Go Sisters: Empowering girls through netball

The Go Sisters project works with girls and young women across five provinces in Zambia, using netball to promote gender empowerment and greater equality of opportunities.

Despite national efforts to promote gender equality and challenge negative attitudes towards women, girls in rural Zambia are growing up in a context of poverty and discrimination, where their rights are frequently denied and their opportunities are restricted. Zambia has strong policies and laws in place to protect women’s rights – but new approaches are needed to transform attitudes and promote practical change.

In response, we are supporting a local partner organisation, EduSport, to deliver the innovative Go Sisters project. This exciting project works across five provinces in Zambia. It uses community-based netball and football leagues to run leadership development opportunities for marginalised girls, helping them to grow in confidence, develop life skills, improve their literacy, and access vocational and entrepreneurial training. Girls’ rights are also promoted within local communities by building trust with girls’ families and running community tournaments that raise awareness of girls’ rights and provide a safe space to challenge negative gender stereotypes.