Nada Foundation

Nada Foundation was set up by Nada Al-Ahdal in 2017. Drawing on her own experiences of being offered for marriage at a very young age, Nada set up the organisation with the aim of ending child marriage in Yemen. It focuses on the needs of girls at risk of early and forced marriage. Typically, these are girls who are out of school because they have been internally displaced as a result of the war, girls experiencing domestic violence at home and girls living in extreme poverty. The Nada Foundation runs several campaigns to raise awareness of the rights of children and of the physical and psychological dangers of child marriage. It engages with community leaders and parents to explain the devastating consequences of child marriage and encourages them to become advocates for girls. It addresses the dangers of child marriage through a series of popular videos distributed via social media. The Safe Havens programme supports girls who were forced into marriage and victims of domestic abuse. Nada Foundation works with authorities to rescue underage girls and place them in safe locations. The decision to place girls in protection is carefully considered and planned, and always made with their guardians’ full knowledge. The foundation also runs an education programme, teaching English to girls aged between 13 and 18 with the aim of helping them enrol in universities abroad.