Key Social Norms Take-aways The More Than Brides Alliance (MTBA) endline evaluation shows that shifting social norms—particularly around the value of girls’ education, the ideal age of marriage, and gender roles in relationships—is central to reducing child marriage. While individual-level knowledge and attitudes improved across intervention sites, broader normative change was uneven and highly context-specific. The evaluation emphasizes that transforming social norms requires sustained, multi-stakeholder engagement, including parents, community leaders, and boys, and that collective shifts take longer than individual attitude change.

Objectives The evaluation aimed to assess the effectiveness of the MTBA program in reducing child marriage and improving related outcomes for adolescent girls across four countries: India, Malawi, Mali, and Niger.

Methods A mixed-methods approach was used, including quantitative household surveys at baseline and endline with adolescent girls, parents, and other stakeholders, as well as qualitative interviews and focus group discussions. The evaluation used both cohort and cross-sectional designs to measure changes in child marriage prevalence, attitudes toward gender and marriage, education, and sexual and reproductive health (SRH) knowledge. A social norms analysis framework was applied in qualitative data to examine shifts in normative beliefs.

Intervention Details The MTBA program combined multiple strategies: life skills and SRHR education for girls, economic empowerment initiatives, community engagement through dialogues and campaigns, and advocacy at local and national levels. Interventions were tailored by country and targeted both girls and key influencers such as parents, religious leaders, and boys. Activities also included forming girls’ clubs, improving access to education, and strengthening service delivery systems.

Results The evaluation found improvements in girls’ SRHR knowledge, self-efficacy, and decision-making across all sites. In India and Malawi, there were notable reductions in the percentage of girls married before 18. However, in Mali and Niger, where norms supporting early marriage remain deeply entrenched, changes in marriage rates were limited. Social norms around marriage age, girls’ education, and gender roles showed signs of shifting, especially in communities with high program exposure. Still, normative beliefs remained resistant in some areas, particularly those involving male control in relationships or where broader structural barriers persisted.

Conclusions The MTBA evaluation underscores that while targeted interventions can improve knowledge and attitudes and delay marriage in some contexts, achieving deeper and sustained normative change requires addressing underlying power dynamics and involving entire communities. Social norm change is possible, but it is gradual and context-dependent, necessitating long-term investment and adaptive, locally grounded strategies.