Marthe Wandou: “Now we are known worldwide”

Sexual violence, child marriage, limited access to education—in the Lake Chad region of Cameroon, located in the far north, this is the reality of many young girls.

Marthe Wandou, who grew up in one of the region’s villages herself, knows these issues all too well. For over twenty years, she has worked to prevent and fight gender-based violence, empower girls through education and support survivors of violence.

Empowerment through education

Lake Chad is one of the poorest regions in the country. Thousands of girls are unable to go to school—for many of them, the reason is that they don’t possess a birth certificate. Others drop out due to violence and abuses in schools. As a result, girls are often forced into early marriage.

Changing this was one of Marthe’s priorities when she founded the organisation ALDEPA (Action Locale pour un Développement Participatif et Autogéré) in 1998. By working directly with girls, parents and teachers, her mission is to create safer school environments. Although education rates are still low, the situation has improved:

“We currently have an education rate of 40 percent amongst girls, compared to around 70 percent in other regions. It’s not much, but it’s a big change from where we started,” says Marthe.

Supporting survivors of terrorist violence

Besides improving access to education, ALDEPA also provides psychosocial support and assistance to survivors of violence. In many communities within the region, gender-based violence is extremely prevalent.

In 2013, the situation for women and girls became even worse. Attacks committed by the terrorist group Boko Haram, operating mainly in the far north of Cameroon, left thousands of girls and women displaced, abducted and subjected to child marriages and abuse.

Together with ALDEPA, Marthe has been supporting survivors of rape and abuse, aiming to re-integrate them into the communities. Through her work, she also seeks to spread awareness of the crisis’ devastating effects.

Creating safe environments for girls

To date, ALDEPA has helped more than 50,000 women and girls. One of their priorities is working with girls at an early age—preferably before adolescence, as many girls are forced into marriage by the age of 13 or 14, Marthe explains.

“My vision is that each girl should grow up in a safe environment where she can also have access to education, going to school and be safe from sexual or gender-based violence,” she says.

“Girls should have the capacity to decide over their own lives, recognise their rights and defend themselves against perpetrators.”

Receiving the Right Livelihood Award

For her holistic approach and relentless activism, Marthe was one of four Laureates who received the Right Livelihood Award in 2021. Since 1980, the award is given to social change-makers around the world to honour and support them. In 2002, The Kvinna till Kvinna Foundation was amongst the recipients.

When she learned that she would be a 2021 Laureate, Marthe was overwhelmed with emotions: “It gave me strength and courage, because it meant that the value of what I’m doing is recognised. I felt proud and thought about the girls and women I’m working for,” she says.

“We think we are small, but now we are known worldwide. It’s visibility, but also recognition and support to girls’ and women’s rights. Since the situation in my region is more known now, I’m sure more people will be interested in learning and helping more.”