Today is the first-ever International Day of the Girl. This is a day to celebrate the fact that it is girls who will change the world; that the empowerment of girls holds the key to development and security for families, communities and societies worldwide.
Child marriage is one of the most shocking and disturbing practices facing girls around the world today. Every year, ten million girls are forcibly married before the age of eighteen, many as young as twelve or thirteen-years-old.
A delegation from the Council of Elders (veteran leaders of the freedom and peace movements of the mid-20th century) recently led an interfaith service at Zuccotti Park. Hundreds of OWS activists took part.
Working to bring together non-governmental agencies from around the world, Girls Not Brides is confronting a practice that prohibits 10 million girls -- annually -- of the right to an education, health, and security.
On a learning trip to Ethiopia, where 49 percent of girls are married before they are 18, I came face to face with one of the biggest challenges that holds back the world's female population and keeps countries mired in poverty: child marriage.
There is a diverse, all-star cast of some of today's most treasured and charismatic leaders who have come together online and off in a group called the Elders. Their mission: to fight for social justice.