The Elders

Independent global leaders working together for peace and human rights.

Equality for Girls & Women

Men and women are born with equal rights. Societies with greater equality between men and women are healthier, safer and more prosperous. Equality for girls and women is a core focus of The Elders’ work.

Videos 07 June 2013

Child marriage and US foreign policy

“This was a hidden issue, only two years ago.”

Mary Robinson discusses The Elders’ campaign to end child marriage as both a moral imperative in its own right, and as a global development and foreign policy priority, at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York.

Watch the video

Guest blog Girls Not Brides, 28 May 2013

5 reasons why an end to child marriage will improve maternal health

"A 10 per cent reduction in child marriage could be associated with a 70 per cent reduction in a country's maternal mortality rates."

As world leaders and civil society organisations gather in Kuala Lumpur for Women Deliver 2013, a major global conference on women's health, Girls Not Brides discuss the links between maternal health and early marriage.

News 14 March 2013

How can policy-makers help protect women and girls from violence?

“People can change their attitudes. We have to help them do it.”

Speaking at an inquiry of the UK International Development Committee, Gro Harlem Brundtland discusses what parliamentarians and policy-makers can do to ensure development programming tackles gender-based violence.

Guest blog Philister Baya Lawiri, 08 March 2013

Children of war, women of peace

“During the decades of civil war, women were never formally invited into the peace talks – but we showed up anyway.”

On International Women’s Day, Hon. Philister Baya Lawiri, Chair of South Sudan’s Civil Service Commission, highlights the missing ingredient needed in the stalled Sudan-South Sudan peace process: the participation of women.

Elders blog Gro Harlem Brundtland, 08 March 2013

Defeating discrimination: how to end violence against women

“Violence against women is rooted in deeply ingrained social norms that portray women as less than men.”

Writing on International Women’s Day for Skoll World Forum, Gro Harlem Brundtland argues that to end the violence affecting millions of women worldwide, we must transform the conditions that make this violence possible.

News 04 March 2013

US legislates to prevent child marriage worldwide

In a development welcomed by child marriage activists, the United States Congress has passed a bill stating that child marriage breaches fundamental human rights – and requiring the US to integrate the prevention of this harmful practice across its development programmes.

News Ela Bhatt, 18 February 2013

Women, work and peace

“Poverty is day-to-day violence, no less destructive than war.”

Receiving the 2011 Indira Gandhi Prize for Peace, Disarmament and Development, Ela Bhatt re-examines our idea of peace, arguing that equity, local economies and the empowerment of women through work are central to supporting economic freedoms, and therefore peace.

Elders blog Mary Robinson, 05 February 2013

African women driving change

“The 21st century is Africa’s century”

From the women peace-builders telling senior African Union officials “enough is enough” to the activists demanding justice for victims of sexual violence: Mary Robinson blogs about the inspiring women she met during her recent visit to Addis Ababa.

Elders blog Gro Harlem Brundtland, 29 January 2013

2030: a world free of child marriage

“It is ambitious to say that we can end child marriage by 2030, but I am convinced it is possible.”

Writing for Impatient Optimists, Gro Harlem Brundtland argues that including an end to child marriage in the UN’s new development goals would do much to empower girls, provide them with opportunities and ensure their well-being.

News 23 January 2013

“We need more women leaders.” Mary Robinson calls for a greater role for women in peace building

Mary Robinson has been in Addis Ababa for the binannual meeting of the Gender is My Agenda Campaign, to meet Sudanese and South Sudanese women leaders, and stress the importance of involving women in the peace process between the two nations.