Why did The Elders, “more accustomed to sitting down with government officials in North and South Korea, antagonists in the Middle East or peacemakers in Africa,” decide to launch a global campaign to protect the basic rights of girls and women?

Writing in The Nation, Barbara Crossette interviews members of The Elders about their efforts to bring together a global partnership of organisations working for an end child marriage.

Speaking at an international conference held in Paris, February 2011, Mary Robinson discusses the relationship between religion, tradition and gender inequality. Citing the issue of child marriage as one example, she argues that promoting the rights of girls and women cannot be imposed on a society; instead, we must support activists working to change their culture from within.

Dans cet article dans Jeune Afrique, Jimmy Carter et Fernando Henrique Cardoso soutiennent que il est grand temps de reconnaître que nous ne pouvons améliorer les conditions de vie des filles et des femmes les plus pauvres et les plus marginalisées sans s'attaquer directement et ouvertement aux conséquences du mariage des enfants - et sans avoir pris l'engagement d'y mettre un terme.

Writing in The Guardian, Jimmy Carter and Fernando H Cardoso observe that child marriage has been a major brake on progress towards six of the eight millennium development goals. They argue that is time to recognise that we cannot improve the lives of the poorest and most marginalised women and girls until the impact of child marriage is addressed directly and openly - and we make a commitment to ending it.

On the 35th anniversary of International Women's Day, founder of India's 1.2 million-strong SEWA (Self Employed Women's Association) Ela Bhatt reflects in Outlook India on the obstacles that remain to women's equality.

Desmond Tutu, Jimmy Carter and Mary Robinson answer questions from The Huffington Post's Marianne Schnall.

In his column in The New York Times, Nicholas D. Kristof argues that while religion has often been used to justify discrimination against women, religious institutions can work to become forces for female emancipation.

Writing in The Observer, Jimmy Carter argues that religion has often been interpreted to justify the persecution and abuse of women throughout the world - in violation not only of international human rights standards, but of the holy teachings that all the children of God are equal.