The dignity of all, regardless of gender or background, is a common thread in our great faiths and cultures. This powerful concept also provided the foundation for the Universal Declaration on Human Rights. Religious values and teachings, along with traditional customs, have provided comfort to hundreds of millions of people, stability for societies and have been a major force for good in our world and in our history.

Sadly, they have also been used throughout the centuries to justify and entrench inequality and discrimination against women and girls. These teachings and practices have been abused by men to give them power over the female members of their families and women across their communities. As a result, women have lost control of their bodies and their lives. In many societies, women only gain freedom from the wishes of their fathers when power over them is handed to their husbands.

Over the next pages, we chart how this deep-rooted belief that women are worth less than men has infected every aspect of our societies. It has led to women suffering brutal violence and mistreatment. It has denied girls and women fair access to education, health, employment, property and influence within their own communities. It is not just women who are paying an enormous price for this cultural and religious prejudice. We all suffer when women and girls are abused and their needs are neglected. By denying them security and opportunity, we embed unfairness in our societies and fail to make the most of the talents of half the population.

But there are, too, signs of hope. We want to point to the progress that is being made to lift this inequality and the impressive results such action brings. During the lifetimes of the Elders, in almost every society and in every area, women are breaking down the barriers which have held them and their daughters back for so long.

There remains, however, a long way to go until we reach true equality of opportunity. And this is not a fight which should be left to women and girls alone. It is up to all our leaders, particularly male political, religious and civil leaders, to challenge and change those practices and attitudes, however long-established, which allow and foster discrimination and unfair treatment.

We also call on all men and boys to throw their weight behind the campaign for equality and to challenge those who oppose women's rights and equality. The complementary skills and qualities of both men and women are needed to tackle the enormous challenges we face. This will not be easy. Men and boys will have to change their behaviour and thinking. Some women will too. But we will all gain from such changes. Societies with greater equality between men and women, girls and boys, are healthier, safer and more prosperous.

Husbands should join with their wives, brothers with their sisters and sons with their mothers. We know what needs to be done. There is widespread agreement on the steps which must be taken. We now have to show the courage and determination to root out discrimination and change our world for the better.