The Elders are committed to promoting equality between women and men, girls and boys, in all aspects of life. They are particularly concerned by the frequent misuse of religious and traditional beliefs to justify and perpetuate gender discrimination.

Child marriage is an important focus of this work. Ending this harmful practice is essential to protect the rights of women and girls and to improve maternal and child health, education and empowerment in developing societies worldwide. The practice of child marriage is declining slowly. However, with an estimated 10 million underage girls married off each year, The Elders believe this process can and must be accelerated – and that this requires a concerted, international effort.

Gro Harlem Brundtland, Desmond Tutu and Mary Robinson speaking with a woman who was married as a child, in Ethiopia, June 2011

In 2010, The Elders began to forge a global civil society alliance for a world without child marriage. Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage brings together non-governmental organisations working all over the world to end this harmful practice. It aims to give a voice to girls at risk of child marriage, to defend their rights to health and education, and to give them the opportunities they need to fulfil their potential.

The partnership works by:

• Helping to put the issue on the international agenda and raise awareness among policy-makers and citizens.
• Strengthening organisations already working on child marriage, encouraging cooperation between global advocates and often isolated grassroots activists.
• Reaching out to political, religious and community leaders to lead efforts to end child marriage.

Find out more and how you can get involved at www.GirlsNotBrides.org.