Today is the first-ever International Day of the Girl. This is a
day to celebrate the fact that it is girls who will change the
world; that the empowerment of girls holds the key to
development and security for families, communities and societies
worldwide. Child marriage is one of the most shocking and
disturbing practices facing girls around the world today. Every
year, ten million girls are forcibly married before the age of
eighteen, many as young as twelve or thirteen-years-old. A
delegation from the Council of Elders (veteran leaders of the
freedom and peace movements of the mid-20th century) recently
led an interfaith service at Zuccotti Park. Hundreds of OWS
activists took part. Working to bring together non-governmental
agencies from around the world, Girls Not Brides is confronting
a practice that prohibits 10 million girls -- annually -- of the
right to an education, health, and security. On a learning trip
to Ethiopia, where 49 percent of girls are married before they
are 18, I came face to face w