October 11^th 2020 marked the 9^th edition of the International Day of the Girl Child. The theme for 2020 - My Voice, Our Equal Future - presents a poignant reminder that it is high time our societies prioritized the welfare and needs of girls. According to the United Nations, nearly 1 in every 4 girls globally between 15 – 19 years is either unemployed or in school, and 1 in every 3 women globally has experienced physical or sexual violence, which has intensified with the emergence of COVID-19. Therefore, tackling issues such as child marriage, inequality in access to education, addressing gender-based violence and addressing their reproductive health and rights needs should be top priorities among each and every society.

Moving The Goalposts (MTG) has prioritized the observance, protection and realization of the rights of girls and young women since its inception in 2002. Throughout its existence, the organization has harnessed the power of football to create 51 safe spaces in Kilifi, Kwale, Mombasa and Tana River Counties, where over 60,000 girls and young women to date have received the opportunity to play football and learn skills that boost their self-esteem and contribute to their communities. MTG also ensures that girls participating within their programs either attend school and go on to attain employment, or take up entrepreneurial activities to sustain themselves and their families. This commitment has enabled girls and young women unlock opportunities previously unavailable to them, as demonstrated within MTG itself where at least 50% of its staff were once participants of its programs and are now leaders within the organization and in their communities.

Meet Fathime Tibu

Fathime Tibu or ‘Coach Tibu’, as she is commonly referred to, dreams of becoming the Kenya National Women’s Football Team; Harambee Starlets head coach. She is currently a fulltime staff at MTG as well as the MTG United Coach.

Tibu joined Moving the Goalposts (MTG) at age 12 against the backdrop of so many challenges. Hailing from a Muslim background, most of her family members were of the view that women and girls could not get involved in certain activities including playing football let alone wearing shorts.

For Instance, in the beginning, she was faced with dilemmas on Saturdays since it was her only opportunity to participate in football training with her peers at MTG. She was also supposed to attend Madrasa (Muslim school) on the same day. Tibu revealed that she had to quickly find a balance between the two activities especially after she received several canings from her teacher for skipping Madrasa class in favour of football practice.

As early as age 15, Tibu had already identified her career pathway and committed herself to train the MTG under-13 team. Soon afterwards, with the support of MTG she received professional training to become a fully-fledged coach and ever since, she has trained several other MTG girls to become coaches.

In 2018, at age 25, she became the youngest football coach in the National Women Division One league in Kenya. In that same year, Tibu successfully coached the MTG United Team to position two at the end of the season. In 2019, Coach Tibu took the MTG United a notch higher by coming close to joining the Women’s Premier League.

Tibu, who is now a role model to so many young girls states that she is grateful for football and MTG since a lot of people in her community have since shifted their cultural beliefs and perceptions. ‘Through MTG’s meetings and awareness sessions with parents, things have surely changed. Nowadays, you hardly hear of a parent in our community refusing to allow the daughter to play football. Even the boys support us; sometimes when we train in the field, they come to watch us play and cheer us on, while some of them join us’’.