan International Mali, TdH Mali and ROAJEF(local member of FEMNET) will implement the programme. They will bring together child rights organisations, feminist/women’s rights organisations, and GYW-led groups with the aim to increase sustained influence of girls and young women (GYW) on decision-making and the transformation of gender norms in formal and informal institutions. In addition to joint advocacy at national level, the programme will be implementing in Ségou, Mopti, Timbuktu, Koulikoro, Sikasso, and Bamako Girls and young women’s (GYW’s) rights to engage in public decision-making are enshrined in international agreements and national laws. In reality, however, GYW voices are excluded from the socio-political domain,  particularly those of GYW who experience intersecting forms of discrimination. 
GYW’s meaningful participation is obstructed by three interrelated factors. Firstly, discriminatory gender- and age-related social norms limit GYW’s rights to move freely, voice opinions and engage in public life. Secondly, GYW groups in civil society are under resourced and lack strong ties with more established CSOs. The latter are not always responsive to the specific needs and perspectives of GYW-led groups. Furthermore, the global phenomenon of shrinking civic space is affecting GYW-led organizations, making it even harder for them to express their opinions, assemble and associate. Groups that challenge the ruling gender ideology are increasingly being intimidated, threatened and exposed to violence. In conflict and humanitarian contexts, GYW actors risk additional security threats as easy targets of militarized and extremist forces. 
Thirdly, political institutions at local and national level are dominated by elites consisting of mainly male, elder leaders, with no interest in institutional reforms that would make decision-making processes more inclusive, transparent and accountable. Existing consultation mechanisms (such as youth parliaments and advisory bodies) are usually poorly resourced, dependent on donor support and functioning irregularly. She Leads envisions change in 3 domains of society: the social-cultural, civil society and institutional domain. In the social-cultural domain, partners engage traditional and religious leaders, forging coalitions of progressive actors who, due to their status and authority, will galvanize their constituencies to adopt more positive gender and age norms. Awareness raising and diffusion of new ideas through media and peer networks (including boys and young men) will challenge existing norms and expectations. Young female activists play an important role in this process, by inspiring other girls and breaking down negative stereotypes. 
In the civil society domain, the creation (consolidation) of safe spaces in which  GYW can meet, exchange, build their confidence, political consciousness and skills, is a major step towards increased self-organization. Another key condition is the increased capacity of (adult-led) CSOs to effectively support GYW collective action. Stronger collaboration between GYW groups, child and women’s rights networks will lead to a more enabling environment for GYW-led groups. A well connected and better resourced social movement for girls’ rights is able to promote a strong feminist counternarrative to the dominant patriarchal and ageist ideology. 
In the institutional domain, policy makers will develop greater  awareness and knowledge about GYW inclusion in decision-making. Stronger connections between progressive policy makers and political leaders working at different levels will result in a coalition of reform-minded champions. In addition, pressure exercised by regional and international  bodies will force national governments to take action and safeguard GYW’s rights to association and freedom of expression. Currently we are witnessing a rise in girls and young women’s activism and protest. The She Leads programme will partner with existing GYW-led groups and feminist organizations. Importantly, special efforts are made to support existing informal groups of girls and young women, for example girls clubs, associations, student groups and unregistered organizations, which have started to organize and mobilize but are often excluded from many funding mechanisms.

In six She Leads countries, the programme builds directly on the experiences of the previous Girls Advocacy Alliance (2016-2020). 

FEMNET and DCI-ECPAT are network organisations, and will be working in all countries through selected members of their respective
networks. Plan International and Terre des Hommes will work through their country offices and with local contracted organisations to implement projects under the overall She Leads programme. 

She Leads will seek collaboration with the Dutch Embassy in Bamako and alignment and collaboration with other consortiums funded under the Strengthening Civil Society framework of the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Trade and Development Cooperation. In particular, She Leads will seek alignment with the four other consortiums funded under the Women’s Rights and Gender Equality (WRGE) theme of the Power of Voices funding mechanism. Within the population of girls and young women (between 14 till 24 years), the programme aims to strengthen the influence and participation of GYW who suffer most from (intersectional) discrimination and exclusion. These include:
•	GYW living in poor, remote rural areas and urban slums
•	GYW experiencing gender based violence (particularly girls who have married early)
•	GYW with disabilities
•	GYW who are out of school
•	Refugee and internally displaced GYW
•	GYW from sexual minority groups She Leads contributes to a lasting transformative effect on engagement of GYW in decision-making. The following strategies will be implemented: 

1.	Strengthening and resourcing GYW-led organizations: investing in the resource base of GYW-led organizations will help them access other funding in the future. 
2.	Support social movements: social movements can accelerate lasting change in societies’ structures and norms. She Leads will bring together child-rights and feminist organisations and GYW-led groups to push collectively for transformative change in gender norms, and for institutional reform. 
3.	Engaging boys & men, parents, and traditional and religious leaders: these actors are crucial allies to ensure structural change and permanent effects when it comes to norms change. Because of their status and their role in socialisation processes, these actors promote structural change in societies. 
4.	Engaging media: She Leads will use media as a tool to amplify GYWs voices, and will target media as a powerful agent of change. Opening space for GYW’s voices and leadership in the media will ultimately influence broader communities, and has lasting effects beyond the programme.
5.	Organisational capacity strengthening of CSO’s: investments in advocacy capacity, building relationships with decision-makers, strengthening fundraising skills will have a lasting effect on their influencing work beyond She Leads. 
6.	Linking local, national, regional and global: She Leads is implemented at different levels that are strategically interconnected. Interventions and results in one domain trigger change in other domains, and changes at local, national, regional and international levels are connected and influence each other.