A race for rights: How sport is helping protect girls in Uganda

“As a female coach, the girls trust me,” she said. “They tell me things they can’t tell anyone else, about pressure to undergo female genital mutilation (FGM), about being told to quit school, about relationships that make them feel unsafe.”

In parts of rural and hard-to-reach Uganda, female genital mutilation remains a serious human rights violation and public health concern. For girls in Sebei communities, it is tied to deep-rooted gender norms that also increase the risk of child marriage, school dropout and violence.

Yet on school grounds and running tracks, change is beginning to take hold.

A coach, a track and a safe space

Ms.…