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London’s Girl Summit: a day for change?

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gril summit 2014, london, end fgm, end cefm, pledgeA chance to stand up for every girl’s right to at least some parts of her life being free from violence.

So it’s a start.

The Girl Summit 2014 in London today aims to rally a global movement to end female genital mutilation (FGM) and child, early and forced marriage (CEFM) within a generation.

It is a chance to stand up for every girl’s right to a life free from violence, to give girls around the world the freedom to fulfil their potential.

In the last decade 58 million women in developing countries, that is 1 in 3 women, were married before they turned 18.

CEFM is a global issue that has a significant impact on girls, their families, communities and countries.  For example:

Girls who give birth when under 15 years of age are 5 times more likely to die in childbirth than women in their 20s;

The children of child brides are 60 per cent more likely to die before their first birthday than the children of mothers who are over 19;

Girls who marry earlier are more likely to suffer domestic violence and sexual abuse, and to contract HIV from their husbands; and

Girls who marry young are more likely to be poor and stay poor.

The Girl Summit taking place in London on 22 July is bringing together women, girls and community leaders from the UK and other countries, alongside governments, international non-governmental organisations like Plan and representatives from the private sector.

The UK’s Home Secretary, Theresa May, and the Secretary of State for International Development, Justine Greening, will host the event.

The summit aims to secure new commitments from the private sector, faith leaders, other civil society organisations and governments.

It also offers the opportunity to share success stories and spread good practice in tackling these issues.

Attendees will hear from girls and women who have lived through the ordeal of FGM or early and forced marriage, and from inspiring individuals from affected communities who are now driving change to improve the lives of girls and women now and in the future.

Plan, for example, will be represented by youth ambassadors, by chief executive Tanya Barron and campaigns team and celebrity ambassador, Hollywood actress Freida Pinto.

Plan staff and volunteers will share knowledge and experience from our FGM, child marriage and EFM programmes in countries such as Mali, Egypt and Bangladesh.

“We can end FGM and child marriage in a generation,” said Barron. “If a girl knows her rights, and her community knows the risks, cases will come down over time.”

Everyone has a part to play in achieving rights for girls and women around the world.

You can get involved by joining Because I am a Girl, the biggest global campaign for girls’ rights.

You can subscribe to the End FGM e-bulletin to get the latest news, events and stories on how UK aid is supporting a global movement to end the practice.

You can subscribe to the DFID e-bulletin to get the latest updates on all our announcements including our work with girls and women, FGM and child and forced marriage

You can get informed about the issues and share your knowledge by finding out about FGM and child and forced marriage. Here, for info about FGM for example, or here info about child and forced marriage.

Once you know the facts, tell your friends and spread the word.

Or you can join up with, take action with partner organisations the fantastic organisations doing critical work on FGM and child and forced marriage. Here are just a few to check out: Girl Effect, Girls Not Brides, Plan UK, Forward, Equality Now, Orchid Project and UNICEF.

Or you can join Catapult, Women Deliver’s crowdfunding platform for girls’ and women’s human rights and development around the world. It connects people who care about justice with the people on the ground working to improve girls’ and women’s lives. Find out more about their projects on FGM and child marriage.

The UK’s Secretary of State for International Development, Justine Greening, speaking in Zambia recently, pointed out that girls make good choices if we let them.

They can, she said, choose to stay at school, marry later and have fewer children.

When a girl in the developing world receives seven or more years of education, she marries later, has fewer children…and these children are more educated and healthier.

And the ambition for the Girl Summit, she continued,  is to secure a huge range of commitments from governments, businesses and charities… with everyone agreeing a declaration to end child and forced marriage and female genital mutilation in a generation.

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