Unchained At Last

URGENT: The New Hampshire bill to BRING BACK #ChildMarriage passed the house and now goes to the senate. Take a minute right now, no matter where you live, to urge NH senators not to bring back a human rights abuse that destroys girls' lives: https://lnkd.in/eJRjTGqa

Countries around the world are banning child marriage, by making the marriage age #18NoExceptions. Most recently, Kuwait and Portugal took this important step. Now the 37 U.S. states that still allow this human rights abuse need to follow suit: https://lnkd.in/ezn3aPD5

We are long past due from the promise we made in Beijing 30 years ago, which is that we would ensure all girls everywhere are empowered to choose their own future.??Our projections tell us that a girl born today will be 68 years old by the time we end child marriage. ? Girls can not wait another 68 years, and neither can we. The time to act is now.? ? Member States affirmed this in the #CSW69 Political Declaration, which included for the very first time adolescent girls. It reaffirmed their leadership, it reaffirmed their rights, and it made crystal clear: the world cannot claim progress if girls are still forced into marriage. I was honored to speak at the #CSW69 side event "No Child Left A Bride", co-organized by the Governments of Sierra Leone and the Dominican Republic with Unchained At Last, Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage, Clinton Global Initiative, Equality Now, NGO Committee on the Status of Women (NGO CSW/NY), African Child Policy Forum (ACPF), and UN Women. I highlighted four solutions we know work, and which we must accelerate with scale, urgency, and determination: ? 1?? Aligning domestic laws with international human rights standards—ensuring that the minimum age of marriage is set at 18 years without exception.? 2?? Recognizing that criminalization of child early and forced marriage alone is not sufficient. We must invest in multi-sectoral approaches that change social norms—engaging communities, civil society, children and adolescent girls, men and boys, and religious and traditional leaders.? ?3?? Strengthening grassroots women’s movements. Local activists drive change, but they need support, funding, and platforms to influence policies and hold governments accountable.? ?4?? Addressing poverty and economic insecurity. Economic empowerment of women, starting with girls' education, increases their participation in decision making in the household and serves not only as a deterrent to child marriage but also critically as an enabler of the rights, empowerment, and equality of girls everywhere. Ending child marriage is about justice. It is about dignity. It is about the right of every girl to choose her own future. Let us be the generation that makes this right a reality. #GenderEquality #EndChildMarriage #SDG5 Kalliopi Mingeirou

It's official: #ChildMarriage is no longer legal in our nation's capital, thanks to our advocacy! Congress has enacted legislation Councilmember Brooke Pinto introduced, we promoted relentlessly, and Mayor Muriel Bowser signed, to make the marriage age in Washington, D.C., #18NoExceptions! So we are now 13 states, two territories and one district down in our push to ban an archaic, harmful practice that destroys girls’ lives and creates a nightmarish legal trap for them. That’s a big deal for the 9.5 million girls who live in those 13 states and D.C. Only 37 states and three territories to go. We promise to keep fighting for the more than 27 million girls who live in those states and territories, if you promise to keep partnering with us. Please donate now. https://buff.ly/zgL0Sy6 #EndChildMarriageUSA #13Down37ToGo

More than 200 people joined us Wednesday in the United Nations ECOSOC chamber (and many more online) for our #CSW69 side event with Chelsea Clinton! But if you weren't one of them, don't worry; you can watch the full event here: https://lnkd.in/ezWEjJjx Clinton Global Initiative Equality Now Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage NGO Committee on the Status of Women (NGO CSW/NY) UN Women African Child Policy Forum (ACPF)

Remarkable speakers today at the U.N. 69th Commission on the Satus of Women hosted by Unchained At Last. Representatives from Sierra Leone and the Dominican Republic spoke on joining the global initiative to end child marriage by banning marriage under age 18 in their respective countries. Colombia has also joined the initiative. As for the U.S., 13 states have banned child forced marriage...37 more states to go to end the marriage of girls as young as 10 to adult men (yes, in the U.S.) Today, i also learned that California has no minimum age for marriage. Incredible to see speakers and attendees who are actively working on ending this criminal practice.

In times like this, I am deeply reflective about being on the right side of history. One moment I’m celebrating: Unchained At Last partnering with Chelsea Clinton, Equality Now, UN Women, Africa Child Policy Forum, and two governments to tackle ending child marriage worldwide, including in the U.S., during the 69th UN Commission on the Status of Women. Five years ago, I supported research on under-18 marriages in the U.S. and successfully advocated for funding. I believed in this work because my conversations with Unchained’s founder, Fraidy Reiss, inspired what could be possible when you combine #research with #policy and #advocacy. Because of this, we now know that in the U.S., 3??0??0??0??0??0?? minors (mostly girls) were legally married (mostly to adult men) between 2000 and 2018 – and through their new research, that 7??0??0??0??+ minors legally married in the 3 years after. We are failing our sisters, our aunties, our daughters. Government representatives from Sierra Leone and Dominican Republic shared their commitments and strategies to end child marriage. And though child marriage is not yet illegal in the U.S., I dearly want to believe what Chelsea shared: “I have a tremendous amount of faith in the United States, and we have a long way to go...” Whether, like me, you give annually to organizations like Unchained, spend your professional days driving progress, or call your U.S. state legislators to advocate for better laws, there is something all of us can do - big or small - to create a better world. This is your reminder to be on the right side of history! #csw69 #globalhealth #genderequality #SHEthinks #SHEthinksgroup

STARTING SOON: No Child Left a Bride: Successes & Setbacks in the Global Effort to End Child Marriage, our United Nations #CSW69 side event with Chelsea Clinton, Clinton Global Initiative, Equality Now, Girls Not Brides: The Global Partnership to End Child Marriage, NGO Committee on the Status of Women (NGO CSW/NY), UN Women, African Child Policy Forum (ACPF) and the Permanent Missions of Sierra Leone and the Dominican Republic to the U.N. Join us in person in the United Nations Economic and Social Council chamber or virtually at https://lnkd.in/ezWEjJjx

Please join us next Wednesday at the UN ECOSOC Chamber to learn more about ending Child Marriage in the US and globally with these powerful partners! #CSW69 Unchained At Last UN Women Equality Now #ChelseaClinton #GirlsNotBrides NGO Committee on the Status of Women (NGO CSW/NY) or watch live on https://lnkd.in/eE2eYYhx

Join us and our allies for another enriching discussion at #CSW69 about ending child marriage across the globe and in the United States:? ? ??No Child Left a Bride: Successes & Setbacks in the Global Effort to End Child Marriage, with Unchained At Last, Chelsea Clinton on behalf of the Clinton Global Initiative, Equality Now, NGO Committee on the Status of Women (NGO CSW/NY), UN Women, African Child Policy Forum (ACPF), the Government of Sierra Leone and the Government of the Dominican Republic. ?? Wednesday, 19 March 2025 | ?? 10am – 11:30am (EDT) ? How to attend?? ? In person: New York UN Headquarters' ECOSOC Chamber Virtually: UN Web TV https://lnkd.in/e9S_vttK? ? #GenderEquality #EndChildMarriage #HumanRights